Kim, for me it was an accumulation of things...The first thing I can remember about staging is...

 I went with a good friend who was looking for a house.. We went into one house and the homeowner had all these pictures of her and some friends at the beach. My friend was so interested in seeing this woman and her friends in bathing suits, that he didnt even tour the rest of the house.  The Realtor and I kept saying , she really needs put those away.  I then added that she should take out some of the clutter and all of the plants, arrange the furniture in such away that it would open up the floor plan.  The pictures of her and her friends were on a "buffett table" and it blocked the entryway of the home.  As I kept going on and on and on, about the house, the Realtor said to me, Have you ever thought of being a home stager.  You seem to know what a buyer would think!  I went home and googled home staging classes and the rest is history!

Kim, good question!  I've often wondered how others got started.  I've always been creative, majored in art in college, remodeled several homes, landscaping, jewelry design, etc.  But, several years ago I moved to San Diego (one of many military moves!) and helped several friends redo their homes (as I have done every where I lived)  After doing it for free for so many friends, a girlfriend and I decided during one of our daily 5 mile walks we should start a business.  After that walk we started SpaceLift - A "Facelift" For Your Home!  (Believe me, during 5 mile walks, all kinds of crazy names popped into our heads, but the facelift tag sort of stuck...appropriate for Southern California!) I was like you, I discovered Stagedhomes online and took the class in 2004. Luckily for us, our business took off without really any marketing or too much effort.  I think our timing was right!  Now I'm living in Richmond, VA and decided to start up the business again here.  Unfortunately, this time I'm having to spend more time marketing and getting the word out... suddenly realizing how lucky I was back in San Diego!  Which leads me to wonder... how long did it take everyone to get their business rolling?

Great post!

I was the same as you.  I started staging our 'flips' before I knew what it was.  When an agent asked me who my stager was, I was totally confused.  I researched it on the net and I was hooked from there.  After I had my second daughter in May and quit my job, I decided to start my own staging business to bring in the extra income we need to get by.

I've only been in business for 5 months. :)

That's a very astute observation, Kim. A stager is born, not trained. Anyone can learn the 'rules', but if it's in you to stage, you do it everywhere you go! My friends and family have always recruited me to contirbute in their redesign efforts and in my mind I 'edit' every space I enter. (It's a burden;) )

When my editing antics prompted a friend to suggest that I look into staging, it seemed like a natural progression: artist to decorator to stager. It's what I've always been, I just didn't have a title for it and now I do.

After reading everyone's posts, I am certain that I was right.  You either ARE a stager, or you AREN'T.  We all seem to have a certain gift and this thing we do is a natural extension of ourselves, not just a job we do.

Thanks for the confirmation. 

Judy-  I've been "in the Business" for about 18 onths.

Stage it Forward!

I started out rearranging my crib, went on to professionally organizing my classmates desks, then moved on to decorating dorm rooms for beer money, then there were the years of helping friends and family decorate and get their homes ready for sale.  Then 2 years ago my cousin had her home staged when she put it  on the market.  It was one of those life altering moments  - I was like wait a minute - this is actually a JOB and you can get PAID????   When my kids all went to school I decided it was time to go legit. And I couldn't be happier.  <Don't you just love when the story has a happy ending?>

Hi Kim,

I've been doing redesigns on my own and other's houses for years!  I always loved using what the person had and building on that for next to nothing!

Then in 1998, when my grandmother passed, my sister and I were faced with the task of selling her house which was large and filled with antiques and the accumulation from 3 marriages (!!! God bless her!).  I transformed the house and amazed myself because it was instinctive! 

During the years that followed, I helped other family and friends when their houses went on the market.

Then, last year, when I put my own house on the market, I staged it like it was my job!  Everyone commented on it and loved the decor!  After investing approximately $9,000 in improvements (and that includes labor), we sold the house for $65,000 more than we had expected and what the competing homes were getting.  I loved every moment of prepping that house for sale, and after reading many articles, researching on the internet and watching way too many episodes of Designed To Sell, I knew I wanted to do this...this was my creative outlet!

I took Lori Matzke's course this past March and the rest is history!

Maureen-  That is hilarious!  I can trace my staging back pretty far, but you get the prize for starting at birth!

Val-  I guess like anything else, doing it for yourself is the best way to learn wether you have it or not.  It's also a great way to promote staging - having your own personal experience!  I often share my 'first staging story' and then use my current home to soften the consultation report.  I tell them that I love my burnt orange kitchen, but I also know I will have paint it before we put it on the market - no one is exempt!

I had bought and sold many homes as well as remodeled several but what got me into staging was the attempt to buy a piece of property next to me. It was not a very exciting house but I wanted to control the property and it had a huge extra garage I wanted. The place had  many small negatives like a piece of siding missing, old dated brass fixtures, very dated bathroom and kitchen that all added up to a large list of things needing fixing. I made a low offer with a contengency clause about the flood insurance. When I discovered that FEMA now required a land surveyor to complete an 18 page document at a cost of about $800- I back out of the deal. I realized that if this buyer had had a marketability survey and had fixed all the negatives, I would have completed the deal despite the extra $800. But since there were all these neagtives I had mentally set a fixed price that I would not go over and we had reached it. So I started thinking about a sevice similiar to what a home inspector does but only on the marketability side. Rather than survey the mechanicals of the home what this seller need was a differnt type of survey that would have shown him all the objections and negatives that caused me to lower my offer and eventually killed the deal.  That is when I discovered the whole concept of "home staging".

Hi Kimberly

For me, redesigns is something I have been doing for years and years, but it wasn't until being laid off from work last year that both my children suggested I pursue this as a profession. So I did and within 1 month I had my first presentation. It was a little scary for me because now I was doing this for money. But once I would step into the property my old self kicked in and the creative juices start to flow. Okay so I leave with a check in my hand, not too shabby!

Phyllis Pafumi

Kimberly - Marci started this thing to get to know people better it's called MEME.  So I just MEMEd you.

check it out: Tag I'm it

I didnt start it Jay did and it has been going like wild fire! Sorry

Hi Kimberly, 

After having my babies I was searching the internet for "something to do when I grow up".  I was starting over since I had left the website design industry, which btw becoming obsolete can happen in a matter of months!  Anyway, I stumbled upon staging and I got excited.  Without my knowing, there was a profession that represented what I love to do most and what I had been doing with our houses for years.    It combines my experience, education, passion and creativity in one profession. I love doing this!  I have been staging for years(before I knew there was an identity) but started my company in April 2006 and having the time of my life.

My wife is considering taking a staging course. She is leaning toward an online program because we have 3 kids. What should we look for in a home staging course and what should we avoid? Your help is appreciated.

Gregg, Mandevile , LA

I think I have always done it but a little over  year ago, our family went through a house shift and we had multiple houses to sell. When we completed the first "stage", one of the realtors asked who we had hired to stage the home. Then, when my mom bought a really ugly, run down house, we were walking through talking about rehabbing ideas and I mentioned that we should go into the staging business. The realtor responded "what would you charge me?' Strike 2. Then we couldn't let the idea of our own business go and with the purchase of the third house that summer, a business was born. I also believe we have been doing it for years for family and friends, we just didn't have  formal name for it. We love it and that passion is what makes a successful stager!

Gregg-

Craig Schiller has written a blog on this very subject.  You may want your wife to check it out.  There is also a 'rate your staging training' group where stagers tell of their own training experiences.  I did not take an online course and I do not know which one offer it, so that would be a good place to start.  I think the Staging Diva course is over the phone and I have heard great things about it.

Cheri-

Sounds like you are a natural as well.  Sometimes, your career finds you, doesn't it? Good luck and I look forward to hearing more from you!

Kimberly: I would call this a midlife crisis but prefer to think that it takes most of us some time to "find" our talents. Staging givs us the opportunity to use all of our experiences to help others-what could be better. I do agree that you cannot teach the ability to look at an empty glass and figure out how to make it marketable. I also think scale is a difficult skill to teach although I have never taken an art class so maybe it isn't difficult at all. I guess for us-opportuinity knocked and we actually heard it and now we love what we do.

Kinda the same way for me Kimberly.  Then I went on to owning a small home improvement business, which included staging, and staged a few homes for friends here and there as I moved from one state to the next, then decided when I finally had put down roots here in Florida, to resurrect my home staging "gene" and start my business.  It helps make the decision when all the homes you sell get rave reviews from the viewers.  I figured if people think I'm that good, then I must be!  Now all I need to do is figure out how to take good pictures :-) to share.

Kimberly: I got into staging by way of interior design. I had a couple of interior design clients that moved every few years and they would call me to "prepare their house for sale". We didn't call it staging at the time, but that is what I was doing. I really enjoy staging because it is lower stress (believe it or not!) than interior design. Also, I like that I can completely transform an empty house into a desireable home in a day. Its immediate gratification.

I was staging ,before it had a name.  I realized that houses should be detailed and accessorized to look their best before being sold.  We bought and sold our own homes and helped others.  Finally I took a course that focused on the business  aspect and here I am.

Hi...

 I am a Reltor thinking about starting a Staging and Redesign business and have been researching different trainers, etc., on the internet ... where did you get your training ... who do you recommend??

Hi Again...

Should have checked my typing before I hit the send button ... it should have read I am a Realtor ...

any suggestions on training or trainers ...

Thanks!!

Florida-  If you use the links in my comment to Gregg above, you will find a lot more information than I can offer you in this post.  I personally will took the staged homes course with 2 different instructors.  One is no longer with the company and the other was Barb Schwarz. 

Since you are not a member of AR, I do not know what area of the country you are in, so recommending a specific company geographically is difficult. Also, your choice should be based on whether your needs will be met through that course (ie: do you need business structure or actual staging training?), which I also cannot speak to.  If you have specific questions about specific courses, do not hesitate to ask any graduate of that course (you can probably find one here on AR) we are all willing to help you find the right choice for you.