We often talk about home staging being about neutralizing but sometimes it's really about creating elegance and simplicity. We help buyers see what they are buying - features of the home, not the stuff. As professional stagers, we visualize the potential that the home can be and help determine how the buyer will see the space.
Controlling the buyer's eye
I once remember Jackson West saying that home stagers control a buyer's eye as they look through the home. I think this was perhaps one of the best statements to really help sellers understand what we do. When a buyer looks at the room, things will catch their attention. We need those things to either be features of the home or on an object that emphasizes a feature of the home. Everytime the buyer's eye stops on something, it will break up the room. If there are too many breaks then the room will appear smaller, or simply "not what they are looking for".
Dissecting a Chicagoland staging project
Before we even get to the staging commentary, let me discuss the importance of having professional photos when selling a home. A professional real estate photographer understands what angles will best showcase the room, much the same way a professional stager knows small details on how to make the home feel larger. By taking the after photo of this room low and from the corner of the table, instead of the side or the end, this room looks much larger. The back of the chairs don't stop your eye, thereby breaking up the room. Instead the table seems to go on forever, leading your eye to the chandelier and curtains, both of which draw your up, making the room look taller.
Chairs are eating up your dining room
Frequently we'll see extra chairs floating around the edge of a dining room. This isn't doing anything to help make the room look larger. Quite the contrary actually. If the chairs are unable to fit comfortably around the dining table, remove them. Usually, unless the room and the table are VERY large, no more than 4-6 chairs should be in the dining room when staging.
Curtains can increase room height
In this stage we added great curtains with high sheen and texture. Notice how your eye moves up the wall to the ceiling. This visually adds height to the room. Hanging curtains above the windows, closer to the ceiling is a trend that really helps showcase the high ceilings in today's homes, or make it feel taller in older homes.
Simple centerpieces
Dried floral centerpieces can be drab, dusty, and dated. Height, structure, and clean lines are perfect for home staging centerpieces. Notice how the simple change here shifts the feeling to something a little more modern, helping the home to appeal to a broader range of buyers.
Keeping it simple
The last change was a simple urn of greenery between the lamps on the buffet. This simple addition draws your eye across the room and breaks up the formal symmetry of the buffet lamps. While the addition was minimal, the effect is not.
In general this space is now very well balanced and showcases the size and space that buyers will be purchasing. Small inexpensive changes made a huge difference in this room, with the help of a great photographer, this space is show ready. I have no doubt that a lucky buyer will scoop it right up.
Comments(9)