Staging Tips: Using Fake Food and Setting Tables

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Staging Tips: Using Fake Food and Setting Tables

Using fake / faux food and setting tables to set the scene:

My goal as a professional home stager is to help sell my clients homes faster and for the best price. When staging vacant homes, sometimes that means using "props" that I would not necessarily use in my own home on a daily basis or expect to see in an occupied home. But used judiciously and artistically, fake or faux food or setting the table adds color and texture and helps tell the story of what life could be like if the potential buyer lived in that home. It is not a "trick", it is not "stupid", nor is it a deception. It is merely one of many tools we can use as stagers to make the homes we stage appealing to potential buyers.

At Moving Mountains Design, we invest in the highest quality fake food, silk flowers and dishware, and we are selective about how and when we use it.

home staging in Santa Monica California

Fake sunflowers (they stay beautiful for the length of the staging contract and the water doesn't start to stink after 3 days) in the foreground. A tiered basket with lemons and (my personal favorite) artichokes on the left and a basket with pasta, fake bread and fake herbs on the right. These items add color and interest to this simple farm house style kitchen.

home staging in Granada Hills

The set table in this kitchen makes this room look vibrant and interesting, instead of looking like very other kitchen in every other tract home in the neighborhood. It leads the eye from the teal in the countertop to the teal dishes on the table accentuating the large dining space in this eat in kitchen.

Please feel free to post photos of your best use of your fake food and table settings.

Moving Mountains Design provides exceptional home staging throughout Los Angeles, Pasadena, the San Gabriel Valley and the San Fernando Valley. Visit our website at www.MovingMountainsDesign.com or call us at (626)441-8975.

Moving Mountains Design was recently featured in the Sunday Los Angeles Times Real Estate section. Click here to read the article: The Benefits of Staging a Home

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Los Angeles Real Estate Staging

2010 RESA Professional Stager of the Year

Michelle has staged hundreds of Los Angeles homes, many of which have sold with multiple offers, above listing price.

She works with home sellers, listing agents and asset managers to prepare homes for sale throughout Los Angeles.

Moving Mountains Design provides vacant home staging, occupied home staging, color consultations, corporate and executive relocations, move organization, redesign, and interior design. We also stage model homes, REOs,foreclosures and auction properties for real estate investors and asset managers.

For more information about our Los Angeles home staging services, contact Michelle at (626)385-8852 or by email.

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Click here to go to our Los Angeles home staging blog

Click here for more information about home staging in Los Angeles and how we can help sell your home faster and for the best price

Posted by Michelle Minch Home Staging Los Angeles & Pasadena, CA on 05/11/2008 12:25 PM

Comments (69)

home staging, home stager, home staging in pasadena, home staging in arcadia, pasadena home staging, arcad

Originally posted at: Los Angeles Home Staging Info: Staging Tips: Using Fake Food and Setting Tables

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Post is included in group: Stage It Forward...
Post is included in group: Home Staging Resurce - HSR
Post is included in group: Real Estate Staging Association
Post is included in group: VACANT HOUSE STAGING & NEW HOMES
Post is included in group: Real World Home Staging for Newbies

69 Comments on Staging Tips: Using Fake Food and Setting Tables

MAY

2008

Great idea. I have used fake flowers many times but never thought of fake food. Very inviting feeling when you see food.

I think the point here is... High quality Faux props. Not just your Michael's brand. It must look real, tastefully positioned, and not over done. Same concept with faux.. "fake" trees... they must look REAL. And, it does depend on area too. I could never put a cake on the counter or any sort of desert there. It would not complete the feel of the room in the proper way for the lifestyle.. nobody bakes much around here. Faux wine, cheese, brandy, cigars, champagne (Dom of course) evokes a lifestyle within the homes that I stage. Love faux artichokes, pears and pomegranates ;))

Hmmm. Did I spell faux right ?

Michelle - Not only does your table setting make the room more vibrant and interesting, it makes the room extremely appealing.

I too use faux fruit and vegetables to help convey a particular feeling in a room. Here's an example.

Home Staging Atlanta

Do I think these apples are over the top? Absolutely not. A true professional understands how certain props/techniques can lend incredible support.

Great post, Michelle.

Kathy

I completely agree Michelle. Most kitchens need a 'touch of home' in the way of food suggestion, to make them come to life. Well chosen, quality food and floral props, bring life, color, and texture to an area with a lot of hard surfaces. The photos in your blog are great examples of kitchen styling with class!

Wendy Casey - Vancouver, BC

Gary: Thank you for commenting. Fake food, used properly, can make a home more inviting.

LKP: We all have to adjust our staging to our target market. Cakes may work in some areas, but not others. IMHO, I think fruit and vegetables could work almost anywhere. And yes, it is very important that the items used don't look cheesy or they can be distracting. The stuff we use looks very realistic - so much so that we have to glue them down so that people don't try to eat them (I learned that from you!)

Kathy: Thanks for posting a photo. You are one of those talented, experienced stagers who understands how to use fake fruits, veggies and table settings to help sell a home.

Wendy:I agree with you. Thank you for adding your thoughts.

Michelle, Excellent post and I couldn't agree more. I recently commented on another blog regarding the use of props such as faux fruit/food....and I'll say it again here: Elegant yet Simple. It works every time! Love your work by the way!

Teresa: I agree with you. Thank you!

Michelle - I like fake fruit in a bowl it can add a really nice punch of color. I have seen stagers use actual fake food, like sushi or a cake with one slice missing I think that is a bit over the top. Fake flowers and plants are almost a must.

You illustrate the arguement BEAUTIFULLY Michelle! Your table setting blows me away. Do we think those people live in their home with their table dressed all the time? No. We walk in and say wow! This is beautiful, I want to live here. And that is the point of staging. Your props add that special touch that will SET THAT HOUSE APART from the others on the street. It will make it memorable in a good way.

I think perhaps the word "faux" would sound much better than fake. Your photo was very tasteful. I support the tasteful and sparing use of faux food. I use silk flowers or greenery in just about every home that I Stage.

Beautiful illustration of the point of the faux food debate going on here on AR this weekend. I lean toward...do think it adds interest and a thought beyond "so this is the kitchen"...it's the beyond where buyers buy. Good blog

I took a look at your profile and I got to see all of the pictures there as well. You do an amazing job. Magazine shots. Keep up the fantastic job.

Erin Liles

MaKia Designs

Maureen: I have a fake cheesecake with fruit on top. It looks very real, and when I use it, I put it under a glass dome. I don't use it very often since it is a little over the top, and I want the staging to be an enhancement, not distracting. If the kitchen is really bad, I pull out the big guns (the cheesecake) but fortunately that doesn't happen all that often. Believe it or not, I have a couple of regulars who are disappointed if I don't use the cheesecake (pun intended))

Cari: When I go into a store to shop for clothes, and I see a well turned out mannequin in a nice outfit that is nicely accessorized, I think, "Wow, I want to look like that (in that outfit - not like a mannequin)" It makes me want to buy the whole shebang. I don't think "The stylist who dressed that mannequin used "stupid styling tricks" when they dressed the mannequin". Or when I go into Crate and Barrel, I'm not attracted to the dishes stacked on the shelf, but I am attracted, and inclined to buy, the dishes, placemats and napkins that are used in a beautiful vignette or display. It is just smart marketing to show potential buyers how the product you are selling (in our case homes) can be used to its best purpose. Thank you for the compliment! PS - the plates and napkins in the second photo are from Pier One.

By the way, I never use silverware (anymore) in my table set ups. Too easy to steal, and too easy for a small child to hurt themselves (thank you, Lori Kim))

Tori: I see you are also a floral designer. I would love to see some samples of your work.

Thank you Terrylynn. I got hooked by the "stupid staging tricks" comment on another blog.

Thank you, Erin. I have to give credit to having a good camera (Nikon D40) with an 18mm Nikor lens and a tripod so I don't have to use the flash.

Michelle: Whew...the other blog was a rough round for me since I am a proponent of faux...but interesting to see the comments and passion voiced...funny though I went to a few web-sites that said hate, awful...really don't understand why they had that perspective for nothing WOW'd me on their sites nor did they move me to want more. Your examples are classy and well done.

If you go to the Stager Idol website and view my last report you will see that I, sometimes take it over the top...but my reasoning "I'm trying to plant the seeds of what could be" (Cari hope you don't mind me using your term over and over again).

My market is tough right now. Staging is a marketing tool. My personal phylosophy in this buyers market:

I believe it is not enough to highlight the architecture, create flow and define confusing spaces with furniture and accessories.

I believe it is the stagers obligation to make the "home memorable" by finding a unique purpose to expound on and work, in concert, with the Realtor to create out of the box ideas that will attract targeted buyers...just MHO...it is obvious by what I've read this weekend there are many who would disagree.

That's why it is important for the Realtor or homeowner to interview the professional stager first. Take a look at their portfolio, speak to past clients, ask questions to see if they understand what should be conveyed in the property...if you are all on the same page great! You will probably have a successful sale too.

Again, just my ol' humble opinion...

MAY

2008

Renee: Thank you for adding your HO to the conversation. You and I agree that staging is more than placing furniture, defining confusing spaces and highlighting the architecture. Successful staging (helping to get a home sold quickly and for the best price) is about making a home memorable and enticing enough to generate offers from prospective buyers. In my experience and in my market, that means using accessories like realisitic fake / faux food and table settings. Of course, everything in moderation...

I have always thought that the fake food props make the room look complete. You are right when you say it helps tell a story.

Michelle Great Blog ! I do use them too, they sort of bring that Still Life look. It does help the potential buyer how to live in these spaces.

Michelle: Yes, I agree.

Fernando: As in all things, it has to be done well to look good. Thanks for commenting.

Great post! This has been featured in the group "Real World of Home Staging for Newbies"!

Thank you Karen.I'm honored.

No, no, no . . . it's the other way around. The newbies are honored you are sharing your great experience, as am I!

See, I look at it as STAGE IT FORWARD is the giant tree. This group is a limb that grows to provide shade and some protection to the industry if nurtured with good advice, wisdom, and questions all can learn from.

WOW, was that profound or what!?! LOL -- have a nice evening.

Karen: For the first time in my life, I am at a loss for words. I don't know whether to laugh or blush.

I love it and use it quite a bit - when I can find great stuff. Where have you found to be the best place to by the fake food?

Do both! Lov ya' your wisdom, doll! Just stage it forward as you always do; like I said this is just a branch here!

I love it though when the experts share and the newbies ask; so that's the combination I look for in this group.

Keep contributing!

let's talk soon!

MAY

2008

Michelle I completely agree with you. Every house needs visual appeal and vignettes and set tables help create the atmosphere and memorability we are looking for. Thank you for the post. Betty

MAY

2008

Aloha Michelle,

I just recently started using faux fruit, flowers and plants. My reasoning for not using them before was that If didn't use them at home why would I use them in a staging. However, as accessories they add color, texture, and visual interest which can add just the right touch when needed. I do replace all the faux with the real thing for open houses which satisfies my personal taste requirements(I'm blessed with many fruit trees in my yard which produce all year long). I'm still a little skeptical about food such as cakes and such but I'm sure if done thoughtfully could be eye catching. I guess all I need to do is think outside the box...the cake box that is. Thanks for the post.

Peace,

I completely agree; I use fake food all the time when staging. Beautiful pictures by the way.

In my first staged home I was using bright red chili peppers/oil in glass jars for the kitchen, so when I found some adorable red and yellow chili peppers at Michael's, I tucked them into the kitchen towels. Of course I can't say that this is why this house sold in a week after being on the market for six months pre-staging, but it sure didn't hurt it!

Thanks for turning this into a positive post, Michelle. Your input is always valued.

I agree with everything in moderation. Faux fruits/veggies bring in color and texture...love em. Faux flowers/greenery, absolutely a staple. Your pictures are a perfect example. Thanks for sharing.

I remember doing a consult for a client who had the most exquisite bowl of faux red delicious apples on her kitchen table...she bought them at Williams and Sonoma (i think) so you know they were expensive but let me tell you, they looked GREAT!

Faux sushi....now I think that's over the top...

MAY

2008

Reading all the comments is a wonderful learning experience, so many people with so many wonderful ideas. When using real flowers for an open house, I add a little bleach to the water. It keeps the water crystal clear, as it kills the bacteria that would normally cloud the water and make it smell

Hi Michelle!

I love the way you arrange the faux food! It also matters where you place it for the best effect. You are #1 in my book!

Diane

Amy: It depends upon what you are looking for. I have seen a bunch of faux food for sale on www.StagersList.com. Check it out.

Betty: Your vignette looks lovely. Makes me hungry. Your name says it all "Attention to Detail".

Kimo: After going to check on several of my vacant staging projects, and being hit in the face with the smell of rotting vegetation upon opening the door, I decided that faux is the way to go. The stuff we use looks so real that I have found bites taken out of fake rolls and apples! I don't know who would go into a stranger's house and think it is OK to eat their food, but apparently some people think it is OK. I always leave an empty vase for the REA in the event that they want to bring some fresh flowers to an open house. After throwing away my 45th orchid plant because I forgot to water it, I'm thinking I may need to go faux in my own house as well.

Cindy: Thank you for your kind comments.

Beth: Thank you. I just wanted to present another way of looking at the faux food debate. It works for me, and apparently a lot of other people, too.

Abby: I don't have any, but I think even faux sushi could work given the right circumstances. You just never know...

Diane: Faux or real, the arrangements are the same, and you might actually have more flexibility using faux flowers and food. Thank you, Diane. That is very nice of you to say.

MAY

2008

Hey Michelle

I love the faux fruit and artichokes, I think they are beautiful and definitely add warmth when done correctly as you did. Here is a center island I recently did and I just love the fruit bowl

Phyllis Pafumi

Very nice Phyllis! It really makes it come alive. Thanks for posting your photo.

JUN

2008

tomatoes cottage tomatoes

I bought out the "favorite faux tomatoes" at the Mikasa store when they went out of business. I think I have about 16 tomatoes but they look so darn real!

Whether it be a 1/2 million dollar castle or 100 thousand dollar cottage - they work! Fun post Michelle, and I agree, in moderation they work.

JUN

2008

Hi Karen: Sorry I missed this response. I think your fake tomatoes look great. Thank you for sharing your photos.

I love that this came back around, it was well read the first time and I for one like using faux food (sorry Craig), it adds a bit of everyday life to the staging. People buy from where they live, and where they aspire to be, but comfort is everything and these are touchstones to their comfort. Great post.

Michelle,

I remember years ago going through model homes every chance I had. I was a young married gal and my husband and I didn't have much money. In the early years, touring model homes was our entertainment. We loved sitting in rooms pretending that we lived there. Isn't that what we as stagers and and our clients(sellers) want to happen? If it is presented well, go for it....we always do.

Hi Michelle, love your post. I love high quality props as well. It's the only items I use and can really set your staging apart from the boring all tables and counters empty staging that happens. I love to add color in the kitchen with pops of these props. Here is one of my photos

Terrylynn: We each have to determine what is best for our own clients and market. I can use fake food in one neighborhood, and everyone gets a charge out of it, and can't use it in another. As far as being distracting, anything I can do to provide a positive experience for the home buyer, I think will make the home memorable and enhance the chance for a sale. Thank you for commenting. I always love to get your perspective.

Debbie: Absolutely. We want to help our clients get their home or listing sold. Sometimes using fake food is the right thing. Sometimes it isn't. A good home stager will know which is which and act accordingly.

Oh Kym, I love what you have done! It looks fresh and natural, and really makes that kitchen a fun and pleasant place to be. Thank you for posting the photo.

Hi Michelle, we use faux fruit and plants as well. This was in an empty so to have the fruit not rot while the house was on the market, it needed to be fake. We love using artichokes as well. I love your open cookbook idea! Lisa Roy, SPACELiFT

Lisa: Your work looks lovely. Artichokes are the best. I have about 200. I hope I don't get tired of them! Thanks for posting your photo.

JUN

2008

Great photos from everyone..and great ideas...I recently bought some "fake" green apples..they look so real..guess where ? Dollar General Store for $1.00 each...

Hi Mary Lou: I love bargains! Thanks for letting us know about another place to purchase fake fruit which can be very expensive.

JUL

2008

Thank you for your post, the photos are beautiful and your point is well made.

I also use fake vegetables, fruit etc. but have never used anything else.

Where do you buy other food items?

Thanks,

Joyce

Hi Joyce: We have several good fake food resources here in Los Angeles. Also, if you do a Google search for fake food or faux food you will get several resources. Make sure to shop around. Some sites have good prices on one thing, but not on others. Another site may have a few good prices on some other items, etc.

JUL

2008

Michelle:

Thank you for the tip. I have bought fake fruit and vegetables at Homegoods.

I will google fake food.

Thanks,

Joyce

I am prompted to share a resource I have for fake food after being in the Model Home Industry for 26 years. and try numerous sources. A company called Bard http://www.bardinternational.com/ has the very best fake food at the very best prices. I used it for years and it shouldn't be impossible to set up an account with them. I have not used faux foods in my staging, I was concerned it would look too contrived. After seeing and reading all of your posts, I've changed my mind! I always thought when used judiciously, it added color and texture in the model homes and what I like to refer to as a "slice of life" or "animation". Especially in vacants a bowl of apples/limes/artichokes etc. would go a long way.

Thanks to all, good photos, good info!

For the best prices on quality faux food www.StagersLIST.com you will not find it for a better price or higher quality promise. Kym

Kym: How foolish of me to forget Stagers List. Of course, there are a lot of wonderful, well priced staging treasures there for sale, including fake food.

Michelle - Great post!

I've used some faux food (as I tell my clients, FAUX is NOT a four-letter word!), but always at a minimum and only if it would add substance or a sense of "reality" to whatever I'm staging.

I was at an open house to see how it was staged. Not a lot of furniture, but my goodness - EVERY room had either a set of wine glasses, champagne glasses, or coffee mugs in it - with accompanying bottles, plates, bread, cheese and fruit. The kitchen table, dining table, and a third table in the family room all had complete place settings, glasses, and faux food. The bedroom had BOTH champagne glasses & a bottle with grapes on a tray, then on a side table, 2 coffee mugs and a plate of faux danishes. It seemed like that's all the staging was - faux food! All I thought was that these people drink a lot! Too much!

Some ideas that I use - and I have to admit, some I got from the above house...

Use red glass beads for red wine, and white for water. I use a lot of dried food because it's "real" - like dried beans and peas, coffee, and of course, pasta. Here's one I did recently:

Buy Me!

I bought the carafe and glass at Peir 1. The chalk came with it, and I left the chalk in the glass. White glass beads in the carafe to look like water.

Monica

Very interesting Monica. I never would have thought of doing it that way. Regarding the house you saw, there is sometimes too much of a good thing. And all that fake food is expensive, besides being over the top. Thanks for responding

JUL

2008

Strawberry season is here and I have found the most realistic fake strawberries at our local Loblaws grocery store. Only $5.95!

Couldn't believe it when I saw them. Bought every cannister they had of them. :)

Right now they are sitting in a bowl on the granite counter top of a house listed for $ 770,000 and they look so real people have actually picked them up to eat one.

I also happened to be buying sugar and pectin to make jam and the cashier did ask if I knew that I couldn't use these berries. Tooo funny!

Michelle: Lucky you! We don't have Loblaws around here, so I can't check them out. Maybe you could post a photo.

I am always perplexed by the idea that people would go into someone else's house and eat their food without being invited. Those strawberries must really be realistic.

Thanks for commenting.

HI Michelle,

I will get a pic posted of the strawberries tomorrow. They really are the best ones I have seen.

JUL

2008

Yum!

Hi guys! StagersLIST can beat your price on strawberries... just $1.96. When you buy a bunch of faux items, the shipping is 12% of your total. So depending on what you buy, you're getting a better deal.

These look real enough to make us hungry when we put them up for sale on the website! (There was some confusion when Marey was posting them as to whether or not she was calling me a Large Strawberry Tart, however... we've worked that out).

My sister owns a limousine service and just purchased some strawberries and a champagne flute for display on a fancy tray when they do bridal fairs. Hopefully I'll get a picture when we have that set up, I think it's a great idea.

Cheers!

Hi Chris: I think you should write a blog post (with photos) of the fake food you offer on Stagers List. I think everyone would be interested in seeing that.

JUL

2008

I would definately be interested seeing the fake food offered on Stagers list. I love the pasta sets Betty does. Beautiful picture!

Hi Michelle, you have inspired us over at www.StagersLIST.com and so now we are running a Faux Food display contest. It's just been posted on my blog at http://www.activerain.com/blogsview/590315/Fee-Fi-Faux-Food and the winner receives $100.00 of FREE FAUX FOOD. Check it out when you have a moment and enter.

Kym

You have definately inspired me as well! I'm excited to enter! Thanks!!!

AUG

2008

So many great posts! Loved the pictures. Faux food I restrict to vacant only. Kimo, like your suggestion of leaving an empty vase for the realtor for flowers. Kym, will look forward to seeing pics of your faux food contest entries. Thanks all for sharing.

Leah: Thanks for commenting.

SEP

2008

I love my artichokes, my pears, limes and apples. You've all convinced me I need to add more. It is so hard to find quality faux with a price point I can swallow!

I'm off to check out the StagersLIST but I think to have them shipped to Canada may make them just as pricey as they are locally.

I've tried in our wholesale district to find faux...but they just have what I'd expect to find in a dollar store and still only the apples, pears, lemon and limes.

I so want a chocolate cake!

Ouch! I was just on StagersLIST looking at the faux.

Almsot $20 for 1 martini glass with olive. Too pricey for me. If I can make it myself for $5....

$2.09 for 1 strawberry! Lablaw's in Canada had a container full for approximately $6 and they were beautiful...I was not smart enough to snatch them up unfortunately!

Dane: I don't know why fake food is so expensive, but it is. Some of the best fake food I have purchased, I have gotten on sale, but no cakes or drinks. Even the resins they use to make the fake iced tea or martinis is expensive.

Dane - StagersLIST suppliers are only added if we can sell their products for significantly less than what they sell them for. These are just very high quality. I wouldn't know how to make any of this myself! That's great if you do, save a lot of money!

Same with the art prints we have, these are intensely colored photographs, not prints. I have seen them at art fairs in San Francisco for WAY more. I've bought 3 and they are gorgeous. Nothing wrong with prints, I love those too, but these are just really vibrant photographs.

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Michelle Minch Home Staging Los Angeles & Pasadena, CA

Los Angeles, CA

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