Staged it Wright in Oak Park / River Forest IL

When it comes to Architecture, the Oak Park / River Forest area of Illinois is one of the most historically significant areas in the world!  For it is here that Frank Lloyd Wright had his first "studio" and created the now famous and easily recognizable form of architecture known as the Prairie Style.

Dotted among the large stately mansions and tree lined streets of this area are Architectural masterpieces, created by Frank Lloyd Wright.  And due to this areas close proximity to Chicago, builders have found it profitable to tear down less desirable older homes and replace them with new homes featuring all the amenities today's homeowner enjoy. And this is where my staging story begins.

Real Estaging was recently contacted by a builder who recently built a new home in River Forest. But this was no "ordinary" home. From outside to in... the builder paid accurate attention to detail and created his own Frank Lloyd Wright style masterpiece. Inlaid woods, handmade custom cabinets, barreled ceilings, and etched glass built-ins where just of the few Prairie Style details that were incorporated into this new home.  In fact, even a cozy inglenook fireplace graces it. (How cool is that?) This "home of yesterday" built today is a feast for the eyes... AND it wasn't selling.

As a stager I know that a home on the market MUST appeal to the LARGEST buying audience as possible. Unfortunately, this vacant and beautiful Prairie Style home was TOO Prairie Style. Buyers liked the home... but did not understand how THEIR lives could fit into such a tight architectural style.

In fact, Susanne Hamaj, our Services Specialist in the Oak Park / River Forest area, had to explain to the builder (who had a love and passion for the Prairie Style) why it was NOT in his best interest to stage the home with Mission and/or Prairie Style furniture.  WHY?  Because the average consumer does NOT own that type of furniture, and they could be intimidated to buy a home that they could not furnish "correctly".

So we went to work, staging this vacant home to help SELL it. I have to admit this was a bit of a challenge. Below are the results of our staging efforts... to which the builder was quite pleased. Note that while we created a look that HONORED the style of the home... we were far from being Prairie Style purists.  Out goal was to create an appealing home the AVERAGE home buyer could see living in.

So now we can say when it comes to the Prarie Style... Real Estaging stages it Wright!

PS: This is Part 2 of a 4 Part Series.

• Part 1 can be found here: Classic Georgian Staged in Winnetka
• Part 3 can be found here: Bucktown town-home sits UNSOLD for 7 months... THEN SELLS JUST 2 DAYS AFTER STAGING
• Part 4 can be found here: I Confess... I've used the UGLY "R" WORD!