I was recently talking with a Realtor about various staging options for her clients, when she asked, "Is it really important to stage vacant houses? I mean, there's nothing in the house to be cleaned up or put away.  I would think a big empty room would be ideal."  

Her question is not an uncommon one.  However, we all know that it's very difficult to sell a vacant home for a variety of reasons, the least of which is that a big empty room lacks warmth.  But what is more important is that only a small percentage of the population can visualize spatial relationships in an empty room.  I've heard the number range from between 10% to 30% of those who can "see" how a room will look with furniture in it - which means that anywhere from 70% to 90% of potential buyers just see a big empty room.  No wonder its so hard to sell a vacant property!

A few weeks ago I completed a staging of a brand new condo in a North Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, DC.  This is a new building with six units in it, with the 2 condos on the top floor having 2 stories and a fabulous deck looking over the mature tree tops, row houses, Gallaudet University, and the Capitol and Washington Monument in the distance (http://www.1018florida.com/).

Walking into a property for the first time, I see it as a buyer would, and in the case of this condo, my first thoughts were "How do I fit all of my furniture in here?"  Then the professional stager takes over, and I begin to "see" where the love seat would go, how the cocktail table and chairs will fit to make a comfortable conversation area, where lamps will work to the best advantage, where the dresser will go in the bedroom, where wall art is needed to add visual interest and balance the room, etc. 

When the staging was completed, I stepped back to take a final look.  It was amazing how much furniture I was able to bring into this condo, and yet it still felt spacious.  There was room to comfortably move between the kitchen/dining area/living area without feeling cramped or crowded.

This is truly the "magic" of staging.  The correct placement of the right scale of furniture and accessories actually made the condo look and feel larger than when it was vacant, and provided the spatial relationships that 70%-90% of the population have difficulty envisioning.  It also provided the warmth and atmosphere that invites buyers to linger, hopefully imagining themselves living in the condo. 

To see more "magic" like this, please visit the Gallery at Preferred Staging's website, http://www.preferredstaging.com/index-2.html.