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Staging Lite--is it Right?

By
Home Stager with RE:STYLE LLC

Bath with accessories only

 

 

I've heard of stagers who stage with accessories only, to keep down costs for sellers. Is this really effective? I'd love to see examples and whether or not it has actually helped to sell houses more quickly. I interpret this as staging bathrooms and the kitchen, and perhaps adding just artwork and rugs in other rooms. I'd love to hear from stagers who do use this staging level!

 

 

 

 

 

 

RE:STYLE has done "vignette staging", but that includes some furniture, however minimal. Here's an example:

Rosefield LR

 

 

Please let me know your experience, and perhaps how you charge fr this minimal level. Thanks!

Comments (54)

Barbara Cluck-Miksits
BCM Home Staging LLC - Ridgewood, NJ
Home Staging - New Jersey

Kathi ~ I think if this technique is done well, it can be very effective. In some rooms this maybe all you need. I am going to keep this in mind, thank you for sharing.

Aug 18, 2008 02:48 PM
Kathi Presutti
RE:STYLE LLC - Brighton, MI
Re:Style, LLC

Barbara:

My  pleasure.

Aug 19, 2008 07:16 AM
Beth Lester
Beth Lester Designs - Torrance, CA
Home Staging & Interior Decorating

Cathy Lee - can I ask where you found the 36" glass-top table?

Aug 20, 2008 03:02 AM
Marianne Sweet
Home Sweet Home Staging - Rochester Hills, MI
Home Sweet Home Staging, LLC Rochester Hills, MI

Kathi........I just staged "Lite" a 980 sq. ft. ranch in Royal Oak yesterday.  It's not bank-owned this time. In fact the son of my REO-only Realtor owns it.  She believes so strongly in staging due to past successes that she paid me for it as a gift to her son.  The house is cute as a button, and I'm confident the staging made a huge difference in the way it shows now.  Even minor touches can make a huge difference in the feel of a house. 

Aug 22, 2008 10:56 PM
Kathi Presutti
RE:STYLE LLC - Brighton, MI
Re:Style, LLC

Marianne:

I love staging those small houses because they do turn out so cute! I'd love to see some photos! (And would you mind sharing, privately, how you charged? I'm trying to see if I'm charging enough...thanks!)

Aug 23, 2008 12:09 AM
Marianne Sweet
Home Sweet Home Staging - Rochester Hills, MI
Home Sweet Home Staging, LLC Rochester Hills, MI

Here are a couple of photos:

(I forgot my camera, a bad habit of mine, so these were taken with my phone and aren't the best.)

  

  

Aug 24, 2008 02:06 AM
Tanya Venable
Orlando, FL
SEO, Mobile SEO, and Internet Marketing Consultant

Kathi - We do offer this service but really don't do it alot. The last home that we did stage with an Accessories Only package, it helped to sell the house in 90 days after being on the market for a year. So in certain situations, I think it can help. The client was paying 2 mtgs for one house that was about $850K and their new house that was over $1MIL. Needless to say even they had a tight budget so we worked within their budget to help them.

 

Aug 24, 2008 02:37 AM
Kathi Presutti
RE:STYLE LLC - Brighton, MI
Re:Style, LLC

Marianne:

Very, very cute! I really like the little breakfast nook! Excellent job, as always!

Tanya:

Actually, I was talking about 2 different staging levels: 1) Accessories Only, 2) Light staging (or what we call vignette staging). Thanks for your success story--90 days after being on the market for a year is great in our market! And gosh, clients with 2 homes valued at around 2 million--no wonder they didn't have a lot of funds for staging!

Aug 24, 2008 05:18 AM
Holly Sirois
Sold on Staging - Atlanta, GA
Home Stager - Atlanta

Hi Kathi, I've only done one vacant home so far and it was on a shoestring budget. The livingroom and master bedroom were fully staged but some of the other rooms were done with light staging, Like this keeping room below.  It was a restored vintage 1920's bungalow - The first picture is the vignette staging the homeowners did on their own.

Seminole Keeping Room Before

This is the room with light  staging. Sorry photo quality was not great on this one. I need to go back and get a better shot of this room because the wood paneling and floors are really lovely.

 Keeping Room

 

Aug 24, 2008 06:58 AM
Marian Lake Walker
Staged 2Gain - Inverness, FL
Home Stager Florida, Home Staging Central Florida

Kathi,

My company policy is to always recommend the "ideal" staging strategy to my clients, then they tell me what is "practical" for them. If "practical" for them is to stage "lite" I would do it because I agree with the earlier comment that something is better than nothing!

 

Aug 24, 2008 10:41 AM
Terrylynn Fisher
Dudum Real Estate Group - BuyStageSell.com - Walnut Creek, CA
HAFA Certified, EcoBroker, CRS, CSP Realtor, Etc.

Every home needs to be staged.  That is echoed by stagers all the time, so is some staging better than none.  I would say every client's home can be improved by going in and doing something.  From a photo we don't know really how it looked before, the simple things could have changed it dramatically although not as much as we would like, it's the overall success of the sale for the client that counts.  Long answer to do what makes sense for the client and the budget. 

Aug 24, 2008 11:25 AM
Kathi Presutti
RE:STYLE LLC - Brighton, MI
Re:Style, LLC

Holly:

Nice work! I believe that you were able to give some scale to the room, and suggest a use that a buyer may not have been able to visualize. The right something is definitely better than nothing!

Marian:

I do offer different levels of staging with each proposal. And I try to make the full staging version more attractive than a reduced level. But I have found that if I just offer the full staging, the sellers just say "No thanks" and don't negotiate or ask for less staging for less money, even though I alway say,"What budget do you have in mind, and I will let you know what we can accomplish for that". How do you approach your clients?--love some tips!

Terrylynn:

Thanks! I did run into one case where staging was the least of what they needed to do, and I suggested other work be done first. I did myself out of a job, but gained the respect of the Realtor, and helped him to get a much more saleable house for the budget the client was willing to spend. So, I agree--what makes sense for the client and the budget!

Aug 25, 2008 01:50 AM
Jackie Riggins
Property Staging Consultants/ JP Weigand & Sons - Wichita, KS

Wow, we all do share our opinions.. I can tell you as a Property Staging Consultant and an active REALTOR, that over 80% of the public have little or no vision... This is absolute fact... My opinion is if you are staging minimal, you are doing the property (most often) a disjustice.. why not simply sell it vacant... A little color in primary will distract the eye from what you are selling.. Walk into the minimal staged property on a open house or a showing, they will make the weirdest comments, such as: I don't know what to do with this, what is this and so on, it is stated everytime..!  Educate them on vest the money in at least the main living area, then the rest is up to their vision.. Totally agree it can work, but your results will not be as great as the one fully staged down the street.. Staging has to be more than making money, you must see results..!  Results will prove the point.. Thanks for allowing such a great opinion poll!  Great questions, great responses..!

Sep 04, 2008 09:32 AM
Kathi Presutti
RE:STYLE LLC - Brighton, MI
Re:Style, LLC

Jackie:

Yes, I do seem to find topics that stir controversy--and that's a good thing! I agree that it's best to stage fully the main rooms. And of course, it's always about results! A stager won't be in business if their work doesn't get results. I just happen to have staged several properties with vignette staging for one Realtor, and they all sold very quickly. However, it does take skill--you can't do it for every space. Here's an example that helped to sell this house (for over $400,000);Living Room

The dining room was more fully staged, as you can see in the background:

Looking toward Dining Room

Sep 04, 2008 11:38 AM
Marianne Sweet
Home Sweet Home Staging - Rochester Hills, MI
Home Sweet Home Staging, LLC Rochester Hills, MI

I just staged "lite" another one today, this one a Relo in Franklin.  I'll keep you posted!

Sep 05, 2008 10:18 AM
Kathi Presutti
RE:STYLE LLC - Brighton, MI
Re:Style, LLC

Marianne:

Great! I'll look for your update! Thanks!

Sep 06, 2008 02:20 AM
Wendy Casey
A-List Home Staging & Decor - Surrey, BC

When budgets are as tight as they are, its' great for us to be open to 'light' staging....these are great ideas..thanks for sharing them.

Wendy Casey - Surrey, BC

Sep 08, 2008 08:34 AM
Kathi Presutti
RE:STYLE LLC - Brighton, MI
Re:Style, LLC

Wendy:

Glad to be of help!

Sep 08, 2008 08:42 AM
Marianne Sweet
Home Sweet Home Staging - Rochester Hills, MI
Home Sweet Home Staging, LLC Rochester Hills, MI

UPDATE:  Staged "Lite" Relo in Franklin........SOLD in under a week!  Hmmm......I feel a post coming on!

Sep 14, 2008 12:18 AM
Kathi Presutti
RE:STYLE LLC - Brighton, MI
Re:Style, LLC

Marianne:

Congratulations! I'll look for your post!

Sep 14, 2008 09:46 AM