Marin Home Staging Tip: Furnish According to Original Function

The way you live in your home and the way you sell your home are two different things. You'll hear me say this again and again, but it's so true! And it applies to many rules of staging. One rule is this: rooms should be furnished according to their original, intended function. This means when you go to put your house on the market, the dining room should clearly function as only a dining room, a living room a living room and so on.

If in your day to day life, you use your dining room as part office, part kids play room, part eating area, that's fine. But when you are selling your house, this is confusing to buyers. You never want a buyer asking, "What is this room for?" Clearly defined, functional spaces are key. If the builder intended a certain room to be a dining room and not a play room, then when you sell, stage it as a dining room.

Here is a great example from a recent staging job I did in Sausalito. It's a 3-level house, and you enter on the first level. The first room you see is a living room. However, when the house was first on the market, the room was left as the homeowners used it - a billiard/entertainment room. It had a pool table in the middle with a low-hanging chandelier and the walls were a bright color (the red is too "personal" for resale. Ideally, walls should be painted a warm, neutral color to appeal to the most people).

The house did not sell. So, when the homeowner decided to list it again, she had the pool table removed and painted the walls a neutral color (second photo). She then called me to stage the room as it was intended - as a living room. Now, when potential buyers walk in, they see a beautiful room with a practical function.