Special offer

All I did was...paint a picture of a family in vacant shell.

By
Home Stager with Toronto GTA, Alliston, Newmarket 416.928.2999

In this example I would like to show Realtors and Home Owners the importance of Staging to create a visual of family time in a home. When buyers are looking on the web at the listing photos, they want to see how they could live in your property. A vacant home does not create a sense of how big a room is or how the family could envision themselves living there. The purpose of your listing photos are to gain attention, create desire and initiate immeditate action- a viewing and an offer.

In the before photo you can see the detail in the features of the room. The marble fireplace and the window trim  and ceiling detail are nice, but they are also in every other listing in the area.

The after photo grabs the attention of the buyer that is clicking through listing photos every few seconds. It does this by giving them something to look at that they do not see in other listings. It draws them in to want to see more.  More importantly, it gets the buyer to put your listing on their "Must See List".

All I did in this property in Thornhill was add artwork that draws the buyer's eye up to the detail in the ceiling, textured furniture to add warmth to the room and positioned the furniture to draw attention to the marble fireplace.

Advantage Staging will market your property to stand out from the competition every time.

Investment, minimal.

Impact, priceless.

unstaged family room              unstaged kitchen

staged family room              staged kitchen

Comments(28)

Cindy Bryant
Redesign Etc. Home Staging - Houston, TX
"Houston Home Staging Pros"

That looks like a pretty small, long room, but you made good use of the space.

Dec 23, 2008 02:58 PM
Michelle Finnamore
Toronto GTA, Alliston, Newmarket - Vaughan, ON
Preparing your property for sale

Hi Cindy, You are right, that is one long, narrow room. This property had a 1960's small 1000 sq. ft. bungalow on it that was torn down. This is the house they built to flip. Asking 1.1 million in case you know someone that would like to move to Toronto. (doesn't hurt to ask!)   The lot size does not allow for large, square rooms when rebuilding so a lot of the infill  houses look like this. but people buy the neighbourhood so they learn to adapt to these long, narrow rooms. Lots of height in the room and beautiful coffered ceilings throughout.

Thanks for stopping in to see my latest vacant.

Dec 24, 2008 12:08 AM
Patty Carroll
Vancouver, WA

Stunning and as always impressive work.  Scott and I wish you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday season with all of the joy and love that it brings.

Dec 25, 2008 12:33 AM
Michele Hess
Simply Staged Inc. - Rockford, IL
Home Stager Rockford - Simply Staged Inc

Beautiful Michelle!  Your work has a great flow from the kitchen right into the family room.  Nicely done!

Dec 25, 2008 10:53 PM
Michelle Finnamore
Toronto GTA, Alliston, Newmarket - Vaughan, ON
Preparing your property for sale

HI Patty and Scott, Thank you for stopping in to see what I did with this challenging room. I wish you both well in the New Year.

Hi Michele, The sight lines from one end of the room to the other were much better after the Staging. You could really see yourself enjoying Sunday brunch with your family and friends.  Thanks for your comments. :)

Dec 25, 2008 11:24 PM
Margaret Oscilia
Creative Concepts-Home Staging and Contracting, Salem Oregon - Salem, OR
Home Stager, Salem Oregon

Hi Michelle - You've certainly created a warm atmosphere that will stand out on the MLS and in person -- beautiful work!

Dec 27, 2008 11:46 PM
Michelle Finnamore
Toronto GTA, Alliston, Newmarket - Vaughan, ON
Preparing your property for sale

Hi Margaret, thank you for your kind comments.  In the before photographs the room looked exceptionally small, especially for the asking price. As you said, now it stands a chance as the after photo on the listing will help get the property onto the buyer's "must see list". Once there the buyer will see how much they feel at home in the space.

Dec 28, 2008 01:50 AM
JoLynn Pipkin
Simple Details Redesign, LLC - Snohomish, WA
DCC

Michelle, It looks so inviting and elegant, great work and photos too!

Dec 28, 2008 02:57 PM
Karen Otto
Home Star Staging - Plano, TX
Plano Home Staging, Dallas Home Staging, www.homes

Great information as to WHY to stage this property as there are others on the market like it. The furniture you chose and the placement are perfect complements to the spaces without overshadowing the home itself. Great job Michelle!

(P.S. do you have Brook Furniture in ON?)

Dec 28, 2008 03:06 PM
Michelle Finnamore
Toronto GTA, Alliston, Newmarket - Vaughan, ON
Preparing your property for sale

HI JoLynn, I do err on the side of elegant when I Stage. Just a current look that I like alot right now. I have done two modern country homes lately. It stretched my thinking of what that would look like but I was happy with the results. Both houses sold in three weeks in a very saturated market. Apparently modern country is the hottest thing in Europe right now so it will filter over here in a couple of years.

Hi Karen, It does help to outlinet he reasons to Stage to a client. If you want them to buy into doing as much of the Staging work as they can, they need to understand the reasoning behind it.

We don't have Brook furniture here in Ontario. We do have Executive (where this furniture came from, it is part of the Cort franchise) we also have their cousin with Dominion on the other side of the city. Also Easy Decor and Stagers Choice. There are a multitude of smaller companies so you really do have choice in regards to achieving whatever look you need for a property. They all rent month by month and some have free delivery.

Dec 29, 2008 02:02 AM
Lanre-"THE REAL ESTATE FARMER" Folayan
Samson Properties - Bowie, MD
I don't make promises.I deliver results.SOLD HOMES

The purpose of your listing photos are to gain attention, create desire and initiate immeditate action- a viewing and an offer.-Well said. Like someone once said It doesn't cost to stage,it pays to stage. Thank you very much Michelle for commenting on my post. Have a safe and Prosperous 2009. Great post.

Dec 31, 2008 05:40 AM
Cathy Lee
CL Design Services Home Staging - Danville, CA
ASP, IAHSP, RESA Danville, CA

Michelle-your artwork anchors the rooms focal point, the fireplace, and your furniture placement is perfect!  Great staging as always-just stunning!   

Dec 31, 2008 07:44 AM
Teresa Meyer
Cincinnati Home Stager - Cincinnati, OH
Home Staging Cincinnati-OH.

Nice job Michelle! What a beautiful home!  The furnishings you selected are perfect for this space!  Love e job Michelle! it!

Dec 31, 2008 07:57 AM
Michelle Finnamore
Toronto GTA, Alliston, Newmarket - Vaughan, ON
Preparing your property for sale

Hi Cathy Lee, thank you for noticing the artwork in this room. I really thought about what would look best there. Normally I would put colour in that area, but the marble was one of the features in this room and I wanted to make sure it remained the focal point in the room. Using the Eiffel Tower in the artwork drew the eye up to the cofferred ceilings as well. Another feature that I wanted to highlight.
This artwork was a new addition to my inventory and I wondered at the time where I would use it. I always say, if you see something that draws you in and speaks to you, buy it and it will all come together before you know it. If I had hesitated in purchasing this piece it would not have been there when I returned. Thank you for your very kind comments.

Hi Teresa, Thank you for such enthusiasm on my work. :)  Wish you all the best year in 2009. It's going to be one whirlwind of activity for all of us.

Jan 01, 2009 03:03 AM
Sandy Shores FL RealtorĀ®, Melbourne Real Estate
M & M Realty of Brevard Inc. - Melbourne, FL
Brevard County Real Estate, Florida's Space Coast

Hi Michelle, Thanks for the great before and after staging photos - it gives a completely different perspective to the buyer, doesn't it?  Beautiful!

Jan 05, 2009 03:32 AM
Debbie Wheeler
Real Estate Staging/Rooms Rearranged, LLC - Chandler, AZ
Chandler, AZ Rooms Rearranged RESA, IRIS

Michelle - Great staging and Great photos!!  Any idea of the wall color.

Jan 05, 2009 03:37 AM
Michelle Finnamore
Toronto GTA, Alliston, Newmarket - Vaughan, ON
Preparing your property for sale

Hi Sandy, So true. The stats say that close to 90% of people cannot use their imaginations to envision what a property will look like. I worked for a new home builder and the most commonly heard remark upon the client seeing the home once the walls were up and the rooms defined was..."oh I didn't think it was this size when I was looking at the drawings.(too small, too large, so narrow, etc.)

It is our job to show the size and scale of the property to motivate buyers to put in an offer. The two things you are selling in Real Estate are space and light. Now this property does both. Thanks for stopping in.

HI Debbie, I don't know the colour as the builder had painted it before I arrived. I will find out the colour and let you know. Thank you for the double GREAT!!  :)

Jan 05, 2009 04:01 AM
Annie Pinsker-Brown
Stage to Sell - LA Home Staging - Los Angeles, CA
Stage to Sell, Los Angeles Home Stager

Michelle, I just love this room. Your "mantelscape" is also beautiful! I've taken notes. :)

Jan 05, 2009 08:37 AM
Leesa Finley
RED Properties - Wake Forest, NC
RED Properties - Raleigh NC Real Estate

mind boggling what YOU do.  Again, you do "simple" things and it makes all the difference in the world - thanks for teaching me so much through your blog!

Jan 05, 2009 08:45 AM
Michelle Finnamore
Toronto GTA, Alliston, Newmarket - Vaughan, ON
Preparing your property for sale

Hi Annie, Thank you very much for your comments on my mantle. I love the style of your work so this comment from you means alot to me. :)  I have a Le Corbusier lounge chair in my master bedroom so I appreciate your style very much.

Hi Leesa, So glad you are finding my "All I did was"  series informative. I work with Realtors to engage them in thinking about the way they present their listings on line. With about 80% of buyers looking on line now it is imperative that the listing photos sell the lifestyle of a home or present a unique feature that the comparables do not have. Thanks for stopping in,  I love to hear from you. As you are a Realtor your opinion matters to me.

 

Jan 05, 2009 09:17 AM