Greetings fellow Home Staging Professionals! I just came across some material that I used when I trained designers in the Model Home Industry. It made me think about how it applies to us, particularly in this economy. Effective Home Staging is not so much about "neutralizing" a home, but creating a home that inspires and one that a potential buyer will fall in love with. I never underestimate the importance of 'love at first sight" when merchandising a home to sell.
I submit this to you for your perusal and welcome your comments.
Creating and Selling Lifestyle
Lifestyle is defined as:
• “A persons pattern of living as expressed by their interests, motivations, activities, desired experiences and beliefs.
• “ A persons way of life which has a direct influence on the type of products or services they buy or require.”
• “A manner of living that reflects a persons values or attitudes”.
Selling lifestyle is a marketing technique in which the “product” or in our case a clients home, is designed in such a way as to appeal to a consumer by it’s association with a desirable lifestyle. Studies have shown that purchasing a home is a decision often based primarily on emotional response. Capturing emotion is a powerful selling tool that we can use! As interior merchandisers we must be knowledgeable about the demographics and buyer profile. In this way we can successfully gear our merchandising to the appropriate buyer lifestyle. Our objective is to create lifestyle in such a way that the buyer enters the home and thinks, “If I lived here, my life would be like this! Wow!” For that reason, all of the accessorization must have a very positive connotation.
One method of portraying lifestyle is a technique, which I refer to as showing “a slice of life”. It is possible to show “animation” or movement in your accessorization by staging the accessories in such a way that the buyer can imagine something is about to happen, or is in the process of happening. The lemonade is about to be poured; the cookies are going to be popped in the oven, the game on the table is being played. In this manner we can create memory and help the buyer to visualize him or herself living in a home. (According to statistics, only one out of ten people are able to visualize themselves living in a home that is vacant.) We are able to speak to the psychological needs of the potential buyer and help them become aware of all of the opportunities a home has to offer. The ability to do this successfully is the difference between a well-executed merchandised home and one, which is not as successfully accessorized.
At Styled and Sold Home Staging LLC we are committed to providing our clients with good design, and primarily an excellent selling tool. That is what Interior Merchandising is. Showing the appropriate lifestyle will evoke an aura of an organized, easy way of life, a haven from the daily grind, a home which is conducive to entertaining, fun family times, gourmet cooking, a relaxing retreat and a desirable lifestyle.
Allegra Dioguardi
President Styled and Sold Home Staging LLC www.styledandsold.com
Author Styled by Design A Guide to the Design Principles of Home Staging www.styledbydesign.com
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