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Lacking furniture for a key selling space? Reuse & repurpose what you may already own

By
Home Stager with Home Star Staging

As a Professional Home Stager, I always recommend when selling that it's important to have furniture in every key room. Key rooms include all main living areas, kitchen and master bedrooms.

Vacant rooms are very difficult for buyers to visualize and often leave them sorely lacking in terms of connecting to the home.  

In some cases understandably sellers have not gotten around to furnishing key spaces for lack of time, funds or desire to choose something - it happens! However when selling it will pose a problem should a key space remain empty.

Some key problems with vacant spaces are:

  • No identifiable purpose for the space (buyers see so many houses in a day they won't remember you had a formal living, dining, den and game room if there was nothing to remember in those spaces)
  • No focal point
  • Scale is hard to determine (vacant rooms actually feel smaller - buyers believe their furniture will not fit)
  • Flow issues may present a problem
  • Minor flaws, blemishes and small cosmetic details stand out creating problems

Below is an example of a recent home staging where a key selling space was not immediately identifiable. Using what the owner's already had (no rental furniture) along with a few pieces from Home Star Staging's prop inventory (but could have easily been found elsewhere) Here's a simple cost effective way to re purpose furniture you may already own to highlight a key selling space in your home that may be lacking furniture. 

dining area beforeDining area before 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dining area after

Dining Area After

Furniture pieces used:

  • "Buffet" is owner's bedroom dresser re purposed with mirror taken off
  • Dining table is owner's white plastic outdoor patio table covered in a damask table cloth (legs that showed were thoroughly cleaned)
  • Parson's Chairs $10 each from a garage sale and  covered in cotton slipcovers on sale at Target $7.50 each. Home Star Staging's prop inventory finished the look.  

Get creative with what you already own. The results may surprise you.

Home Sellers, if you're lacking vision or need some assistance in re purposing what you may already own, Home Star Staging is here for you!

Proudly serving, Collin County and North Dallas, Realtors, Sellers & Investors, ,  Home Star Staging is here for you Texas!Home Star Staging logo


By TwitterButtons.com
Posted by

Home Staging Dallas - Karen Otto

Comments (22)

Peg Prather
Vancouver, WA
Vancouver, WA

If you hadn't told me the table was plastic, I wouldn't have known! See everyone; staging doesn't have to cost a fortune! Nice use of items found in the house, topped off with your accesories. Looks great!

Feb 23, 2009 01:31 PM
Melissa Marro
Keller Williams First Coast Realty - The Marro Team - Orange Park, FL
Jacksonville Real Estate and Home Staging

GREAT blog!  I particularly love the after shot.  I think you came up with some really creative uses of things they already owned. 

Feb 23, 2009 01:33 PM
Ann Hayden 636-399-7544
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Select Properties-St. Louis Missouri - Des Peres, MO
SelectAnn.com

Karen,

It is amazing what a stager's thoughts and imagination can do for a home.

Thank you,

Ann Hayden in starry Wildwood, Missouri

Feb 23, 2009 02:12 PM
Maureen Bray Portland OR Home Stager ~ Room Solutions Staging
Room Solutions Staging, Portland OR - Portland, OR
"Staging Consultations that Sell Portland Homes"

Karen ~ this is such a great example of reusing/repuposing the seller's items for such a small cost!  It looks great, and potential buyers will instantly see a "dining room" rather than an empty, boring, bland space. You really opened up the possibilities with creative thinking Karen!

Feb 23, 2009 02:14 PM
Janis Gaines
Staging Sells Eugene Homes - Eugene, OR
Home Stager Eugene OR - The Notably Well-Dressed H

Karen -

Well done. I can only imagine how many ways these ideas could have fallen flat if it hadn't have been for your creativity and good taste. There are times that this type of Staging becomes one of my favorite things. I bet you went home at the end of the day thinking..."this was a GOOD DAY!"

Feb 23, 2009 03:20 PM
Teresa Meyer
Cincinnati Home Stager - Cincinnati, OH
Home Staging Cincinnati-OH.

Nice job Karen!  It's amazing what a little creativity from a professional home stager can mean for improving the marketability of a property....esp. a vacant one!   Thanks for sharing this one with us!

Feb 23, 2009 10:06 PM
Sandi Gerrard
Toronto, ON

Nice job!  It just takes some thinking and creativity to come up with affordable solutions.

Feb 23, 2009 10:29 PM
Connie Goodrich
Keller Williams Realty - McKinney, TX
CRS ABR (McKinney Realtor)Texas

It can be a fun adventure finding things that will work and placing them in varied areas, like a treasure hunt and saving dollars at the same time.  Good thoughts and love the visual!

Feb 23, 2009 10:57 PM
Kathy Passarette
Creative Home Expressions - Mount Sinai, NY
L.I. Staging/Decorating

Karen ~ Very nicely done, and on a budget too!  Buyers shouldn't have to guess at what a room is supposed to be.

Feb 23, 2009 11:19 PM
Ginger Foust
Certified Staging Professional - Oakhurst, CA
Home Stager Oakhurst CA, Dream Interior Redesign & Staging

Wow Karen I love what you've done.  You've convinced me to buy one of those round plastic tables, (usually on sale in the winter).  I think I'll spray paint the legs brown.  Thanks. 

Feb 24, 2009 02:47 AM
John Cannata
214-728-0449 http://TexasLoanGuy.com - Frisco, TX
Texas Home Mortgage - Purchase or Refinance

This is a great transformation.  Love the lighting.

Feb 24, 2009 03:31 AM
Karen Otto
Home Star Staging - Plano, TX
Plano Home Staging, Dallas Home Staging, www.homes

Hi Tessa, doncha love those great deals?!

You're right Michelle, the dresser really helped open up the bedroom space - thank you for your kind commentary!

Thank you Peg and thanks for visiting my blog of late!

Thanks Melissa, a good photographer can capture the true essence of a space

Hi Ann, thank you!

Hi Maureen - I enjoy this aspect very much & you're so right, the buyers need to see the space for what it's purpose is - no guessing

I agree Janis, these challenges can be very rewarding

Thank you Teresa!

Thank you Sandi!

Hi Connie, I love the owner's reactions when they see their things in new ways - the reactions are priceless

My aim exactly Kathy!

Hi Ginger, great idea about spraying the legs!

Good photography John captures good light! thanks!

Feb 24, 2009 06:42 AM
Nancy Robertson
Signature Style Staging - Dallas, TX
RESA

Great job, Karen!  I like to see furnishings re-purposed and this dining room is a great example of how well it works.  Love how you used the dresser as a buffet.  I've also used a smaller one in an entryway and it worked well.  Use of the patio table was another great idea - you made it work well!  I'm sure the homeowners were very pleased with your creative ways to use what they had.

Feb 24, 2009 11:19 AM
Kristi DeFazio
RE/MAX Advantage - Colorado Springs, CO
Colorado Springs Rea lEstate 719-459-5468

Great Tips as usual! I love the before and after pictures. It is all about the creativity! I like the way you used inexpensive things, too!

Feb 24, 2009 12:22 PM
Cathy Lee
CL Design Services Home Staging - Danville, CA
ASP, IAHSP, RESA Danville, CA

Very nice Karen!  The dresser looks great and really anchors the room!!

Feb 24, 2009 01:23 PM
Karen Otto
Home Star Staging - Plano, TX
Plano Home Staging, Dallas Home Staging, www.homes

Dressers have multi purpose uses don't they Nancy? I have a vintage green one in my dining room as a buffet and I love it!

Hi Kristi staging definitely does not have to be expensive. Thanks for reading!

Thank you Cathy!

Feb 24, 2009 01:50 PM
Susan Cunningham
NE Atlanta Home Staging - Suwanee, GA
R.E.VISION - Suwanee, GA

  Karen ~ your information (and photos) was so well put!  I am in total agreement with the line of thought that, if at the least, the important areas of a property need to be defined.  As I look over listings and see empty rooms, it seems to send a lonely message.  The few times a photo of a vacant room or area has been acceptable in my eyes, is when the archectural features are so dynamic they are captivating.

Thanks for your post!

Mar 02, 2009 12:53 AM
Karen Otto
Home Star Staging - Plano, TX
Plano Home Staging, Dallas Home Staging, www.homes

You're right about the lonely message vacants sell Susan - they are hard for most to envision for furniture placement and often purpose.  Thank you for reading!

Mar 02, 2009 09:44 AM
KO Designs
KO Designs, LLC - Kansas City, MO

This looks great. How creative! What a great use of (limited) resources.

Apr 10, 2009 10:33 AM
Karen Otto
Home Star Staging - Plano, TX
Plano Home Staging, Dallas Home Staging, www.homes

Thanks for reading KO

Apr 10, 2009 10:38 AM