Isn't it amazing what people have stashed away in spare rooms, basements and garages? So much of our initial consultation should be finding out what treasures homeowners have in their homes that is not being used to its greatest advantage.
All Home Stagers know the importance of that very first meeting with the homeowner to look at the property and see how it can be transformed into a more marketable product. However, I have seen many examples of stagers not knowing exactly what the homeowner has lying around, tucked away in the crevices of a home that will ultimately save the homeowner a lot of money in furniture rental either from the stager's own inventory or from an outside rental company. Let's face it, it saves us a lot of work too!
When we first meet with the homeowner, we get permission to be a little nosy around the place (although I don't use that term). I look everywhere - under beds, under blankets, in cupboards, behind furniture - anywhere that people manage to hide the things they don't use for whatever reason. I find if homeowners are hiring a stager, then they are giving you permission (and I write it in the contract) for you to use whatever is contained in their home first before having to resort to outside sources.
It's worth being curious about the contents of the home as they can then be incorporated into the overall plan. I have even had homeowners in tears of joy over the fact that they didn't believe their belongings were 'good enough' to use as part of the staging. Pride of ownership is a sensitive issue with all homeowners and we as professional home stagers ought to respect that.
Here is a recent example of one of our discoveries: Grandma's hand-me-down hall table.
The homeowners didn't think it co-ordinated with their existing home decor so they covered it over with a sheet and used it as storage space.
Once we found this beautiful piece, we included it into our overall plan for the room and found the perfect place for it in an alcove between the lounge and dining room. This piece now adds formality to the space. It's clean, functional and highly decorative!
So we used what the homeowner already had in the home, saved them some dollars and created a space that is warm and inviting with a bit of class.
Don't be afraid to be a little bit nosey!!
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