If Home Staging were an Olympic Sport . . .

If Home Staging were an Olympic Sport, it certainly would include elements of speed, precision and artistic ability!

As I've been enjoying snippets of the games -- and have fond memories of when the Winter Olympics were in Calgary, Alberta in 1988 -- it has motivated me to look at the tasks in a Home Staging project from a slightly different perspective (read, a little "tongue in cheek").

Perhaps the Olympic Home Staging event would go something like this:

Short Program

Stage a bathroom in a vacant house, cannot repaint. Must include the following required elements (and be done to classical music of the baroque era):

• have towels folded in at least perfect thirds -- extra points given for additional artistic style;
• hang a shower curtain, no plastic rings allowed; choice of using tie back or not, but if using the tieback, it cannot bunch in an unsightly way;
• bath product display on counter to include at least three products of varying use and sizes, a hand towel, a plate or basket, and one additional bath "tool" (pumic stone, sea sponge or puff); extra points given for incorporating rocks or sand;
• lastly, the utilitarian function of the toilet must visually take a "back seat" to the rest of the room.

Long Program

Stage and style a bedroom. Here you may choose to do a Master bedroom, a guest bedroom, or a child's bedroom.

Degree of difficulty points will be given for the bed making. The least amount of points will be given for having the duvet pulled up under the pillows.

The second level is having the sheets folded down over the duvet (or comforter). Be sure to have those sheets perfectly ironed and uniformly folded. Having one side exit early from the fold is severely frowned upon by the judges.

The highest level of difficulty involves layering multiple types of linens: sheets, duvet, coverlet and throw. Only the best in the world attempt this level of bed making, as points are deducted for going over time.

The Free Stage

Competitors have 1 hour to stage a living room and dining room in an occupied property. They must keep at least two large pieces of furniture, but then they may introduce items from their own rental inventory.

50% of the points awarded will be for technical merit, including accurate leveling of side by side artwork, minimizing the number of holes in the wall, and allowing for flow when a home buyer will view the property.

The other half of the points are awarded for artistic interpretation. Did the Home Stager maintain the overall style integrity of the property? Did the Home Staging Professional also create a pleasing conversational arrangement of the furniture? What creative elements did the Home Stager employ to solve specific problem areas of the house?

A rigorous event, I know! But let's give all those accredited Home Staging professionals a big cheer for training for the event of a lifetime. The gold medal is there for the taking . . .