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What Exactly is Home Staging and Why do I need it?

By
Home Stager with Styled and Sold Home Staging and Staging Training

 

Most people think Home Staging consists solely of de-cluttering, de-personalizing, cleaning and maintenance which all seems pretty intuitive and many people don’t believe they need to hire someone to explain those processes. I agree, many Real Estate professionals are adept at advising on these issues. What is not so straightforward is implementing the design principles involved in good staging and utilizing the psychology behind designing to sell. This is where professional staging becomes more complex. In fact, contrary to what many people think, the best “staged” homes are not bland and boring or de-personalized, they are inspiring and they incite buyers to fall in love. They are “staged” so buyers can visualize themselves living in the home. The real business of Interior Merchandising, “selling Lifestyle”, begins when the cleaning, de-cluttering, and de-personalizing is completed.

 CNN and careerbuilder.com have named Home Staging “ the #1 job poised for growth” in the coming years. ERA and Long and Foster Realtors, two very prestigious Real Estate companies are now forming partnerships with Home Stagers. The Real Estate Industry and the way people buy homes are changing forever. Like it or not, Home Staging is here to stay.

Home Staging is:

  • Staging a home that shows the best way for real people to live
  • Accentuating the best, most positive features in a home
  • Very affordable and effective in owner occupied homes as well as vacant homes
  • Based on good solid design principles and merchandising psychology
  • Nets an average ROI of 459% (national average)

Home Staging is not:

  • Just for vacant homes
  • All about smoke and mirrors  
  • Covering up flaw
  • Just for High End homes

Before staging                                                                                          After staging
Before staging

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Allegra Dioguardi of Styled and Sold Home Staging is a graduate of Parsons School of Design with 27 years experience as an award-winning designer, merchandising new homes for National Builders. She is author of “Styled by Design, a Guide to the Design Principles of Home Staging” and owner of Styled and Sold Home Staging since 2006. Allegra taught interior merchandising techniques to interior designers for over 20 years. She began “staging” homes in the late 1960’s with her mother, a veteran Real Estate broker of 30 years.

Styled and Sold Home Staging offers affordable owner occupied staging consultations, complete vacant home staging, Interior Redesign Services and color consultations.

 

Staging Training by Design is a Home Staging Teleseminar program taught by Allegra for those interested in career as a Home Stager.

Staging Training by Design is now offering a new program for Real Estate Professionals; Merchandising Your Real Estate Listings. Designed specifically to assist Real Estate Professionals with basic staging techniques so their listings will show better and be more competitive. Taking the class will enhance participants ability to successfuMlly relate the benefits of preparing a home for sale to their listing clients. The class in not intended as a substitute for hiring a professional stager but as an adjunct.

 

Posted by

Allegra Dioguardi

Styled and Sold Home Staging

Staging Training by Design

Styled by Design E Book

631-899-3305

Show All Comments Sort:
Kathy Burke
Sensational Home Staging~~Danville, CA - Danville, CA
S.F. East Bay Home Staging

Wish I could get a slip cover to look that great!!  I always feel like I'm wrestling an aligator....and he wins!!

GREAT post!

Mar 18, 2010 09:06 AM
Allegra Dioguardi
Styled and Sold Home Staging and Staging Training - Westhampton Beach, NY
Home Staging & Training, Suffolk Co. Long Island

I know what you mean Kathy. This slipcover was easy and looked great because it was custom. It was worth the investment because the house listed at $1.9 million and sold within 3 days at $1.7 million cash.

Mar 18, 2010 09:23 AM
Ed Kurosz , Lic. Assoc. RE Broker
Douglas Elliman Real Estate - Westhampton Beach & Quogue - Westhampton Beach, NY
Douglas Elliman Real Estate Hamptons & North Fork

Allegra - If you are in the Westhampton area tomorrow stop by 4 Bayview Drive in Westhampton for my Broker's Open House between 1-3PM. The property is just a few doors down from your staging project cottage on Sandpiper. It is a lovely classic home appointed beautifully. I'm sure you will appreciate all of the finishes, design and decorative features . Come see the owners decorative balls !

Mar 18, 2010 02:51 PM
Robin North
Dramatic Spaces Home Staging and Design - Cambridge, ON

Allegra - I love the way you explained that staging is more than cleaning, de-cluttering ... and there is more of an art to it.  I like to use the analogy that everyone can draw a picture.  Some people use stick people and flat objects, while others can really make the picture pop and add the details that make the difference.  Everyone isn't an artisit.

Mar 18, 2010 03:39 PM
Cindy Bryant
Redesign Etc. Home Staging - Houston, TX
"Houston Home Staging Pros"

I've often thought that's what sellers think we do, and figure they can do it themselves.  I wished their was another name for the two because they are different.  Pre-Staging?  Staging is not just de-cluttering, de-personalizing, and cleaning, that is what you do to get your home ready to be staged.

Mar 18, 2010 04:36 PM
Linda D. Pufford
Stage with Divine Style - Home Staging - Novato, CA
ASPM, Marin/Sonoma Home Stager

Allegra,

You explained it so well...I like what you said about What Staging is and What Staging is not.  You did a great job Staging the living room too.

Mar 18, 2010 05:53 PM
Allegra Dioguardi
Styled and Sold Home Staging and Staging Training - Westhampton Beach, NY
Home Staging & Training, Suffolk Co. Long Island

Ed- I'd love to go to the Open House! Thank you for the invitation! See you later today.

Robin- That is a great analogy. I will have to remember that one!

Cindy- You are right! It's not just the home sellers but the Realtors as well. Many of them do their own "staging" and many of them are very adept at advising on the "pre" staging. My own mother was a Realtor for 30 years and she did a bang up job on her listings and she was pretty creative too. However, professionals stagers are experts at what I call Interior Merchandising. I dislike the name "staging" too because iit is so vague and misunderstood. Unfortunately, if I called my business Styled and Sold Interior Merchandising no one would find me googling" home staging"!

Linda- Thank you. Part of what I do is teach staging and I'm continuously trying to educate people about it so I've worked hard at refining my explainations. It's nice to know that someone feels I've succeeded!

Mar 19, 2010 01:34 AM