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Staging Inventory: Building a Color Theme

By
Home Stager

Shopping for inventory is a crucial part of the staging industry when specializing in vacant homes and builders models.  Many times I have been tempted to (and did) purchase an item based solely on the great deal I was getting, only to find that it didn't flow with anything else I had in stock therefore it was useless to me.

I had to come up with a better way to build a solid and cohesive inventory, because in most cases I do not have a ton of shopping time to pull a look together.  It seems like the minute a client decides they want to have a property staged, you can't do it soon enough.  So, I have found that if I have a complete accessory package ready to go I can quickly pick up any large pieces of furniture based on another system I have created for myself (more on that in another blog).

Since I am a color oriented person, this seemed like the easiest way to go about grouping my inventory. It also creates a more attractive model when the rooms flow together and are not broken up by contrasting colors. But, I found myself buying a bunch of things in one color and still not being able to pull a whole house together because I had no system for knowing what I had or what I needed - other than my quickly faltering memory. So, I came up with a basic list:

Bedding - King, Queen and Twin
Pillows - Sofa, Bed (x3)
1 Table Setting
2 Sets of Towels
2 sets of Bath Accessories
Artwork for 4 rooms
Ribbon
6 Accessories in that color

I always start with the bedding as a base for my color themes. I keep an eye out for great deals on bedding only and then purchase accordingly for the rest of the house.  That way, when I see some great accessories on sale or clearance I have a theme in mind and am not making random purchases.

As a side note, I always keep keep an eye out for black, brown, white and cream bedding pieces and accessories because they are the most flexible and can be added to any color theme. If I find that a home has 3 bathrooms, I can stretch what I have by adding a 3rd set of white towels to the mix, etc.  If a house requires an extra bedroom I will use a beige or white bedding set and add the chosen color by swapping pillow shams, etc.

Here are one example of a home accessorized in this way:

 

   I found this bedding for a steal at a local grocery store of all places and loved the richness of the fabric and the color combination of chocolate, cream, sea glass blue and rust.

 

 

 

 

 

The chocolate brown chairs added to the sitting room in the master are dressed with a sea glass blue throw to further tie them to the bedding.  Though you cannot see it in the photo, the plant stands used as side tables have a rusty hue to them that coordinates well with the bedding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Sea glass blue and chocolate brown towels are placed in the master bath along with rust, blue and brown accessories.  By adding greenery in a cream pot, it breaks up the color theme a bit and adds to the visual interest of the room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  The dining table is set with sea glass blue placemats, brown chargers, white plates and rust napkins.  The rust and blue are pulled into other areas of the room through artwork, pillows and accessories.

 

Though I added navy in this room (because it was a beach house), I kept the sea glass and brown theme going to tie it to the rest of the house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will often carry a pillow sham from my latest bedding purchase with me to make sure I am getting the proper colors for the theme.  I also keep the above list with me to check off as I go.  By using this system and storing these purchases as groups, I have saved myself a lot of time, headaches and money.

Details Staging and Redesign is owned and operated by Kimberly Wester and is located in Valparaiso, Indiana.

Comments (26)

Ginger Foust
Certified Staging Professional - Oakhurst, CA
Home Stager Oakhurst CA, Dream Interior Redesign & Staging

Kim, great information.  I try to do the same but sometimes get distracted by price..those great deals pull me in and those accessories sit in the tubs.  Will keep your post in mind and try to stay focused.  Love the pop of orange in your first photo. 

Do you actually stage vacant with King beds?  Inflatables or for reals?  I always use queens in the larger rooms with full and twins (rarely) in the smaller spaces. 

Aug 10, 2007 03:14 PM
Betty Haney
Haney Consulting - Calgary, AB
Kim, if only I had this post when I first started staging.  My life would have been much easier.  But all is not lost, I am taking your advice and will now purchase accessories according to my color scheme rather than the great deal.  Thank you - am also bookmarking and scoring a 5.  Betty
Aug 10, 2007 03:45 PM
Sue Argue
Staged First Impressions - Hampton, NH
NH Home Stager

Kimberly,

Chocolate brown can be combined with many different colors to look fabulous. It's not harsh like black can be, and it can go with contemporary or traditional homes. Your "punch" colors stand out great in the photos.

I think your system of organizing a shopping spree and your overall staging plan is excellent. Great advice. 

Aug 11, 2007 02:05 AM
Kimberly Wester
Valparaiso, IN

Karen - Thanks for saying I'm smart. Sometimes I wonder...

Ginger - I put two twins together to make a king.  It seems in this area, master bedrooms are huge and a queen just gets dwarfed and I need too much extra furniture to fill in the space.  For large guest rooms I use queens and twins in the smaller rooms, or if they want to reduce rental fees that is a good way to shave some off.  I know what you mean -one of these days all of my decor strays will end up in decorator's haven if I can ever get time to go through it all..

Betty - Thanks for the high score!  I am happy to share how my mistakes created a system - I hope it works for you, too.

Sue -I am in love with chocolate brown!  I use it as much as possible.  I hope I don't grow to hate it one day...Thanks for the kind words.:)

Aug 11, 2007 03:25 AM
Lori Gilmore
One Savvy Move - Joliet, IL
One Savvy Move Home Staging
Kimberly - I love the sea glass blue and brown combo.  Modern and sexy!  Your system is efficient and smart. . .thanks for sharing!
Aug 11, 2007 04:14 AM
Lori Kim Polk
Premiere Home Staging : Home Staging Services - Roseville, CA
Home Stager - Roseville, Sacramento

Great advice Kimberly. Chocolate is such a versitile color and you can mix it with black and leather to get a more contemporary feel. I have shelves in my warehouse and I put each color set in a tub that cascades down the shelves. Example: Chocolate, turquoise set with black and white accents. Shelf 1 top: Master bedding/soft decor. Shelf 2 Middle: Assorted Accessories for Living/Dining/Family in those colors (these are out in the open and not in a tub) Floor:Master bath and bed acceccories tub, Kitchen set tub.  On the inside of each tub I have pics of the items that go in it.  This helps for destaging especially when I have "borrowed from another tub or I have someone else helping me.

I never buy anything unless it will go with other sets too. I started with orange/sage combos, then picked up burgandy/blue wine theme. The rest is history :)

Aug 11, 2007 05:36 AM
Kimberly Wester
Valparaiso, IN

Lori - I love that combo, too and I am amazed how many times I have been able to use it.  It goes in so many settings!

Lori Kim - It has made my life so much easier to group in color!  I trid to put all the bedding together, all the towels, etc., but I just don't think in those terms.  I don't necesarily group them just like you do, because sometimes I like to mix and match.  The twin set above has been used with many different color schemes.

Aug 11, 2007 05:56 AM
Kathleen Lordbock
Keller Williams Realty Professionals - Baxter, MN
Keller Williams Realty Professionals

Beautiful photos and a well organized plan of adding on inventory.

Thanks for sharing your expertise with us. 

Aug 11, 2007 09:27 AM
Lisa Rapose
ReDesign To Sell (TM) - Woodstock, CT

Kimberly,

Excellent suggestion.  A fine example of the valuable pieces of information to be found on the RAIN.  Serves to enlighten newbies and a kick in the pants for the old-tmers.  Sometimes we are so busy doing unto others that we forget to do for ourselves...

Aug 11, 2007 11:47 AM
Susan Peters
Dove Realty Inc. - Seattle, WA
The Better it Looks the Better it Sells

Kimberly,

Making a king out of 2 twins, great idea!  Every week I learn something new and useful from AR. 

Aug 11, 2007 02:40 PM
Janice Sutton
1st Stage Property Transformations - Murrieta, CA
Home Stager - Temecula Murrieta

Kimberly - Another well written informative post.  I can't tell you how many bed sets I bought because the price was right but they really didn't go with the flow of all the other rooms.  Now, all those bad purchased bed sets are used for packing my furniture in the trailer for staging jobs!  Live and learn.  :)

Aug 11, 2007 04:39 PM
Sharon Conner
Southern Home Staging LLC - Peachtree City, GA
Southern Home Staging, South Metro Atlanta Home Stager
Kimberly - oh, I wished I lived closer to you.  I had just been lamenting this same thing but hadn't blogged about it.  I too have some of the same color combinations (probably because we have a lot of the same furniture, he he).  I am thinking of having a garage sale for those items that looked good in theory but never really made the grade.  Great Post.  You are an amazing writer. 
Aug 12, 2007 12:11 AM
Julia Fedak
Royal LePage State Realty - Ancaster, ON

Great post, Kimberly...

When I go shopping for inventory, I always am attracted to the same colours...so that's what I get. Which is good, because I can mix and match. But...I think I need to "branch out" a little and get a few new colour schemes!

Julia

 

Aug 12, 2007 12:59 AM
Kimberly Wester
Valparaiso, IN

Kathleen - Thank you!  I don't know if I would call it expertise as much as 'look what I learned from my dumb mistake...' ;)

Lisa - I've learned so much here, I can't imagine not sharing what I learn elsewhere. 

Susan - I love when I can give someone something new to work with!

Janice - Oh, No!  Well, at least you found a use for them.  I probably would still have mine stacked on a shelf somewhere!

Sharon - Thanks for the compliment - I do like to write, so its nice to knwo someone likes to read it.  It's funny - you and I could probably share inventory and never know who bought what!  I'm going to go through everything I have and decide what is worth keeping and what isn't.  Who knows - maybe I have a color scheme in there that I didn't know about.

Julia -I'm such a color addict, my stuff was all over the charts. I tried to go all neutral, but got bored with it. I also didn't want to be known for a certain 'look'. I had to get it under control and this was the best way I could come up with.

Aug 12, 2007 07:22 AM
Kathy Dyer Roseville Sacramento Staging Real Estate Home Stager Services
One Step Staging- Home Staging services Roseville/Sac areas - Roseville, CA

Hi Kim, I love your ideas, I have done some things like that too. I also really try to have the theme flow into each room. Thanks for taking the time to show us your ideas. I have my base colors too and my accent colors are used with pillows, pictures, throws, and accent pieces. My basic colors are chocolate and Cream tones. My accents are orange- turquoise blue- black- cranberry- golds, nautical theme, sea Shell theme bathrooms. For Children's rooms I go colorful and bring that theme into the spare bathroom as well.

Thanks so much- Great photos to get the point across!

Kathy Dyer  One Step Staging is a premier full service home staging company in Roseville, serving Placer County, Rocklin, Lincoln, Granite Bay Fair Oaks, Carmichael, Sacramento and surrounding areas.  View our web site at One Step Staging for more examples of our work.

 

 

Aug 13, 2007 09:30 AM
Anya Gertenaar - Kelowna Home Staging
DECOROLOGY Home Staging and Redesign - Kelowna, BC

Hi Kimberly,

I don't have an inventory yet so finding this advise so early on will be saving me money. Thanks for the advise!

Aug 13, 2007 10:52 AM
David L. Britt
Platinum Realty, LLC - Olathe, KS
MBA
Kimberly, you get a 5 Star from me and I bookmarked this one! Thanks!
Aug 13, 2007 02:40 PM
Anonymous
Lynne Adams

Great advice Kimberly.  Out of curiousity, how often do any of you refer to the basic color wheel?  With the psychology of color in mind,  this tool, found in any design text book, is extremely important.  Every home I stage always starts with "direct complimentary colors" in mind.

Kindly, Lynne Adams

The Right Stage Inc.

Aug 13, 2007 07:47 PM
#24
Phyllis Pafumi
ReStyled to Sell Home Staging New Jersey - Old Bridge, NJ
ReStyled to Sell Staging Homes NJ

Hey Kim

This is exactly how I shop for a home and it makes it sooo much easier. Then when you destage you can have all your "color schemes" grouped together. I love the blue and browns.

I agree that you can find the best things in the strangest places. Was it stop and shop you found your bedding. You just never know but we stagers are always on the lookout for a great deal.

Is all this inventory (furniture) yours, it really is beautiful.

Phyllis Pafumi

Aug 23, 2007 12:52 AM
Ellen Divers
180 Redesign - Raleigh, NC

Kimberly,

Thanks for sharing your system.  As a begining stager, I've been picking things that coordinate, but did not really think to make a complete system/set for each scheme.  Great idea!

Ellen Divers

Mar 26, 2008 08:12 AM