July Challenge…Staging's Transitions
My entry into Home Staging was not by design but by happenstance. It was around 2005, and we were living in Leesburg, VA. One afternoon, the owners of a small home furnishings/gift store in downtown Leesburg asked me if I’d be interested in helping one of their clients.
Until then, I had never worked as a stager—or in anything even close. I was doing remote business development for a company that marketed to the healthcare industry
Why me??? They knew me and through our chatting and my purchases, they felt I could help their clients. I would be redesigning the home.
The client loved it, and I did more projects after that. One day, Larry mentioned a Home Staging course. Since I was always critiquing homes while we were house hunting, he thought it would be right up my alley.
Fast forward to January 2007, and home staging was still in its infancy…at least on the East Coast. It took a lot to educate consumers and agents on what preparing a home for sale entailed and why it is important.
Stagers met with a lot of “Let me get it on the market and see what happens first.”
And yes, there were still sellers who said, “If they don’t like the paint color, they can paint it after they buy it.”
When I started, I showed “Before and After” photos to sellers and agents to convince them that styling a property’s best features can help sell it.
I’ve never claimed that “staging can get your property more money.” When I first spoke with Lenn Harley, I got the impression she wasn’t a fan of staging. But what she actually disagreed with—and I did too—was the blanket statement some stagers make that staging your home will get you more money.
Through the years, we continued our conversations, and I truly miss them.
When I took Barb Schwarz’s Home Staging course, vacant home staging was very basic. It was suggested that we could buy queen sheets for window coverings and use an air mattress on boxes for a bed.
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!
Never did I use sheets for curtains! And only once did I use an air mattress. It was 2008…my clients worked for a bank. They re-habbed bank-owned properties for a bank, and they were on a tight budget. This was a former 3-million-dollar home. Besides replacing all of the light fixtures, they also had to turn a green swamp back into a beautiful Florida pool. Thus, the limited budget for staging.
Fast forward a year or two, and stagers either purchased their own inventory or we rented from companies like Cort Furniture Rental.
And now, 18 years later, virtual staging is being widely used and accepted. Virtual staging was in its infancy when I learned of it. If I were still staging, I would consider using it under the right circumstances.
My changes throughout this other career of mine? I grew with the industry and made adjustments when the market was below sea level. Like any profession or anything in life…nothing stays the same. You either adjust your sails or run aground.
This is my first entry in this month’s
AR July 2025 Challenge is "How Have You Changed" hosted by Patricia Feager and Lew Corcoran
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