Even "Pretty" Houses Need Staging

From time to time, I hear Realtors and homeowners rule out hiring a home stager on a particular home because, as they say, "It's such a pretty house, it doesn't need staging!"

While on the surface this may seem logical (buyers like pretty houses), it is a flawed theory. Just because a house is pretty (whether this means it's architecturally attractive, has "character," is well-decorated, well-kept, well landscaped, etc.) doesn't mean it's ready for market.

A home with lots of curb appeal could still have drawbacks inside, such as clutter, distracting paint colors, displays of family photos or poor furniture arrangement. Even homes that are considered "well decorated" are prime candidates for home staging. That's because such homes often reflect too much of the homeowner's tastes. When selling a house, you want to appeal to as many potential buyers as possible. To that end, home staging "neutralizes" a house so buyers focus on the house itself, and not the seller's plate collections, abudance of floral vases or impressive display of antiques. All these things are great for living in the home, but are a detriment when trying to sell the home.

As homeowners, we get very used to the way things look in our homes. It's hard to be objective about the way our house will look to buyers. Home stagers are trained to know what buyers are looking for in a given market, and how to play on the psychology that goes along with home buying.

So, again, even "pretty" houses need staging. Take a look...