In my previous blog, Before & Afters of a Staging Consultation - Part 1, I wanted to show the results of a client that took my suggestions from a consultation and implemented them themselves without having me come back to do some final staging and "tweaking". The point I wanted to make was that, while a staging consultation is a fantastic tool to get your property ready for showing, for most sellers it's hard to see their property the same way a professional stager does. So while they usually make tremendous improvements to the showing condition of their property, it may not be as polished as it could be with the hand of a professional stager.
In this example, my client worked hard preparing her property from the recommendations made during the consultation. I am fortunate to work with a fantastic agent, Robin Hurst of The Hurst Team, who really understands the value of staging and uses me on all of her listings. She had me return to the property to make sure it looked the best it could, and we provided a few decor items while staying within the sellers budget.
(left) Before Staging Consultation (right) After Staging Consultation - Much better but still a bit too much clutter
After a return visit, you will notice there was a bit more editing of decor, the sofa was slip covered, a large rug was brought in and a few toss pillows. Overall, the room feels more put together and pleasing to the eye.
Here's a few more before and afters:
The first picture was after the consultation (I don't have a before shot). Looks pretty good. But when I came back, I removed the valances, the candles on the table (they were snowballs) the plant in the corner and a few items on the hutch. Overall, I only made a few simple changes, but it was just enough.
(left) Before Consultation. (right) After Consultation - Better, but towels are quite right
After Staging - just a bit more tweaking of the towels and removal of silk flowers shows off the tub area better
After Staging - Repositioning the chair and the dressing table helped to balance out the weight in the room. We also moved the bench from a wall to the end of the bed. A few more pillows and a throw added a pop of color that was needed.
All of the changes we made were suggestions presented during the consultation, but weren't executed by the seller. When budget is an issue, we always work first with what the homeowner owns, as i truly believe we can always make it look better. The total investment in staging this property was only $500 (includes added decor). I think that's money well spent!
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Judy Heinrich Home Staging, LLC - providing professional home staging services to the greater Richmond, VA area. For more information, please visit my website, www.judyheinrich.com or phone 804-271-2604.
