Were these 1,000 Marketing $$$$ well spent? A seller wants to know.

Hi Craig -  It is very easy to call out a not-so-great staging.  This example is cheap in appearance and that may be because the budget is cheap. (Noting the obvious variables in this $1000 call).  The space was not utilized to 'sell it' in an optimum manner.  HOWEVER......

Let's be fair---For many stagers requiring a 90 day minimum rental rate, let's get down to the bones.....

What should a seller or realtor realistically expect for a $100-$200/month staging rental in Chicago? (excluding staging fee, (set-up and de-stage time) and both moving fees etc. which comprise the total $1000)

C'est vrai....You get what you pay for. 

Good to see you here!!  Regards, Kathleen

My thought on this one is that the stager is part of a 3 person team and truthfully the realtor is the team captain.  If prospective buyers continue to have issues with the floor plan and the realtor and homeowner are not happy with the work it needs to be reviewed and probably revised.  Whether the work is right or wrong, the stager is in the wrong for not being reponsive to the needs of the homeseller.  I know it is trite but "win the battle and lose the war" comes to mind!

Hi Craig! Great to see you!!!!!

INMHO the stager did not show this space in a good light. Can't say I like anything about it. Bar "stools" got to go...LOL...You have to stand on them to reach the bar!  Bedroom staging very unappealing....and that vase of red flowers behind the bed??? Yikes!  Kitchen counters...look so cold! Bathroom Ditto!

I guess the bottle of wine on the bar was so costly, that there was nothing left in the budget for table settings?

Welcome back!

Ginger

Last time I saw you was on HGTV.  Glad to see you back, hope you stick around for a while.

I don't see where the $1,000 went. I would have said the same thing, looks like a hallway. What exactly is the dimensions of the living room(in particular the width)?

Guess my eyes travel to those things my business (handyman) does. Where the space is small, I would suggest painting some of the wood trim so it didn't chop the space up even more.

Craig, very interesting - give us your updates with the final conclusion of the matter.

Aloha Craig,

Great topic for a post. I really enjoyed reading the comments and I particularly liked Michelle Molinari's digital rendering with the glass shelves in the pass through.

It really doesn't matter what the square footage of the space is as long as you clearly define how the space will function for the potential buyer. I'm currently staging a condotel apartment at just over 200sq feet. A space that size, if left empty will perturb even the most imaginative of buyers. If you can cover the 4 basic needs of  Sleeping, living, eating, storage you can sell the property a whole lot easier. If you don't cover the basics, people start thinking there's not enough room. Two chairs and a table signifies dinning area not a living room. At the very least the stager should have chosen a love seat instead of the chairs. A better choice, in my opinion would have been a day bed or futon in the living room with a trunk coffee table. When furniture pulls double duty and has storage, as well, you increase the functionality for potential buyers in small spaces. Too small becomes cozy; no living room becomes a guest room and living area and buyers start to recognize the potential instead of walking away befuddled.

I believe the seller had a definite right to request a restage as the staging reduced the useable square footage drastically. Mahalo for the post and it's nice to see you posting again.

Peace,

I agree with all of the above.  Mstakes do happen but really, as a professional it's up to the stager to fix  it.  It wouldn't have cost that much a few hours of her time and she could still have a positive relationship with the realtor and most importantly, the client.

Not a big fan of using bright red, it just looks so "staged".

Nice to see you back, Craig. 

SSSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  Glad to see you back and actively plying in the Rain ~ we've missed you (& blogged about what kind of alien abducted you)

I agree with the majority: No, it was not adequately Staged. Yes, she should adjust her staging to address the very issue for why she was hired. My only other concern would be concerning the $1,000: was that for 1 mo. of Staging or 6?  If that $1,000 was the later, then I have to rant the old adage "You get what you pay for"

Looks like you got a lot of great feedback on this one I just happened to see a comment from you on Teresa Meyer's recent post and my eyes did a double take and my heart skipped a beat - really!

You have been in my thoughts Mr. Schiller and it is a nice spring surprise to see you back here. Things may have changed a bit (to some it's gotten more luster - to me I kinda miss the old days here on AR) but your mission remains the same. Would love to catch up with you, look for an email one of these days.

Thanks for the video, what a great help.

Results or Solutions?.....The house definitely looks staged. The problem is that it was not well done! Reminds me of the house cleaner that cleans and straightens giving the home a superficial sense of being clean but its not! Unfortunately there are many people today doing professional services on the quick to make quick money. Most customers are too busy to understand the difference and are happy with results not solutions!

Craig it is so evident that everyone is glad to see you including me, when you pop back into the rain.  I have been away for extend length of time and always go digging for anything I may have missed, that you have written, while I was not playing in the rain.

The pictures above are an example of poorly executed staging.  I do agree with you that with experience we can size up a place by looking at pictures. 

A simple example, is the above pictures do not make a great first impression. The function of the room has not even been addressed. In design small awkward spaces are a challenge.  And when executed successfully show the true, creative talent of the designer, stager, decorator (all of the above).

THe client should make sure that the realtor is informed of his dissatisfaction and difficutly in dealing with the stager if any.

In any business, client satisfaction is # 1.  The stager should be fulfilling what she was asked to do.  make it look like a living room.

Just a pet peeve of mine.  I hate beds and dining room tables on angles.  If we are to be making rooms feel more spacious. What is with furniture on angles.   If you actually do the math, for those who still remember simple and geometry and trig,  you loose a lot of square footage behind those headboards.  I think I may post something on angles.

..... SOOOOOO WHERE in the heck are ya????  Ya coming back????

I fully agree that the so called "living room" space could have been stage differently...overall the staging has a great look and feel to it,  but when I put on my buyers eyes my first question is still the same, where do we live and hang out?  The problem wasn't neccessarily solved by the stager.  But sheeeesh, there isn't much space to call it a living room.  The other thing that I struggle with is the clients budget vs. how much I put into the home.  I do have a base dollar amount and I won't stage below that minimum price...If someone tells me they have a vacant home and only $1,000 to spend, I tell them that I am not the stager for them...let someone else figure out how they are going to showcase the home in its best possible light and still turn a profit. I Love challenging floor plans, and yes I agree with the seller...it isn't done as good as it could be but then again it looks pretty damn good for $1,000!

Hi Craig,

Interesting scenario.

One stager critiquing another stager based on a complaint by the seller.

Shows that the stager and the seller need to be compatible

Phil