Cleveland Home Staging with Tips for the Beginner

Can we talk about how much we love staging homes?!  It is true- up front staging is not cheap.  However the return in value is phenomenal.  For this staging job we were able to use the client’s current furniture and decor and streamlined the rest.  By repositioning their floor plan with the streamlined furniture and decor setup and brining in a great photographer (which we are able to source for you as well if need be) we were able to get this rental off the market in under a week.)  The clients listed on Zillow, avoided their realtor fees and got ask price.  We can do staging as a consulting job, short term rentals or long term rentals.   We love working with the clients and helping them market their homes like a pro!

** Staging tip.  Don’t have a big budget and you have an empty home?  Hire the staging rentals in for one week, professionally photograph the space and use the imagery (that includes the staged furniture) to sell the space either online or printed in poster form.  OR just focus on 2 rooms that may be hard to imagine.  Use furniture and decor to show what works in the space.  If you solve the problem for the clients before they come for a walkthrough you’ll get to your sale faster.

** Staging tip.  For the DIY stager with a packed house.   You may love all of the pieces in your home and how they perfectly tell your story in a very curated design that is just your own…. but that actually works against you when trying to sell your house (unless you have a spiritual twin out there.)  Decluttering is going to be your buddy here.   This doesn’t necessarily mean take everything off the walls and shelves and remove most of your furniture.  That approach can sometimes leave your home feeling very sterile.  Staging is all about simplifying and allowing for the potential new client to image how they can make the space their own.  But you don’t want to have them have to do all the work in imagining.  Make some “suggestions” in the way of decor and furniture.  So take the home below.  In their living room we removed a large chair, an ottoman and repositioned the television.  We removed 2 things off the wall but kept a simple large print on 1 wall to help achieve balance opposite the windows.  We also got rid of any small knick knacks and made sure all surfaces felt crisp and clean.  We lucked out with paint colors because all the colors were on trend and light and neutral.  So the room feels just a couple steps shy of being completely “finished” but feels and still looks good.

Lastly for our DIY stager-  It’s always easier to use online tools to help you map out your plan for the large furniture.  (Unless you have some serious calorie burning goals and a willing partner to lug furniture around and see if you can make something work.)  I like Planner 5D for the beginner.  It’s relatively easy to learn.  Not sure of spacing?  Check out this awesome blog post by Em Henerson that goes over some of these key spacing rules HERE.

Find out more about our staging options on our Home Staging page.

Emily Millay Photography

Styling + Staging by Borrow