Christine Versnick, a top producing Calgary realtor, hired me for a 1 hour staging consult for her client’s home in Tuscany. When we arrived, we found that the client had actually OVER-packed and left their home almost completely bare. Believe it or not – you WANT decor out so that the home feels welcoming and looks ‘lived in’ – enabling people to visualize their own lives there.
There was not enough decor remaining to properly stage the home so we made the decision to turn this into a full staging appointment. I rushed home (because we only had 3 hours until the virtual walkthrough was scheduled) and filled my car with as much decor and small furniture as I could fit in my SUV. For a house this size, I could have brought 3 times the decor but we were too short on time.
We unloaded my vehicle and I staged and optimized each room in the house.
- We flipped what was the ‘kids living room’ right off the front door into an office (a huge selling feature right now – and an opportunity we could not miss).
- We pulled out a few ‘fall’ accessories to stage the boot room bench, and organized the nicest laundry containers into a basket beside the washer and dryer. Ideally we could have had a ‘laundry’ sign in this room.
- I had them pull any fruit they had out of the fridge and created a colourful fruit stand for the breakfast counter. I set up a mini coffee station on the far counter to show people what to do with that space (and have them imagining their mornings there). Lastly, I added a small wooden cheeseboard beside the stove to display olive oil on.
- The biggest project was the master bathroom which was completely bare. I brought jars and candles and stands. I staged a cozy space around the bathtub, and added seashells to a large glass jar with a candle in it for the secondary counter. I then sourced their nicest towels and rolled them all up in a tin on the floor beside the bathtub, criss crossing two on the counter next to it as well. I rolled the remaining towels and displayed them on their open bathroom closet shelves – seams in.
- The living room had a few things in place, so we found some spare books left out downstairs and added them under the side tables and between the book ends on the mantle – more would have been better. They also did not have a coffee table to stage.
- In their bedroom I would have loved to have a bench, chair, mirror, and an area rug, but we made due with a small decor set on top of the dresser.
- The little girls room had everything it needed and I was able to just move a few things around.
- I staged the new ‘office’ with a large plant in the corner. Ideally we could have had a reading chair as well. I also added a few little decor items around to take up space.
- There were a couple of ‘showcase’ nooks in the hallways that we staged with faux flowers.
- I added candles and little decor items to each of the other bathrooms.
- And lastly, I set the table with placemats, charger plates, napkins with rings, and the family’s dinnerware.
- With the last few minutes I ran out to the nearest grocery store and grabbed a bouquet of fresh flowers for the kitchen island and dining table to give life to the space. I pulled out some of the larger flowers and leaves and added 2 small vases to use in the kitchen.
It was a complete whirlwind and just goes to show you how much decor and furniture is actually needed to stage a home in a way that does not look ‘sparse’ for photos.
Christine then rented some of the decor to stay in the home for showings.
What a blast!
