Do you ever wonder how some myths start and evolve? I am not sure myself, but as a professional home stager in the Greater Seattle Area, I still find that I have a need to educate home buyers and realtors and bust the home staging myths one by one!
Two Home Staging Myths:
Myth #1. Empty rooms appear bigger, since vacant rooms look like they have more space.
This is one of the biggest home staging myths of all. Rooms actually look BIGGER rather than smaller when they are staged. It is all about having correctly scaled furniture for each room and this is true for everyone. In the same way that you shouldn’t stage big rooms with tiny furniture pieces, you also shouldn’t stage smaller rooms with oversized furniture pieces.
As a Seattle home stager, I get the opportunity to stage many condos, townhouses and homes with small square footage or houses that have small bedrooms or living rooms. We select the right scale of furniture that is best suited for these rooms. This way, we take out the guess work for the potential buyers like “can I fit a sofa in the room?” or “can I entertain my guests in this small living room?” or ” how am I going to fit a dining table in this small space?”
There have been times when home owners have asked us to stage only one of the bedrooms that were exactly the same size. But when the staged room appears bigger than the other room after staging, the realtors have to put silent cards on the empty room walls saying “This room is exactly the same size as the staged 1st bedroom.” Since 95% of the home buyers view homes online, it is even more important to stage the smaller rooms.
This Seattle condo in the lovely Capitol Hill neighborhood has a small living room. Since we knew that the potential buyers were going to be a young and professional person or couple, we wanted this space to appeal to these types of clientele. We knew that the buyers of this house were the kind who look for a “hip” place that they can relax in as well as entertain. Therefore, we selected a modern full sofa and a large ottoman as a coffee table since an ottoman can also be used as seating. We added interest and more function to this small living room by using the big wall to create a bar and additional storage. Because of staging, the potential buyers of this Seattle Condo could see for themseleves that not only could they relax comfortably in their new home, but they could also entertain their friends and families.
839 sq/ft Seattle Condo Listed at $269,900
Myth #2. It is not worth it to stage homes with lower listing prices.
According to NAR, the National Association of Realtors, more than 50% of home buyers are first time buyers. In addition, today’s home buyers, thanks to home and garden programs like the ones on HGTV, are more educated in home-buying and desire to a purchase a home that offers more.
Again, as a Seattle-based home stager, I know that there are many condos, townhouses and homes in the Greater Seattle area that are listed below $500,000. Once these homes are staged and showcased, they sell faster and for more money.
The above condo in Capitol Hill is listed for $269,000. But now that this small condo is staged, the potential buyers will see a grander space that they can visualize themselves living in. This condo feels and looks larger and more exquisite because this message has been set for them through staging. The vacant condos in this area will add even more value to this staged condo and therefore, they will help this condo to sell faster.
Two home staging myths are now busted.
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