Ages back I touched on the importants of using angles in staging, in terms of helping draw a viewers eyes to the features of the home. So, I thought it would be nice to expand on this.

Now I’m not saying to just start turning your furniture willy-nilly, but it is important to understand that the lines your furniture makes will be one of the things directing the flow of your home. A strong staging won’t just emphasize the selling features of your home; it will also create a visual path that flows through each room.

In this example the horizontal lines of the entryway easily lead into the living room. The living room is then staged to create a series of subtle visual pathways that flow towards the dining room. Ideally a potential buyer will feel drawn from room to room with each rooms selling features equally highlighted by the staging.

I just realized that it was almost exactly a year and a half ago that I started actively blogging. Before I started, blogging seemed time consuming and intimidating, but once I started I realize how much I loved getting to to share about my craft, connect with clients and realtors and document the variety of staging jobs I’ve done.

I guess I’ll grab a coffee to celebrate, and then back to the grind ; )

Here are some pics of a recent adorable 1940s home I staged:

Becuase of the sharp angle of the roof, the bedroom had a distinctive shape, and I worked in the staging to show off the spacious feel of the high cieling in the center of the room.

Another lived in home I recently staged:

If I know that I’m staging for a neighborhood with a lot of young families, or near popular school districts then the staging would be geared towards that demographic, but normally in an empty home the bedrooms will be staged age and gender neutral. In lived homes with children a lot of care is taken to keep the children’s rooms functional while still making sure they have general appeal (whether or not the potential buyer has a family of their own).

Within the Staging community there is a lot of debate on whether or not to own your own inventory. There are many stagers who will rent their furniture through a third party, and this post isn’t meant to be a slight at them, but instead a discussion of the pros in owning your own inventory and why I take such pride in this aspect of my business.

Over the years I have been a Home Stager I have built up a large selection of furniture and accessories for all different price ranges, demographics and home styles. I track the trends, and follow the market, investing in a varied inventory (enough so to necessitate a move into a larger warehouse).

 I really do consider this an investment in my business. It allows me to provide high end furniture at a lower cost than renting lower quality furniture through a third party (especially when looking at the total cost added on in order for a stager to make a profit).

I have also seen stagers variety of accessories and furniture limited by the selection that the third party provides. I take a lot of pride in being able to critically look at a house and pick out just the right pieces to facilitate a sale.

 If after staging the client decides they need a few more accessories, or another room staged that is something we are able to easily work through with them. Because we are not relying on someone else’s furniture, or on a contract with a third party, it is much easier for us to be flexible.

 Owning your own inventory is not for every stager but it allows me to provide fine tuned staging geared to each client, their home and their financial situation.

The examples shown in these photos are from a recent staging I did on a 2002 Street Of Dreams home, I will blog more about it soon : )

Recent staging I did for a flipper house. As you can see from the before and after pictures above the home was remodled and landscaped, but it was in need of some staging to show off its fresh new look.

With its price and neighborhood, we were targeting the young first time homeowner crowd. We gave it a playful modern feel, sylish but comfortable. One of the nice things about knowing the demographic you are targeting is that you understand when to bend traditional staging rules. Instead of going nuetral we pushed the homes personality so that it would peak the target buyers interest, and be memorable. We even set up a poker table to create a game room.

This home was very fun to stage, and has already sold : )

 There are primarily two types of staging; one involves staging vacant homes, the other homes that are currently being lived in.

Vacant homes can be more expensive to stage, because they involve renting full rooms worth of furniture – but they give the stager complete control to choose and position the furniture in away to emphasize the selling features of the home. 

The stager draws from their personal inventory of furniture and accessories, using their years of experiance to pick out just the right pieces.

I think that often this is the type of staging we stagers talk about, because it is very common (many people have already moved into their new home during the selling process) and it can be easier for the stager to give the realtor, client and market exactly what it needs when they are working from scratch.

 Because I’ve tended to focus on staging vacant homes in my blogs (and before and after pictures), I thought it would be nice to write about why staging is still important for people who are selling while  living in their home. 

A stager will help you through the complicated process of transition from viewing your house as your home, to viewing your house through potential buyers eyes.

They will help you sort through your furniture, giving advice on what to put in storage.

They will rearrange your furniture to your homes best advantage (what works best for living in a home, isn’t always what works best for selling it).

They will provide additional furnishing or accessories when needed.

They will work within your budget to create the best plan for you.

 Staging your home will help give you the edge you need to make that sale. All of the pictures in this post are from two different Staging jobs I did for the same Realtor: Laura Wood, from Living Room Realtors. In both cases the homes were currently being lived in. We used their furniture, with a few supplimental peices from my own inventory.

I have worked with Laura for the past 6 years, she always stages her homes (whether vacant or lived in) and does everything she can to make each listing a success.  She is a joy to work with and both these listing were examples of what an excellent agent she is. Both homes sold on the first day with multiple offers for over asking price.

Another recent staging in the Alberta Arts District. 

I used gentle green accents throughout the house both to create a visual continuity and to compliment all the wood flooring. 

The home I blogged about yesterday is already pending. This is a sought after neighborhood, so I have high hopes for a quick sale on this home as well : )

In Portland  neighborhoods can have very distinctive personalities. I recently staged a home in one of portlands oldest neighborhoods, the Alberta Arts District. With its plethora of vegan and vegetarian friendly restaurants, artwork and pro biking attitude this is one of those areas that people think of when they think Portland.

 This is a community that embraces art, not only does it’s main stretch have many galleries, almost all business here feature ever changing artwork from local artists. Pretty neat! One top of that the last Thursday of every month during the summer there is an art’s and crafts street fair.

Knowing about the neighborhood let me stage to the potential buyer that would gravitate towards wanting the Alberta community as their home.

Here is a quick update about the Biddle Estate I blogged about last week. A local company, pdxvtours, has created a virtual tour and their work really does justice to this home. It is almost like getting to walk room to room.

 Also, the listing is now in Luxury Homes Magazine. Large scale, beautifully printed, this real estate magazine started in Portland Oregon a decade ago, and now features listings from coast to coast.

It’s great to be working with such a proactive Agent, who is working hard to get this home seen by the target buyers.

I recently staged a lavish and sprawling historic estate at 3304 SE Biddle Rd. It was 7708 Sq. ft, with eight bedrooms and seven bathrooms. The downside to a luxury home like this is that when it’s shown empty it can be difficult for a potential buyer to keep all the rooms straight.

There were fireplaces in the Living Room, Dining Room, Family Room and Master Bedroom. Because of their similar layouts, and fireplaces as a focal point, in a quick walkthrough these rooms looked strikingly similar.

 By staging to emphasize the purpose of each room I was able to make them distinctive and memorable by grounding the room to its function. On top of that I worked to do some quick modernizing and neutralizing updates with the staging to help a buyer see the potential to make the home their own.

Here are some befores and afters: