I had the good fortune of staging the most adorable home on Friday of last week in Smyrna, Georgia. The home was filled with wonderful accessories; great lamps and awesome furniture. The couple, Jeff & Tracey, had hired me a year ago to stage an investment home that they had rennovated. It was a great move as they had two offers during their open house and the house had closed in just 2.5 weeks.
The reason why I was there on Friday is that they were now putting their own home on the market. They had made some great decisions with respect to the changes they thought would be important to a buyer. Here's what they decided upon:
- Remodeled their master bathroom with a wonderful tile (shower and flooring).
- Painted molding and walls throughout most of the home
- Had the Home Staged
So why was the third item (home staged) such an important decision? While it was obvious that she was comfortable with decorating, she was unsure as to what changes they needed to make to further showcase their home.
Here are a few of the changes we made:
- Re-arranged the living room to highlight the amount of space.
- Removed most of the personal pictures.
- Removed a pub table located in the sun-room
- Removed an over-size dresser in their bedroom as it made the room appear smaller.
Understanding what changes need to be made can sometimes be a challenge for homeowners. The best advice is to seek out a professional who understands what needs to be removed; added and/or changed.
We have a professional photographer coming in this week so, when I receive the after pictures, I'll be sure to provide an update to this post.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Home Staging Atlanta offers affordable 
solutions in getting your home ready for the market. Serving home sellers, agents, builders and investors, they have the experience, skills and inventory to help make your home and/or listing stand-out from the others on the market.
With their extensive portfolio, you'll quickly learn that they have the expertise and knowledge of what it takes to make a home shine. Need furniture and accessories? No problem. Their specialties are with vacant homes and model home staging.
For a free no-obligation appointment, contact them today.
Home Staging Atlanta - Kathy Nielsen - 678 522 8392
RESA Professional Stager of the Year - Southern Region 2011
Whether your home is vacant or occupied, this Atlanta Georgia Home Stager, Kathy Nielsen, understands what it takes to sell a home quickly. Her homes have graced the pages of several publications, appeared in TV commercials as well as on HGTV's hit program Sleep On it.
With years of experience and a massive inventory - Kathy makes the perfect choice.
Home Staging Website: Home Staging Atlanta
Before and After Pictures: Atlanta Home Staging Portfolio:
Email: Kathy@HomeStagingAtlanta.com
Blog: Atlanta Home Staging
- Kitchen Transformations
- Short on Space? Keep it Simple
- Tips on Selling Your Home From a Professional Stager
- Curtains. Should they stay or go?
- How to dress up your coffee table and end tables when selling
- Quick tips for table settings
- How will buyers remember your home?
- Atlanta Home Staging Consultations - Check out what the homeowner did
- Atlanta Loft Gets Home Staged
- How to ensure your home appeals to a broad base of prospective buyers
Good point. There is a difference. I actually recommend a professional staging company here in town to stage my clients homes. Magically, those homes sell quicker and for more. There's a big diifference between staging and decorating especially when it comes to realizing space and dimension.
I love staging homes that are beautifully decorated. It is great to go "shopping" in the home.
I completely agree. In this real estate market if a home is not in show-condition or staged...good luck. You are in a good businees. Staging companies are flourishing here!
Hi Kathy ... your subject line caught my attention. I have found that people who decorate their homes are the most difficult to convince when it comes to staging. One is done for personal reasons and the other to sell thehome. For some homeowners, it is difficult to change that very personal space that they call home.
Jon - You're so right; home staging can be magical. Thanks for you comment.
Maureen - I had some wonderful things from which to select from. What we didn't use will be going to storage.
Taunya - I've had many an agent tell me the same thing. If it's show in show-condition/staged, then it's less memorable and made more difficult to sell.
Marie - It can be difficult for homeowners. Once they've made the decision to place their home on the market, it really needs to become a product vs. a home. It's hard because their emotionally connected. However, it's truly in their best interest to view it differently. And you're right - those that know how to decorate believe they don't need to change a thing.
Kathy
I agree decorating and staging are two different things, decorating is all about showing homeowner's personality, and staging is done from the point of view of buyer by depersonalizing. good topic, homeowners need to know the difference if they want to sell.
Shobha
Kathy, you are absolutely right! Home Staging is about appealing to a wide audience of home buyers and interior design is appealing to the person living in the home and their personal taste. As a home stager, if I were to sell my home I would have to de-personalize and take a step back. It's great that they are saavy home sellers and I can't wait to see the pics.
Kathy,
You're totally right. It's a different animal.
Hey Kathy N! YES! Decorating is far different than staging and people are starting to understand the differerence. Far too many sellers believe they have 'staged' a home themselves, and miss the whole point of 'appealing to a wider buyer base'. Sellers: re-arranging your ceramic cat collection is not staging..... Regards-Kathleen G
Good post Kathy. It is always the little things that make the biggest difference. Most often, they are the things the homeowner has overlooked. Thanks for sharing.
Chrissie
Kathy, you are absolutely right, great post.. It sounds like you have some great clients as well.. look forward to the photos...
God Bless,
Right again, Kathy. Your clients were smart to bring you in to get their home ready to go on the market. Sounds like you had a lot of great furniture and accessories to work with. Sounds like fun!
Kathy - we are on the same wavelegth as I have blogged about this topic this week - Staging is not decorating and received some interesting posts in reply. Good to know I am not alone in my stand that Staging and decorating are not the same and applying decorating principles to Staging can be a mistake. - Jennie
Kathy, you are very gifted in so many different ways. This post is one I simply had to get back to and let you know that no only do I appreciate your information but I also am enamored by your excellent and upbeat attitude. A post which starts with, I had the good fortune of staging the most adorable home on Friday is bound to draw in a lot of readers. Thanks for your work in helping to move the industry forward!