Comments on: Stupid Staging Tricks

By: Dane Caldwell

Dane Caldwell — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:37:22 +0000

I think many confuse staging with ‘model’ home decorating. We (stagers) have varing styles which I think makes it easier for home owners looking for a good fit to find someone with style they feel will appreciate.

Tricks to me are the ‘unethical’ myths we hear about staging…hiding problems in a property.

There are definately some stupid ‘things’ I’ve seen. There is a stager in Durham Region who is notorious for using those frames which hold multiple photos…but she never takes out the original manufacturers ‘fotos’ with models and the manufacturer’s name on them!

Now that is stupid!

Oh, she also uses a bunch of ‘art’ as a series from Zellers but she will have multiples of the same piece in the series.

By: cheri dueker

cheri dueker — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:54:20 +0000

As we have moved into the model home market in our area, we have noted more and more elaborate stagings. Everything from “fake” family photos to overstuffed dining room tables. More is NOT better! I wish some stagers would learn that the point is not to have buyers look at how great our STUFF is but it is about the space…No more “fake” cookies and milk and no more monkey candleholders on the night stands. We do not set place settings on the table as we feel dusty dishes won’t entice buyers and we also do not use fake trees to fill up empty corners. This is a great list.

By: Laurie Dawes

Laurie Dawes — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:35:31 +0000

I join all of the other contributors in their dislike of certain staging practices. My idea of presenting real estate to the buying public is to do it simply and elegantly without a lot of the obvious and superficial “doo-dads” that we see appearing at some Open Houses. My favorite comment from a Realtor visiting one of my staged homes was that he “didn’t know whether it was simply well-staged or that the owners just had great taste”. Surely, that is what we should be aiming for. I have been at Open Houses where buyers have made derrogatory comments (with a rolling of the eyes and a “knowing” look on their faces that the property they were viewing was “STAGED!”), as if the sellers/realtor/stagers were trying to get something over on the buying public. Hmmm… I don’t think we want to encourage that impression.

Which brings me to several of my staging pet peeves: Realtors or Stagers who bring in spring-flowering plants and let them die from neglect, leaving them in place for all to see; being so skimpy on the staging that they might as well not have bothered; leaving plastic covers on rental beds under the coverlets – it sounds and feels crackly to buyers who sit on the beds (and yes, I know they shouldn’t sit but they do if they like the room enough and they want to hang out for a bit); those awful vignettes/tablescapes that have scrunched-up fabric and accessories all over the dining room table. Can you imagine what a home-owner would have to do to sit down and have a meal at one of those tables? Let’s get real – a lovely, simple arrangement of fresh flowers or a beautiful, appropriate flowering plant and a couple of candles – that is how most people live or want to live.

My advice for new stagers – keep your marketing efforts for the Brokers’ Open Houses. They are the ones who might be looking for stagers, not the buying public. I have found that the Brokers/Realtors will not be aware of what miracles you have performed on a house unless you are there at the Brokers’ Open with your before/after pictures. I don’t know why more stagers don’t use this valuable time for marketing their services.

Laurie Dawes
Sense-Appeal,
Homes & Gardens, Staging and Design
Sausalito, CA

By: admin

admin — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:10:51 +0000

These comments are great! Thanks everyone for contributing to the discussion! Keep the ideas coming.

I agree with Kathleen about not promoting yourself as a stager in a home you’ve done. It is totally not in your client’s best interest. You can read an article I wrote on that here:

http://www.stagingdiva.com/homestagingbusiness/home-stagers-sacrifice-clients-with-lawn-signs/

By: Michelle Lane

Michelle Lane — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:19:20 +0000

Oooooh, so many tacky ideas. For me, the use of ribbons, bows and raffia tied to curtains, bath towels, shower curtains, above door frames – everything – it’s too contrived and very unsophisticated. Off with the raffia!!

By: Valerie Dison

Valerie Dison — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:14:18 +0000

I have read all the comments and I have to say that I have seen a lot of them. I have been in new home sales for the last 4 years and have seen many model homes staged. The throws are huge,,they are everywhere, the tray at the end of the bed with wine glasses on it I have seen EVERYWHERE,,,and I always thought, do normal people have this? It seems that in model homes the tables are always set,,but I just started with a new builder and they have nothing on the dining room tables, not even a centerpiece. It looks very clean and uncluttered actually. I started my staging business a few months ago and the first staging consultation that I had, the woman was absolutely floored when I told her she had to get rid of all the personal photos, she said “but I thought that it would a good touch, I went to a house where they had gorgeous children” I said,,well, what did you remember to this day about that house? The gorgeous children! That is not what you want people to remember. Also, I worked in a model home where the decorator put out framed pictures of famous people,,that never did sit well with me, would we do that in our own homes? People would look at us pretty weird if they walked into our master bedroom and saw a framed picture of Sarah Jessica Parker on the nightstand. I think that if only people understood that a house that is clean, uncluttered, and depersonalized sells! It really is simple,,that is why I named my business Simplystaged,,it doesn’t have to be complicated.

By: Hayley Harris

Hayley Harris — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 23:01:16 +0000

As several of you have already mentioned for me it’s the whole 45 degree (diagonal) thing. Please tell me what differnece it makes???? From throws to whole room settings, I’m afraid diagonal is not for me. It’s just not practical, uses up more space and often looks just plain weird!

By: Kathleen Lordbock

Kathleen Lordbock — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:20:54 +0000

This may not be a trick, but I find it stupid. Staged by………….. signs everywhere. From the open house ad, to the front yard, to the signs in the house.
Sorry, may be good for your staging business and that is questionable, but is not good for selling the house. Marketing is wonderful this just is not the place.
Kathleen Lordbock
Re$ale Design & Home Staging
Brainerd, MN

PS I would put out cards for the agents’ only tour.

By: Debra Gould

Debra Gould — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 03:45:33 +0000

Congratulations Judith on completing the Staging Diva Training Program I look forward to sharing news about your business on my blog!

I agree with you and Kathy about the diagonal placement of a bed, I’ve yet to see it actually work and it IS terrible from a feng shui perspective.

If the buyer can’t go into the master bedroom and see how they can live in there with all their furniture, they’ll conclude the room doesn’t work for them. At minimum there needs to be a bed with usable night tables on each side, one long dresser and one high boy dresser or chest. If that means a double bed instead of a queen then I’d rather do that.

By: Judith Marke

Judith Marke — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:15:23 +0000

I recently went back to college and graduated with a degree in Interior Design, and soon, with Debra’s expert advice, will open my own business from a home studio. My own subdivision has several unsold homes…what better opportunity could there be? On the Stupid Staging Tricks, I agree with Kathy Somers…what is with everyone putting beds and sofas on the diagonal?…even on most shows on TV…when only now and then it is actually a good thing! My pet peeve is when people copy what everyone else is doing, without first thinking about the space involved. I hate seeing the diagonal bed, leaving the ever awkward empty corner behind the head board (not a good thing in Feng Shui), and the things they come up with to fill that space…like a live potted palm…and how do you get to it to water it? There is no room for bedside tables that can actually be reached from the bed, and no room to open any drawers! Many times there isn’t space left for a chest or dresser. I feel that things should look and be natural and practical, even though they are staged! It is possible to achieve both. Just stop and think about how something is used in everyday life…after all, we do live in our homes. Then play off that basic foundation with a designers touch! That doesn’t mean that an ordinary thing can’t be used in an unusual way…a touch of whimsy is always fun!