THE FANTASY WORLD VS. THE REAL WORLD OF HOME STAGING

Sometimes, I feel like I must be living in a ‘parallel’ Home Staging universe.

There is the fantasy universe. The one that gets all the publicity. Where a good-looking host will appear on t.v. or on-line video instructing homeowners exactly how to spend their entire life savings so they can sell their house.

And then there is the reality universe. The one that I live in. Because I actually have made a career out of staging homes for a living and I know I have to come up with creative, low-to-no-budget solutions, or I’ll never work again.

Just a few days ago, someone sent me a link to a video depicting one of those ‘fantasy universe’ stagings. In it, the stager was showing how to make a living room more inviting by getting rid of the bulky sectional, placing it in rented storage, then leasing a brand-new sofa, coffee table, and two side chairs in its place.

After the furnishings had been exchanged, the homeowners walked back in looking completely astonished while agreeing that the room had been amazingly and miraculously transformed.

Well, DUH the room looked miraculously transformed! The space had been completely re-furnished! That isn’t staging…that’s shopping. And in my opinion, any dummy with a budget and access to new furniture can do it.

Herein lies the problem.

Homeowners aren’t dummies, they aren’t going to do it, and most Realtors know that. Sadly, this type of publicity is one very good reason home staging is still shunned by so many sellers and agents, alike.

In the ‘reality universe,’ Realtors are usually more than just a little reluctant to push their clients into spending that kind of money, and most homeowners typically either don’t have or aren’t willing to spend it, anyway.

It would have been much more impressive and created more positive publicity for the industry if the stager had worked with the homeowner’s furniture. Think of the money a good Home Staging Expert® could have saved that homeowner, offering them a truly well-staged home and not just a bill for furniture rental.

Instead, sellers and agents are now convinced that staging will cost them BIG MONEY to pay for storage, furniture rental, plus the stager’s fee. Sadder yet, that video already has over 20,000 hits.