A Balancing Act... of Sorts

Home staging has been identified as a key component to preparing houses for sale. Professional stagers have been known to beautifully redesign a living room within minutes of stepping into the space, leaving home owners scratching their heads and muttering, "Why didn't I think of this before?"

The truth is, there is a fine art (yes, art) to the act of rearranging furniture and setting home accents in "just the right place." More than having good taste in decorating, stagers follow proven design principles that show off the individual layout of a house and highlight the features of each room. To accomplish these tasks, stagers perform a "balancing act" that equally distributes visual weight around the room.

In the photo below, the buffet and glass cabinet AND art work AND lack of space on the opposite wall create an over-crowded and unbalanced room that weighs heavy to the right. Off-centered to the light fixture, the improper placement of the table adds to the uneven representation of this room.

Removing the buffet and cabinet allows the table to be centered under the light fixture and with the window. Eliminating the large furniture pieces also creates a "lighter feeling" on the right wall which results in balanced visual weight with the opposite wall.

Rearranging and/or eliminating furniture while staging serves a specific purpose when preparing your home for the market. When properly placed, your furniture will accentuate the positive characteristics of each room.

KFM Staging & Design is a Minnesota home staging company that creates "First Impressions that Sell" in the Twin Cites and Western Wisconsin. KFM specializes in vacant staging and staging consultations. Visit our website for staging tips or to schedule your in-home or online consultation.

KFM Staging & Design
"Creating First Impressions That Sell!"
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Six Degrees of Home Staging - Wayne Newton

For die-hard home stagers and staging fanatics around the world, home staging is believed to be linked to any profession, celebrity, or life event with-in six degrees.

For our first attempt, let's start with an easy one...

Wayne Newton and Home Staging

1. Wayne Newton is known as Mr. Vegas
2. Vegas's long-running top show was Siegfried and Roy
3. Siegfried and Roy are famous magicians
4. Magicians are known for their sleight-of-hand tricks
5. Sleight-of-hand uses misdirection to bring attention to a desired area
6. Attracting attention to desired areas is a key component in home staging

The master bedroom shown the photo below has several angles with low ceiling points. Having no other point-of-interest, the eye is immediately drawn to these low-set roof lines. Buyer's (especially those over 4'10") may view this master bedroom as a series of obstacles.

The staged photo below shows how staging redirects the eye from negative features by creating a visual display that captures buyers' attention. Instead of focusing on the negatives, staging allows buyers to see how to work around less desired areas of a home.

Some critics of home staging accuse stagers of "covering up" flaws in the house; however, that is a uneducated or misunderstood concept of the profession. Home staging shows us how to optimize the unique characteristics of each house.

*This blog topic is a blatant rip-off of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon that is a rip-off of Six Degrees of Separation.

KFM Staging & Design is a Minnesota home staging company that creates "First Impressions that Sell" in the Twin Cites and Western Wisconsin. KFM specializes in vacant staging and staging consultations. Visit our website for staging tips or to schedule your in-home or online consultation.

KFM Staging & Design
"Creating First Impressions That Sell!"
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Curb Appeal: Winter Edition

Sellers in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and other snow bound states have a unique challenge with the curb appeal of their homes during the winter months. After the holiday decorations are removed, home owners can apply easy winter staging techniques

• Shovel driveway and sidewalks after every snowfall. Ankle deep snow will discourage buyers before they set their wet foot in the door.
• Salt paved surfaces. Slippery walkways may pose a hazard to buyers and Realtors.
• Remove snow from decks, porches, and patios. Although buyers may not step on to these areas, these spaces will appear larger than if the snow were to remain.
• Remove dog droppings from the yard. You may want to spread fresh snow over the yellow sections to give your yard a clean look.

Curb appeal may be limited during the snowy season, but by using common sense staging practices, sellers can obtain great winter time curb appeal.

KFM Staging & Design is a Minnesota home staging company that creates "First Impressions that Sell" in the Twin Cites and Western Wisconsin. KFM specializes in vacant staging and staging consultations. Visit our website for staging tips or to schedule your in-home or online consultation.

KFM Staging & Design
"Creating First Impressions That Sell!"
Visit MyBlogLog and get a signature like this!

DIY Home Staging

At a recent staging consultation, I inquired about a "Stage your House For Sale" book (not actual title) on the client's table. Naturally, I inquired about what tips the homeowner learned from the literature. Her reply, "Nothing, I didn't read it. A friend gave it to me." My wheels started turning, and a blog was born...

What is the purpose of a professional staging consultation?

In today's "Do-it-Yourself" world, there are dozens - no, thousands of "how to" books on home staging. Online searches yield pages of websites, articles, and advertisements stating, "You don't need to hire a professional stager. Stage your own home today for only $19.95...."

Have professional home stagers overstayed their welcome in the Real Estate community? Are they like your slightly, off-balanced uncle who won't go home when the party is done? After all, why would people pay $200 for a staging consultation when they can check out a book at the public library for free? Take a look at the analogy below...

Let's say you were given several 2 x 4's and were told to build a house. Don't worry, you won't need to do the plumbing or electric, just the framing. Easy. No problem. After all, there are books on the topic. You can just Google, "How to Frame a House." I'm sure Wikipedia has something on that topic.

The truth is, unless we have been taught about house framing, most of us would end up with just a nice pile of lumber, not having a clue on where to start. Then there are those who would be determined to have a go at it despite their lack of knowledge; their intentions may be honorable, but the end results would be less than perfect.

To get the job done correctly and in a timely manner, common sense would tell us to hire a professional who has experience with framing houses - someone who understands the process, who can prioritize the tasks, and utilize the tools in the correct manner.

Back to home staging... Even when sellers are given all the correct supplies to stage their house, they may still lack the understanding on how to apply those tools to their home. Books, online sources, and t.v. shows (our home staging lumber yard) offer great resources for professionals and amateurs alike but will only take Do-it-Yourself home staging so far. Consultations by a trained stager will give sellers the "blue prints" for staging, specialized for their own home.

Professional home stagers are asset to the Real Estate community, because they understand the staging process from hands-on experience; they prioritize tasks so sellers are not overwhelmed, and they utilize staging tools in the correct manner for maximum effectiveness.

KFM Staging & Design is a Minnesota home staging company that creates "First Impressions that Sell" in the Twin Cites and Western Wisconsin. KFM specializes in vacant staging and staging consultations. Visit our website for staging tips or to schedule your in-home or online consultation.

KFM Staging & Design
"Creating First Impressions That Sell!"
Visit MyBlogLog and get a signature like this!

*Photos courtesy of fotosearch.com