Gene Mundt - Let's Talk Mortgages & Real Estate! : Staging Can Add ENERGY to a Home on the Market!

Hi Maureen, The before and after photos don't even look like the same house.  You did a great job! It made a huge difference and I'm sure the home will sell much quicker.

Nice job! Do you use the same styling for all your projects, or do you change decor?

Hi Joyce ~ Thanks for such a nice compliment.  We strive to make the home look more inviting for buyers  :-)

Hi Roseanne ~ We style the furnishings for the target buyer for this house.  We discuss who the buyer might be with both the seller and the listing agent, and stage accordingly, which requires carrying a large inventory of furnishings.  For this home, the listing broker said the likely buyer is younger, and someone who wants a clean, modern look in the furniture.  I hope you're working with a talented stager in your area of Washington :-)

Hi Maureen.  Nice transformation.  You really gave the place a sense of character and warmth.  Nice job.

Maureen - glad to hear that they had chosen you to stage this home. I'm sure they were beyond thrilled with how warm and inviting you made this home. At first glance, the bedroom, when vacant, looked like it would only accommodate a bed. In the after picture, you show the buyers how to effectively use this room. No doubt that that will have an impact on buyers.

Congratulations. Your home staging is being featured in the group Staging Before and After Pictures.

Kathy

Hi Debbie ~ in this home, adding just the right amount of furniture allows buyers to imagine their own furnishings in the home.

Hi Kathy ~ It's true that the bedroom looked smaller before adding 4 items of furniture ... thanks so much for the feature!

Maureen - You really have added a shot of energy(!) into this somewhat tired home.  The new look you have created looks vibrant and alive.  You've completely transformed the dining area - I'm sure home buyers can now imagine spending an evening relaxing at the dinner table, enjoying good food, wine and friends. 

Maureen:  I love this staging.  There is just enough furniture in the living room so that someone can think of all the other things they can add because there is so much space.  Holy cannolli the bedroom went from a box to a room with a purpose.  Love it.

Maureen....that home is radiating energy now!  The dinning room went from super drab and unappealing to cool and now!  SMART agent to bring you in to showcase this home!

Maureen, you're totally right, the energy you added with your modern staging touches dramatically changes the feel of the home. Its now really warm and welcoming for buyers - fantastic job!

Maureen, great work as always. You staging shows that it is not only important to give buyer idea how each space could be used, but also it it important to make target buyer appropriate furniture choices. And the dining area speaks for itself. The house looks like a new century home, not a tired grandma's house.

Maureen, you're so awesome!  The only thing I would of done different was to add two pieces of art or to flag and expand the little bedroom window.

Hi Sally -- yes, the dining room really needed a more modern, younger feel ... buyers want to relate to a space, and Before, it wasn't very exciting.

Hi Valerie -- we purposely staged the living room lightly for just the reason you mentioned -- to show function, but also to highlight that it's a large room so buyers would only be limited by their imagination.  Thanks for your feedback!

Hi Kathy ~ the listing broker referred the sellers to me, and it was fun to transform this house.  It's in a wonderful neighborhood.

Hi Heather ~ thanks, we wanted this house to go from "tired and dated" in the decor to "ready for a vibrant new owner!"

Hi Anna ~ Even though the home is 50 years old, it shouldn't feel that way when you walk in.  The broker told me that the likely buyer is a younger couple or family who likes the feel of mid-century modern.

Hi Julea ~ unfortunately we could only use existing nails in most of this home but we did our best to choose the ones that were already at the right height.

Very nicely done.  I love your picture BTW.  :)

Your kidding, well then this is even more unbelievable then!  BRAVO

Hi Maureen--As always, beautiful work.  You are such an inspiration. 

Maureen high energy, warmth and personality always come with your professional staging and these examples are certainly proof of that.  Love all of the colors that you used!

Hi Chrissie ~ Thank you -- on both counts!  You must have been very busy lately so it's good to see you again  :-)

Hey Julea ~ when we have challenges such as having to use existing nails, we do the best we can -- you know how it is!

Hi Janet ~ You're very kind to say so, thank you.

Hi Ginger ~ Aren't you on a beach somewhere in Hawaii sipping a mai tai?  I'm jealous!  Anyway, thanks for your nice compliment and I'll try to live up to it!  This is a home that we could relate to -- like those of my friends in the 60's.

Maureen, yes I'm still here in Aloha land.  For a 60's house it looks darn nice!

Those before and after pictures so show the difference staging can make, I'm a huge fan of using stagers!

Cindy in Indy

Ginger -- enjoy your vacation and have one for me!!

Hi Cindy ~ It's wonderful to hear from another successful Realtor that you endorse staging ... thanks for your feedback!

That dining room before was really not good! :)  You made it great.....love the rug!

Hi Shar ~ You're right .. it had no energy at all.  That colorful circles rug has lots of movement which is what the room needed!

Hi Maureen, A well staged home is sooo much preferred..especially when the home is vacant. It not only adds energy but warmth as well. A vacant home in the winter always seems to have that cold, empty and lonely kind of feeling. Not really inviting! Your before and afters show the power of a well staged room.

Thanks Cindy!  It's true that a home needs warmth too in order to be inviting to buyers ... vacant homes sure don't have it, do they?  As you said, especially during our dreary winters!

The energy "void" you describe is a good way to explain how the buyers walking into the empty house feel Maureen. Who wants to linger in a space that has no warmth or feeling of home? You want them to linger, look at the space and envision themselves there.  I imagine home buyers in empty homes quickly moving from room to room peeking their heads in the space and moving on (all in a fast forward type cartoon like motion) and leaving feeling void of anything about the place.  Your staging illustrates the need for the "energy" back in the home to help buyers connect.

You know, I'm usually not a fan of putting things on an angle, but it really works in the living room!  That house is certainly energized!

Hi Karen ~ your description of buyers rushing through a vacant home says it all ... nothing to keep them lingering often means they're on to the next one!

Hi Julie ~ when we placed the furniture on an angle in that room, it just looked and felt so much better.  Sometimes the angle comes in handy -- but I rarely use it.

Maureen, great examples of your "energy work".   I really like your title for this post as a "catch phrase" I might use in a presentation..... great concept!  Thanks for sharing and creating "energy" centered around YOUR work!  Great post!

Hi Teri -- thank you!  I really believe that energy is a tangible asset in a home for sale.  The minute you walk into a home on the market, you either feel it or you don't.  Homes with tangible energy are far more compelling to buyers (even if they don't realize what's making them feel that way).  Homes without it feel dead to me -- I guess that I have a very senstive built-in "detector."

You would only have to ask me once which dining room I preferred?  LOL!  Well done!

Maureen- I'm not sure how this one slipped by me but excellent Before and After shots.  The dining room actually looks cozy now and the "Before" bedroom made you question how much furniture it would hold.  Your staging did the trick to show them that a Buyer could fit what they needed in it.

Hi Sharon ~ Glad to hear that you agree with me  :-) 

Hi Kathy ~ that's right, staging oftens provide the visual that buyers need in order to see if their furniture will fit.  Thanks for your kind words!

Love the before and after pics Maureen.  Do you do any virtual staging or know someone who does?

Hi Melinda ~ glad to hear that you enjoy the Before & After photos ... the transformations we accomplish are always gratifying.  I'll send you an email about your question.