How Home Staging Is Like Dancing with the Stars - Part 2 of 2
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Bruno said that when David Alan Grier "kept his dancing classic, it worked, but when he went off and got a little wild, it didn't work because it didn't work for that style of dance". This again, is analagous to staging. Take a look at the style of home that is being staged. Is it a contemporary house, if so, make sure that the interior is reflective of that. If it's a classic, traditional house, make sure that the interior reflects that as well. When the exterior and the interior do not match, there is an incongruency that buyers will have a hard time with. Remember, a confused mind always says no. Part of the problem here is that sometimes buyers or even stagers and realtors try to impose their own style or their taste into the staging design and personal taste has no place in staging a home. It's about showcasing the property and making sure that there is a connection. Lil Kim and her partner Derek Hough's performance was praised for reflecting just that... they were said to be "perfectly matched and they complimented each other beautifully". You want the same to be true of the message that your buyers get from the moment they lay eyes on your property at the curb and continue throughout as they tour the home's interior and beyond. It should all be complimentary. To sum this all up, I'll give a quick example to clarify all of these points. I was recently shown photos of a property had been on the market, but didn't sell. It was a beautiful, custom house in a prime location with a 7 figure price tag to support it. It had been staged, but there were several problems. First, from the photos, it lacked personality. It was too vanilla and it was sadly, boring! The walls were an off-white and the furnishings were also very neutral - off-white, bone, beige...there was no color! The master bedroom, one of the most important rooms in the house, was starving for some pizzaz. Buyer expectations for this property is going to be elevated based on the price tag alone and there was nothing in the property that differentiated it from a house that was a third or even half the price. Unfortunately, it was probably underwhelming prospective buyers. Second, the architectural style of the house was very traditional, but the interior was trying to be contemporary. When I made suggestions about the furnishings that I envisioned for the property, the comment was that "no, that's not what we like." Ding, ding, ding...problem number three, it's not about you and what you like, it's what the house calls for that really matters. Bottom line, in this changing real estate market, sellers, realtors, and home stagers all need to step up their game so that a property really STANDS OUT and makes buyers STOP and TAKE NOTICE. You want your house to be like Gilles & Cheryl's performances - engaging, leaves the audience wanting more, and definitely memorable!
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