How to Stage a Home on a Budget

"Salem!" you ask, "Why would you post such an ordinary picture?!"

Because excellent home staging starts by evaluating what is realty...a client's budget, ability, time frame, the home's style and price point, and making sure we know the sweet spot of when to spend and when to re-use. There are an infinite number of things you could spend money on to make your home more desirable; there is also a sweet spot where, should you go past it, you start seeing a drop off in your ROI. We want to get as near that sweet spot as possible without crossing it. Remember, we aren't trying to renovate or decorate! We are improving upon your product with the sole intention of bringing top market value.

Not every home will look like a million bucks becasue that's just not their price point, but every home CAN give a buyer a warm, welcoming feeling that makes them say "oooh, that's the one I want to call home!" 

Seriously friends, this quick staging transformation for photos was literally done in 10 minutes (spending $0) by rearranging what the tenant already owned. Imagine what we could accomplish in an hour with a small improvements budget?!

We all love to troll Pinterest looking at gorgeous kitchens that would never bring a good return on investment if installed in the average home. Welcoming foyers with huge, custom, sun filled windows, and arched french doors leading into professionally landscaped gardens...ok, back to real life people. Home Staging is about putting our best foot forward and evoking an emotion from buyers, not bulldozing and building from scratch. We work within our budget and parameters. In the photo above our budget was $0 and we had 10 min. And we have a listing photo improvement that will draw buyers in!

Who wouldn't like to sell faster and make the most money on their home possible?! Let's take a look at our process:

What we're working with:
1) We have a bland listing photo that makes the room feel small, cold, and uninviting
2) We are on a time crunch
3) We are working with tenants, therefore will a) not be bringing in "extras", b) need to be in and out quickly to respect their space, and c) get decent listings photos that pull buyers in rather than scream "forlorn rental property"
4) We have a whopping $0.00 in Improvements Budget to spend on this project

What we do:
1) Take inventory of what's available and start pulling together a cohesive look for the main rooms. As a side note, I was working with the current tenant through this process and she LOVED seeing her things come together in a whole new way!
2) Make it feel like a home...warm, inviting, peaceful, and loved.

We may not be able to fix everything (or even most things), but regardless of the parameters you are working within if you give a space life, light, order, warmth, and cohesiveness you've created an environment in which a buyer can linger long enough to start imagining themselves there.