But what if you’ve got 3 kids, 2 dogs and a pet parakeet, and plan to live in your home while it’s on the market? You may think that staging is not an option for you. Now I can understand why you might think that, because there are stagers out there who refuse to work on a home unless it is completely empty and they can start with a “blank slate.”

Though it’s true that it’s easier for stagers to start from scratch so that we don’t have to incorporate your existing furniture with what we may need to bring in, there are home staging professionals (including myself) that actually enjoy working on occupied homes!

In fact, staging occupied homes is one of our specialties, and we offer a low-cost staging option that can give you the look of a staged home for a fraction of the price.

The way that I work with occupied listings is to start with a Home Staging Consultation. During a consultation appointment, I will spend 2-3 hours touring your home and making a detailed, room-by-room written report listing what can be done (using mostly what’s already in your home) to prepare it for sale. This might include rearranging furniture to highlight architectural details or views, de-cluttering, neutralizing the decor, painting or minor repairs.

In most cases, you can take this report, check off everything on my list, and there’s no need for me to ever come back to the property. Sometimes, however, there may be certain items that I recommend that you rent or purchase in order to complete the staging – art, accessories or even furniture. In that case, if you prefer to rent these items (and have no use for them in your new home), a professional stager can provide a quote to rent you the necessary items and set them up, putting the finishing touches on your home to really make it shine.

Here are some before and after photos of my most recent occupied home staging. Which photos would you rather see on the MLS?

Living Room Before

Living Room After

The living room was a simple case of too much furniture. The large settee on the right in the before picture was HUGE and made the room feel tight and cramped. By removing it and spreading out the remaining matching pieces, the room felt more spacious. We also brought in throw pillows and art to tie in the colors in the rug, added a few accessories, decluttered a bit, and voila – a staged room!

Kitchen/Dining Room Before

Kitchen/Dining Room After

Hmmm, what is that big thing hiding in the corner of the dining room in the before photo? Yes, you guessed it – a treadmill. Just the thing to stimulate your appetite while sitting down for a relaxing meal! We removed the treadmill and replaced it with a console table from another room in the house, set the table and now this room is staged and ready for the open house.

Master Bedroom Before

Master Bedroom After

First of all, the master bedroom is supposed to be all about romance and relaxation. But there’s a huge TV blocking the biggest feature in the room – a romantic fireplace! Next we have an overabundance of family photos – a real “no no” when selling your home. You want potential buyers to picture themselves living in your house. If they see you and your family staring at them from every wall, it just doesn’t feel like home. And lastly, having your golf clubs and an extra vacuum in the room makes it seem as if there’s not enough storage space in the garage or laundry area for those items. We removed all those items, relocated the TV and played up the fireplace and seating area with new art and accessories. Now that’s romantic!

Guest Room Before

Guest Room After

Once again, the main problem was too much stuff! Removing all the stuffed animals, the extra end tables, the personal photos and the exercise ball made the room feel not only more spacious, but also more “grown up.” This was a 4 bedroom home, but all the rooms (except the master) appeared very kid-like. We wanted to show that one room could still be a functional guest room or home office. Once all the extras were gone, we simply made the bed and added some art and throw pillows to complete the staging of this room.

Guest Bathroom Before

Guest Bathroom After

All the bathrooms in this home had a matching detail in the tile that was quite lovely. But with all the crazy patterns in the bath rugs and different colors of towels, that feature was being lost. We had the seller buy some solid color matching towels, removed the rugs and toiletries and brought in a nice vase with flowers to complete the look. Now the features of this bathroom can be the star, rather than an afterthought.

So as you can see, staging even an occupied home can have dramatic results. And since we used the seller’s own furnishings and they did some of the work themselves, they saved a bundle!

If you’re going to be living in your home while it’s on the market, call a professional home stager in your area. For a few hundred dollars, you will receive  valuable, practical advice on getting your home staged and ready to sell. Your return on that investment will be many times what you pay, not only in terms of a better sale price for your home, but also in a quicker sale. Less time on the market means lower carrying costs for you and more $$ in your pocket.

Make sure to ask for references and before and after photos from the stagers you interview.

Happy selling!

Due to its proximity to UCLA, it is probable that this two bedroom condo might be purchased by a UCLA student (or his/her parents) for use while the student is in school. For this reason, we made sure it felt as if there was plenty of room for a bed and a desk in both bedrooms, in case the buyer wants to rent out the second bedroom to another student.

As a professional home staging company, it is crucial that we take into account who the target buyer is for any property. Then we must make sure that our furniture choices will appeal directly to the chosen demographic and make the property irresistable to our target audience!

Here are photos of this fabulous condo.

Living Room After

Living Room After

Dining Room After

Master Bedroom After

Master Bedroom After

Master Bath After

Guest Room After

Guest Bedroom After

Guest Bath After

Property Address: 1840 Camden Ave #106, Los Angeles, CA 90025

Price:   $418,900

MLS #: 10-453691

Listed by: Grace Chow, Amazing Grace & Assoc. 310-476-7722

Recently a client called me about Staging his designer decorated 2-bedroom condo in West Hollywood. The catch was that he only needed one bedroom and a patio Staged. The rest of the home had beautiful furniture and looked great. The 2nd bedroom, however, had become a sort of catch-all storage room and lacked the appeal of the rest of the home.

So we brought in a daybed and desk setup, as well as art and accessories, to show buyers how this room could be used as either a guest bedroom and/or a home office. We were even able to use a couple of the seller’s own pieces as accents in the room so he didn’t have to put them in storage.

Here are the before & after photos of this guest room and the small patio we Staged as well.

Guest Bedroom Before

Guest Room After

Patio Before

Patio After

*Did you notice how I said that the “short answer” was yes in the first paragraph above? Well, here’s the fine print… The rental companies I use have a minimum monthly rental amount. So, for instance, if you just needed a sofa and nothing else, we probably wouldn’t be able to Stage it for you (well we could, but you’d still have to pay the monthly minimum even if you only needed 1 piece). However if you need at least two rooms worth of furniture, we can make it work! Incidentally if it’s just a bed that you need, we do carry camping beds that we stack on a frame and dress to make them look like real beds. These are in our own Staging inventory, so we don’t have to go to an outside rental company…hence no minimums!

In his blog, David points out how the national stats are clear that sellers need to have their homes “priced right and staged right” in order to sell in this highly competitive buyers’ market. He goes on to say how buyers are looking for homes in move-in condition and don’t want to spend time painting and remodeling after they move in. I couldn’t agree more!

Especially in today’s market, it is crucial that your home appears well-maintained and move-in ready or buyers will simply move on to the next property on the list. Some buyers even tell their agents they only want to look at Staged homes.

When you properly prepare your home for sale, you are telling the buyer:

1) You’re not desperate.

Have you already purchased your new home and moved in, leaving your old house completely empty except for the cobwebs? That is a clear clue to a potential buyer that you are likely paying two mortgages and are desperate to sell. Hiring a professional Home Stager to Stage it with furniture and accessories will create a beautiful lived-in look that has buyers breaking down the door to view your home! It also shows buyers that you’re serious enough about getting your home sold that you’ve invested in Staging to show it in its best possible light.

2) Your home has been well-maintained.

Today’s buyers want a home to be move-in ready. So as they walk through your home they are assessing everything they see, trying to determine whether the home has been well-maintained, or whether they will need to do lots of work before they can move their family in. Not to mention that when they see something that hasn’t been well-maintained, they often jump to the conclusion that if the paint/carpet/fixtures haven’t been kept up, there are probably many other problems that have been left untended in the home.

Today’s buyers are also looking for any reason to ask for a credit to lower your asking price. Is the carpet worn? Credit. Is the paint old and peeling or too bright of a bright color? Credit. They may have mentally taken $15,000 off your asking price before they’ve even gotten to the back door.

A professional Stager will advise you on the necessary updates you need in order to get your home in proper showing condition. If paint and carpet are required, we will select a neutral yet appealing paint color and the proper carpeting to make your home look brand new and ready for any family to move right in. Once the initial updates are complete we can add the extras that make your house show like a model home.

If you’re still living in the home and prefer a Do-It-Yourself option, a Staging Consultation will provide you with a comprehensive checklist of what you can do using mostly what you already have in the home to properly Stage the property. If you want a professional to do the work, a Stager can bring in art, plants and accessories to enhance your home’s appeal. If you have a vacant property, we can bring in furniture, art, rugs, plants and accessories to create that model-home look that will entice any buyer!

According to the latest Staging statistics, 94% of Staged homes sell in 35 days or less. If you are serious about selling your home, consult a professional Home Stager.