Welcome to the June 2007 issue of Staging Strategies! Just like the Three Bears of nursery rhyme fame, your clients fall into 3 categories when it comes to addressing how their furnishings need to be dealt with when staging your listings: - Papa Bear (too much stuff),
- Mama Bear (not enough stuff) and
- Baby Bear (just right).
Each of these (yes, even Baby Bear!) has their own unique issues and challenges when it comes to figuring out how to work within those constraints to make sure your listing is showing at its best. This month, we'll take a look at some ideas for dealing with your "Mama Bear" listings.
Sincerely,
Andria Wallace, IADA, RES
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Dealing with Mama Bear Listings
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Last month, we looked at some solutions for dealing with listings that have too much stuff (see May 2007 Staging Strategies). While this is a common problem, the opposite can be just as difficult -- showing a house that doesn't have enough to give the rooms warmth, life and purpose. In some cases, you may be working with a client who has some furnishings, but has either packed most items away, or has left some items even though they have already moved out. In the example below, the client had only a bare minimum of items to work with.
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Look for creative ways to balance the existing furnishings, including repurposing items. In this case, we took a wicker loveseat off the back porch, rehung a picture and used the baskets and shells that were stacked with the boxes. Result? A peaceful room that helped maximimze the living space of the listing.
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The other situation that makes listings more difficult to sell is when the seller has completely moved out and there are no furnishings at all in the house. In this case, it is difficult for buyers to be engaged in the rooms, and empty rooms often feel smaller than they really are. Vacant houses also lack the details that make the rooms feel inviting. And for less than perfect houses, there's nothing to draw the buyer's attention away from those imperfections.
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Rooms don't have to be fully furnished to solve these problems. Even adding the suggestion of purpose through accessories can have a big impact on the presentation of the room. Showing a vacant house shouldn't mean showing it empty.
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Featured Listing:
This beautiful former display is in a gated Chesterfield community. MLS 709627. Thanks to Bob and Jan Waters of Coldwell Banker Gundaker for recently having it staged by Contented Rooms.
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Want to make the most out of
your marketing time and efforts? You may only think of "staging" in terms of expensive rental furniture, but there are cost-effective ways to stage both furnished and vacant listings to give them a stylish and updated look that leads to better showings and faster sale!
Vacant listings are more difficult to show because it's hard for buyers to see the rooms as inviting and functional. Yet filling them with rental furniture is an expensive proposition. A cost-effective alternative is "Focal Point Staging", which creates vignettes, or focal points, to add warmth and purpose to each room, suggesting to buyers the room's potential without trying to recreate a fully furnished house.
When your clients are still living in their house, staging can also be a great boost to increase the listing's visual and emotional appeal to buyers. Not only are rooms displayed more attractively, but strategic placement of furnishings makes better use of space and shows off the house from a buyer's perspective, helping them more easily imagine themselves in the house.
Why invest money in marketing, spend your valuable time at open houses, and expend efforts in promoting your listings before they've been prepared to maxmize their appeal to buyers? Let us help you prepare your listings so you can focus your expertise in what you do best...marketing the property to get it SOLD.
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For more information on how these services can help you move your listings, please call 314-359-9127 or visit our website at www.contentedrooms.com/realtors. |
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Using the art of decorating to make the most of your listings for optimal showing, buyer appeal and faster sale.
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