Synergy Staging - Portland Home Staging Blog

Deciding to have your home staged in Portland, Oregon is one of the most important considerations as you begin the process of selling your home.  It may be tempting to sell "as is," but buyers are currently looking for move-in ready homes and are more likely to buy one that is staged.  We've heard many home owners say they'd like to put their house on the market before having it staged to see how it goes.  And then they'll try staging if it doesn't sell.  Guess what?

The best time to stage your property is before it goes on the market.  Buyers, as well as Realtors, form their impression of your home just seconds after walking through the door.  First impressions are everything.  Also, the internet has become the primary tool for buyers in search of the perfect home.  Flyers and websites need to have photos of your staged home to create maximum interest.  Photos of empty rooms or of over-furnished and cluttered rooms can put off buyers and reduce interest in the property. 

And home staging statistics show that staging your home for sale will result in a faster sale.  See this example of a house we recently staged that was staged, listed, and closed in under 20 days.

A few more things to keep in mind:

Realtors recognize staged homes as premium listings, resulting in more showings and more offers.  Appraisers are more likely to assess staged homes at full value. 

So make sure your home is staged before your first Open House in order to give yourself every edge and capitalize on the interest of a new listing. Trying to regain the momentum of a new listing is very difficult and many potential buyers may already be looking at the new houses coming on the market. 

This post is Part 6 in a series answering Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland, Oregon?

Previous posts can be found here:

Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland Oregon?  I Watch HGTV!  Part 1 in a Series

Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland Oregon?  I Already Decorated It! Part 2 in a Series

Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland Oregon?  My Pictures Are Fine!  Part 3 in a Series

Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland Oregon?  My Home Looks Bigger Without Furniture!  Part 4 in a Series

Why Hire a Professional Stage in Portland Oregon? I Chose the Colors Myself!  Part 5 in a Series

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Join the Realtors, Investors, and Homeowners who call Synergy Staging to make their properties irresistible.  For more tips or to see our latest home staging projects, visit us on Facebook and read our Portland Home Staging Blog.  Please call us at (503) 557-2244 for a free no obligation quote so we can help your home sell faster.

Neutral wall colors!  You've probably heard this over and over again.  But what if you've painted the rooms in your house your favorite color and think it looks great!  Certainly everyone else will like your favorite color too, right?

Well, it's possible some might, but there is a major difference in what you think looks good and what will appeal to the widest possible range of potential buyers.  A professional home stager can provide a color consultation prior to staging and recommend the best color scheme for the rooms in your house. 

While the common rule-of-thumb is to go neutral when selling your home, color can look okay, but an empty home with bold colors will never provide the best chance for a successful sale.

Here are a few examples of rooms that we color consulted and then staged. 

This bright lavender child's room with a border was too specific to be a selling feature in this home.  By painting a neutral color and using furniture already in the home, the room was warmed up and no longer an eye sore.

The forest green made this office feel dark and small.  With a light blue wall color and rearranging the owners furnishings, the office is much more inviting and looks far superior for on-line photos.

This master bathroom was painted by the owner.  While it is important to surround yourself with colors that you like when you live in a home, selling a home is a different story.  By removing the teal, the bathroom now feels like a retreat which helped sell the property faster.

This dining room was painted rose which is a very specific color that distracted potential buyers.  Once staged, the color is no longer the focus of the room as the furnishings tone down the color and feature the elegance of the space.

These simple examples not only demonstrate the difference in specific versus neutral color, but also the importance of how your rooms will look on line.  With over 80% of buyers searching on line before requesting a showing, photos are more important than ever.

This post is Part 5 in a series answering Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland, Oregon?

Previous posts can be found here:

Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland Oregon?  I Watch HGTV!  Part 1 in a Series

Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland Oregon?  I Already Decorated It! Part 2 in a Series

Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland Oregon?  My Pictures Are Fine!  Part 3 in a Series

Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland Oregon?  My Home Looks Bigger Without Furniture!  Part 4 in a Series

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Join the Realtors, Investors, and Homeowners who call Synergy Staging to make their properties irresistible.  For more tips or to see our latest home staging projects, visit us on Facebook and read our Portland Home Staging Blog.  Please call us at (503) 557-2244 for a free no obligation quote so we can help your home sell faster.

I've been so consumed with blogging my series on Why Hire a Professional Stager? that I've neglected to post some pictures of one of our recent stagings. 

This is a beautiful property in Tualatin, Oregon, just outside Portland, in an incredible neighborhood.  It's a fully updated home with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths with tremendous appeal.  Hope you like the photos:

For more details about this home please visit the Staged Listings page on our website.

For more information about this property please contact
Cindy Westfall of Prudential NW Properties at 503-819-5241

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Join the Realtors, Investors, and Homeowners who call Synergy Staging to make their properties irresistible.  For more tips or to see our latest home staging projects, visit us on Facebook and read our Portland Home Staging Blog.  Please call us at (503) 557-2244 for a free no obligation quote so we can help your home sell faster.

We've heard that anywhere from 90% to 95% of potential buyers cannot visualize their furnishings in an empty room.  Even if that number is lower, why allow a buyer to question something about your home that can be easily answered?

A professional home stager can help define a room with the proper placement of furniture.  This will not only allow the focal points and architecture of the home to be featured, but also provide a natural flow from within the room so buyers can understand just how they can live in the house.

Furniture defines a room in more ways than one. 

A small room feels larger once it is properly furnished because your eye has something to relate the space to.  Some buyers may think that they can't fit their furniture in an empty room as they generally imagine their furniture is larger than it really is.  Staging demonstrates the scale of furniture in the space so buyers aren't left to wonder.

This very small guest room, directly off a living room, looked like nothing more than a passthrough when it was empty.  A lounger with just the right scale and nightstand allows a buyer to see exactly how the room can be used with no more guessing.  It simply did not look like a bed could fit in the space before it was staged.

This small loft was advertised as a bedroom, but there was not a bed in the room and it seemed too small.  Using a bed from another room in the house, this space was transformed into the bedroom that it was being marketed as.

On the other hand, an oversized empty room can feel overwhleming and buyers are often concerned about what to do with the space.  Staging can make these large spaces feel more livable and cozy once furnished.  It can also provide a creative layout to the space that shows the full potential of the room.

This large great room had two focal points, a fireplace and built in tv stand.  It was important to accent both, while still keeping the room cozy and intimate.  By creating several sitting areas the room felt warm and inviting.

This was a unique project in that we were called in to only stage the master bedroom because everyone who had viewed the house didn't know how to fit a bed in here due to the awkward floorplan and sloped ceiling.  Not only did a bed fit, but we put in king size bed and a sitting area, in addition to a dresser which is not in the photo.  After this room was staged, not one potential buyer questioned the layout.

On average, staged houses sell faster and for more money.  Why?  These examples are just one of the reasons.  Don't let your potential buyers wonder -  Will my furniture fit?  What do I do with this room?  Confusion and questions hinder a sale - beautiful staging which allows buyers to connect emotionally with the property enhance a sale.

This post is Part 4 in a series answering Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland, Oregon?

Previous posts can be found here:

Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland Oregon?  I Watch HGTV!  Part 1 in a Series

Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland Oregon?  I Already Decorated It! Part 2 in a Series

Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland Oregon?  My Pictures Are Fine!  Part 3 in Series

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Join the Realtors, Investors, and Homeowners who call Synergy Staging to make their properties irresistible.  For more tips or to see our latest home staging projects, visit us on Facebook and read our Portland Home Staging Blog.  Please call us at (503) 557-2244 for a free no obligation quote so we can help your home sell faster.

According to the National Association of Realtors, 87% of home buyers find a house online before requesting a showing.  This is a staggering statstic that reflects just how much the landscape of real estate has changed over the past few years.  Every home seller should be aware of this important fact.  Online photos are more important than ever before. 

It's not enough anymore to show a picture of the front of your house, the backyard, the empty living room and a bedroom.  Or worse yet, a cluttered room or distracting photo.  Nothing shows you don't care about the marketing of your home more than a poorly taken photograph.  But what type of picture really sells a home?

NOT THIS

OR THIS

A professional home stager knows how to work with your space so it will look good not only in person, but also in photos so buyers will actually come to your property.  If they are turned off by the online photos, you've lost a potential buyer.  Don't let that happen.  Here are the same two rooms after being staged.

The rooms are now defined, look inviting, and will not turn buyers away.  Strong colors can also be a deterrent to buyers.  Staging will help tone down the colors and make them feel more inviting.

Don't list your property without reviewing your online photos and ensuring they show your property in the best possible way.  It's an easily avoidable trap that can save you thousands of dollars.

This post is Part 3 in a series answering Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland, Oregon?

Previous posts can be found here:

Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland Oregon?  I Watch HGTV!  Part 1 in a Series

Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland Oregon?  I Already Decorated It! Part 2 in a Series

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Join the Realtors, Investors, and Homeowners who call Synergy Staging to make their properties irresistible.  For more tips or to see our latest home staging projects, visit us on Facebook and read our Portland Home Staging Blog.  Please call us at (503) 557-2244 for a free no obligation quote so we can help your home sell faster.

Many of us have heard the familiar phrase - staging is not the same as decorating.  Simply put, decorating is personalizing a space to suit a particular taste.  Home Staging is de-personalizing a space and making it appealing to the widest range of potential buyers. 

As Home Stagers with our own personal sense of design, we strongly encourage everyone to live in spaces they personalize and decorate the way they want to live.  However, when selling a home, the exact opposite is true.  If owners put their homes on the market in the exact condition they like to live in, 99% of the time it will not give them the best edge in marketing their home.

Remember this when selling your home:

Never let a buyer looking at your home ever think about you!  What are you like? Why are you selling? Aren't your kids cute? You go to that type of church?  What a beautiful antique - my grandmother had that!  You get the point. 

When you are selling your home you want potential buyers to see the space and imagine themselves living in it.  Once you distract a buyer with personal items that take them away from thinking about your house, you made an easily avoidable and potentially costly mistake.

Here is a bedroom in a home that was decked out in Victorian style with wallpaper in every room.  By simply removing the wallpaper, painting a neutral color, and removing some personal item (lace on the chest, bed throws, period art, birdhouse, window coverings) the room is instantly more inviting and easy for a buyer to envision the space.  And now there is even a view!

It's great to have a workout room, expecially if we use it!  But not at the expense of a bedroom when selling your home.  This is a downstairs master suite with a bathroom attached and a gorgeous view out the window of downtown Portland.  Staging this room as it is intended allows a buyer to get a feel for the size and potential of this bedroom.

This space was used as an office, but can you imagine that the owner opted to face the corner with a wall instead of the amazing view of Mt. Hood out the windows?  By simply rearranging the owners furnishings, the space becomes more intimate and features one of the major selling points of the home.

Talk about personal items!  This before photo was taken *after* the owners thought they had de-cluttered and de-personalized the space.  Artifacts from their trips around the world are a wonderful display when living in the home, but not when selling.  A buyer would begin thinking about the stories of each of these unique and valuable items instead of the beautiful living room behind them.  Simply staged, this wall now keeps buyers focused on the home, and not on the owner's international adventures.

Remember - a professional home stager sees your property through the eyes of a potential buyer, with the added experience and knowledge of how to best present your home.  We view your home with no emotional attachment and can objectively help prepare your house for sale.   And if you want to do it yourself, a cost effective Home Staging Consultation will give you all the tips and recommendations necessary get your home market ready.

This post is Part 2 in a series answering Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland, Oregon?

Part 1 can be found here:
Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland Oregon?  I Watch HGTV!  Part 1 in a Series

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Join the Realtors, Investors, and Homeowners who call Synergy Staging to make their properties irresistible.  For more tips or to see our latest home staging projects, visit us on Facebook and read our Portland Home Staging Blog.  Please call us at (503) 557-2244 for a free no obligation quote so we can help your home sell faster.

Are you preparing to sell your property and wondering - how can I make my home the best it can be?  That question has never been more relevant given the current real estate market.  Potential buyers are out there, but the inventory of homes on the market is at one of its highest points right now.  Competition is fierce, and you want every possible edge in marketing your home.

You've seen all the staging and design programs on HGTV and perhaps think you can do it yourself.  Keep in mind that it is difficult to capture all the staging techniques that are required to best prepare a home for sale from a television program.  Home staging is most successful when done by an experienced professional who is familiar with your local market.  Understanding the use of color, the importance of scale, and proper placement of furniture is key.  A professional stager also has the ability to view your home as a potential buyer would without any emotional attachment to the property or furnishings.

Great Room 'staged' by Realtor

In the example above this large great room was 'staged' by the Realtor as they felt it was better than an empty space.  A very small table in the large dining area and two stools at the kitchen pass through did not make buyers feel at home here and in fact makes the room feel worse than if it was empty.  It really needed full staging as one of the major complaints was that buyers could not imagine what to do with the vast amount of space.  Accenting the focal point which is a huge firepalce flanked by floor to ceiling windows and showing a great furniture layout is what this room needed.

This property sat on the market for two months with no activity before it was professionally staged.

Great Room professionally staged by Synergy Staging

By professionally staging the space the room comes alive and creates a sense of emotional impact that buyers are drawn to.  An appropriately scaled dining room table now defines the space properly.  The living room is now arranged as a space buyers can envision.  Also, prior to staging, the fireplace was getting a thumbs down because of the unappealing brown paint tone and it was also overbearing in the space.  Placing art the length of the fireplace makes the room feel grand and transforms an eyesore into a beautiful focal point.

Even though most homeowners wouldn't stage a house as the first photo shows, this example shows the dramatic difference proper staging can bring to a home.  The investment in staging will pay off when the home is prepared well, priced right, and presented professionally.  This home sold only weeks after it was staged.

This post is Part 1 in a series answering Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland, Oregon?

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Join the Realtors, Investors, and Homeowners who call Synergy Staging to make their properties irresistible.  For more tips or to see our latest home staging projects, visit us on Facebook and read our Portland Home Staging Blog.  Please call us at (503) 557-2244 for a free no obligation quote so we can help your home sell faster.

I'm sure many of you stagers (and others readers) have come across a rug or carpet that has dents from a heavy piece of furniture sitting in place for a long period of time.  What do you do when you want to use the rug in another home - or rearrange the furnishings in your own home? 

You vacuum over and over and it seems to have no effect except making your back sore!  Keep the vacuum out for later, but there is a secret step that will rid the dents once and for all...

That secret is ice!

Take an ice cube and place it directly on the dented area of the carpet.  Now you'll need to wait until it melts.  Once it has melted you should wait for it to dry.  At that point vacuum the area where the dent is and the carpet should raise and look even again.  If it is still matted down, you may need to pull up the carpet, but the ice will have loosened the fibers enough to do that.

For larger dents you may try using several pieces of ice, but try not to get the area overly wet so the carpet gets soaked.

We just staged a home with a rug that had had a dining room table on it for some time.  We were now using it in the living room, and the coffee table was not large enough to cover the dents.  We put ice on the four dents after we unrolled the rug.  By the time we had the furnishings arranged in the room, the ice had melted, we vacuumed the spots, and the dents were gone.

Hope this secret works for you too!

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Join the Realtors and homeowners who call Synergy Staging to make their properties irresistible.  Please call us at (503) 557-2244 for a free no obligation quote.

There are so many unique homes in the Portland area, and we always look forward to the opportunity to stage these properties.  This completely remodeled Craftsman is one of those properties that we fell in love with even before we staged it.

The small scale and layout of the rooms presented several challenges that you can see below.  The living room has a small bedroom immediately off of it.  The room also has a door that leads to a hall between the kitchen and bathroom.  When it was empty the room felt like nothing more than an unusable pass through.  By staging it as a guest room with a lounger to keep it more casual off the living room, the space was immediately defined and had a purpose.

The dining room was very small so we used a glass table to keep the space open.  In order to keep a nice flow to the kitchen we had to center the table in the space instead of under the chandelier.  We staged the table with a low bowl instead of a larger centerpiece which would have drawn attention to fact that the table was not centered beneath the chandelier.

We also staged the downstairs Master Suite which requires a walk through the laundry room and furnace area.  It felt like a carpeted basement that had no warmth or connection to the rest of the home.  The staging shows how cozy and inviting the room can be.

For more pics and details about this home please visit the Staged Listings page on our website.

For more information about this property please contact
John Loew of Real Estate Executives at 503-913-3688

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This vacant home was staged by Synergy Staging.  Join the Realtors and homeowners who call us to make their properties irresistible.  Please contact us at (503) 557-2244 for a free no obligation quote.

Synergy Staging was asked to stage another property for an investor that we've been working with recently.  These homes have been flipped, moderately staged, and priced to sell.

This home is in the Vancouver, Washington area and has a great floorplan.  I'll update with the address and price once it is listed later this weekend.  Here are some before and after photos.

For more information about this property please contact
Kristin Riggs of Mal & Seitz Real Estate at 503-823-1409

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This vacant home was staged by Synergy Staging.  Join the Realtors and homeowners who call us to make their properties irresistible.  Please contact us at (503) 557-2244 for a free no obligation quote.