I thought it would be fun for all of us to share some of our worst before situations and the transformations that follow. Everyone has experienced one of 'those' homes and sometimes the results are remarkable. Let's see them!
We always like to approach each project with the best design solution in mind. Sometimes it is necessary to encourage our clients to take certain steps to prepare their home prior to staging. As we all know, staging can't cover up or hide property flaws or existing furnishings in disrepair. The staging in a home is a reflection of our company and we all want successful results. Using nice furnishings and decor in a room with a terrible color or wallpaper isn't going to do anyone any favors.
While some may not agree with our approach, we only accept projects where we know success is possible. We've all been into houses that are in terrible shape and the owners think staging is the magic solution. If they are not willing to do their part and work with us to prep their home so everything works together, it becomes a poor investment for them. Luckily we have had very few owners or Realtors not willing to go with our suggestions.
One of the most important aspects of being a professional stager is letting our clients know how their property can be prepared in every way possible to create the impact we are trying to achieve. We are not just decorators who plop furniture and decor into rooms. We must educate the home owners and Realtors to understand the impression each aspect of the home makes on potential buyers. Knowing what the buyers are looking for right now and what is going to sell the home is key. In almost every market throughout the country, potential buyers are looking for homes that are move-in ready. The more we can encourage our clients to take the steps we recommend to make their homes show ready, the more likely it will result in a successful sale.
Here is a bedroom with sponged purple and pink walls and a fairy wallpaper border! This was obviously a young girl's room, but would not appeal to every buyer that came through the door. Buyers can be very overwhelmed by the idea of having to paint and take down wallpaper. Had the owners left the room as is, the potential buyers would be seeing a room that is both shocking and another thing on a 'to do' list. In this project we did a color consultation throughout the house in order to achieve a nice flow and look. Fortunately the owners were willing to paint most of the rooms in the home. We were then able to work with their furniture and add our decor to make it work.
Not only is important to tone down wall colors and/or replace dated wallpaper, but sometimes a room must be completely redefined because the current homeowner has a layout that makes no sense for a potential buyer. Here was a home where the dining room was being used for two pianos and the beautiful family room was being used as their dining room. It definitely had to be redefined in order for buyers to see the potential of living in the home. You'll note that in this case they were not willing to paint the walls, so we worked with the lilac and maroon walls in these two rooms, and successfully redefined the spaces.
So now it's your turn! Please share your most extreme transformations and inspire us with your work!
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These properties were staged by Synergy Staging. Let us help you make your property irresistible. Please call us at (503) 557-2244 for a free no obligation quote.
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Fabulous! Your blog banner is also great - very uplifting! And Different!
Wow, great job. Staging is a must for any seller. But first get rid of the clutter, than call the Stager in to do their magic.
Big differences in the befores and afters. Clear room purposes are importnat, nice clarity in the staging! -- good stuff.
Awesome! Can you visualize the results before making the change?
Very nice. Can I just say that I don't understand why so many homeowners went for he dark red paint? (I'm leaving out the strange cases of OSU scarlet we see around here...). The next buyer never likes it!
Couldn't agree more with the importance of painting! This might not be my worst, but it's a nice transformation!
I wasn't sure we would be able to make the house look as good as we did, but I was really happy with the results.
Fun post. Thanks.
David, another great topic. I'm learning lots everyday from your posts.
HI DAVID!
I love before & after pics!! These look great! Painting is such an easy fix. So is decluttering and these are things people can do themselves too! Thanks for posting!
I think you did a great job of illustrating the difference that stagging can make. We get so used to the ways our homes look, we forget how it may look to others.
David ~ Here's an example of some very dated wallpaper and matching curtains ... which I had to convince the sellers to remove, but the end result was worth it ..... to bring the home into this decade.
Nice before and after everyone, all of them! Makes me proud to be a stager!!
Here is another. This is/was the first thing you see when you opened the door!
Sorry so dark, we didn't have power in the beginning
Very nice before and after, staging makes a huge difference! Great job!
Thanks for sharing the photos!
wow...great before and after pictures....it really does make a difference!
This is a fun post! You are a nice addition to AR!!!
Great pictures, I'm going to take my camera with me all the time now to take before and after pix, even before we list a house.
But what do you do when I client DOESN't want to do anything? I even know realtors who think they don't have to paint a room.
What an excellent job. The proof is in the pictures as each one is worth a thousand words.
Always...always...always....stage every listing.....I don't care how nice it looks. Our fiduciary responsibility is to maximize value. If you don't stage a house, you are stealing from your clients..... Harsh statement, but think about it.
These are some GREAT before and afters. In your pic #3, where was the fireplace before the transformation? No where to be found. And pic #2, the room looked SO small. And just how many potential buyers really want a music room. In this case you are hoping the Realtor who shows the property informs potential buyers this could be a dining room. Its ashame we cant do this to every home we list. AND, who thought purple was a good color to paint a bedroom? Thanks again!
David,
Love what you did with the pink bedroom! Great transformation.
Lauren, Nancy & Alexsandra ~ Thanks so much!
Richard ~ Absolutely - although my partner Nik does the design and visualization. It all comes together in his head before it happens in reality!
Suzanne ~ It is one thing to have dark red paint in your home, or any other color you wish for your own personal taste, but once it is time to sell - neutral is the way to go. Strong colors do not help in a sale. Not that a property won't sell with different color tones, but we try to do everything possible to make the positives outweigh the negatives.
Judy ~ Great transformation. Those orange walls were wild. The new look is so much better and I really like that mirror to open up the narrow space.
Michelle ~ Thanks for sharing. The after is so much nicer - with the rug especially and the art on the wall. Great work!
Jill & Yvette ~ Thanks - I appreciate it!
Joan ~ Thank you. And it's just another reason to use a professional stager - to get an unemotional third opinion on a property with no attachment to the 'stuff' who can look objectively as a potential buyer would.
Maureen ~ I was hoping I would share this transformation. I saw it on your website after I decided to do this blog and thought it would be a wonderful example. Just great work! I can't imagine having lived in it the old way. Wow!
Hi David, some great transformations! However, what if a potential client sees their home in the before photos? They might be offended? Just a thought.
Love all the before and after photos. What an amazing difference. ~Rita
Robyn ~ Sometimes we wonder what owners or designers are thinking. That wild entry color which tied in with absolutely nothing else. It's look so much better after.
Sharon, Brad & Sonya ~ Thanks. Glad you can see the impact it makes.
Cathy ~ What a great space you got to work in. It looks so good! And thanks for the kind words...
Linda ~ It's always great to have pictures of every listing before and after. Ultimately it is your client's choice what they want to do. All we can do is educate them and give them the benefits of our knowledge and experience. If people are successful selling houses that don't get painted or fixed up, more power to them - but I guarantee they are not getting top dollar, or a buyer who is as excited as they could be if they saw the full potentital of the house. It's always our choice as Relators or Stagers whether or not we want to take on a project after meeting with the home owners. But if the client doesn't want to do anything - we can still choose to stage it and you can choose to list it - but if the property doesn't sell then it is not your fault because we have made them aware that there are other steps that can be taken to ensure the house is as appealing as possible.
Vickie ~ Thanks! It's all about the photos!!!
Tim ~ Of course - I couldn't agree more that every listing should be staged.
Greg ~ The fireplace was there - just totally hidden by the table. Fortunately we staged this listing before it went on the market, so no one had to explain what the rooms 'could' be used for. Everything was very clear through the staging.
Michelle ~ Thank you.
David ~ The only pictures that we ever use are with clients whose homes we have staged. They are always thrilled with how their house looks after it is staged. They also know that we'll be using photos of their home and have agreed contracually to let us do so.
Rita ~ Thanks!
Sometimes I take some photos during the first meeting and then show them to the owner and ask them what they might suggest to make them look better.
You are so right -- most people would not understand the original set-up of the dining room in the great room and the piano room in the dining room. Good job.
David Peterson -
These look wonderful David. YOu sure know how to stage. I love how you laid out your post. Very appealing. Keep up the good work!
These are all excellent examples of the impact staging can and does have on a home.
Congratulations. Your post is being featured in the group; Staging Before & After Pictures.
Kathy
Hi David,
Fun post...OK, here's my all time favorites:
This home sold in less than 60 days! =)
Jean ~ That is certainly one approach, although typically homeowners have no idea the difference of living in a home and preparing their home for a potential buyer. The picture idea is great and this is where you need to use those pictures as a talking point with the owners so they can understand how much more appealing their property may be with certain changes and suggestions.
Bob & Nathan ~ Thank you for the nice posts!
Kathy ~ That is awesome. Thanks!
Abby ~ Fantastic example. This truly shows the power of staging. Terrific work here. Congrats!
Here's some of mine from a house I did last year - these shots used almost all of the homeowners own things - I just brought in a few accessories. This was a case where there was so much stuff in the house, we rented 2 PODS:
Awsome transformation. I inspect homes all the time that look like the before photos.
Matt - so does my husband - he's an inspector as well. We do a lot of pre-listings on my projects to make sure that the place stays sold once it gets a contract. Pre-listings are becoming a bigger part of his business - in today's market a house really needs to be in good shape not only cosmetically but functionally and structurally as well. I've got a crew of contractors I use to fix all the stuff he finds. It's better to do it before, than to scramble and fix things after the buyer's inspection. Sometimes I can't believe a house even sold with some of them looking the way they do.
You did a fabulous job with your occupied staging, David! Congrats on making those wall colors more appealing. Most of my stagings are vacants, so the changes are not so dramatic. However, I am currently working with an occupied that is requiring alot of hand holding to get those changes made before placing the house on the market. If the homeowners finish what I recommended-it will be a huge transformation. Thanks for sharing yours.
David - Fun blog! Here are some pictures - the before is scary don't you think? The homeowner graduated with a degree in design!
Okay this is fun...here was ONE of our worst kitchens. Although we did not do EVERYTHING I think we certainly made a HUGE impact with the money we had to work with..
Phyllis Pafumi
Fun post!
Now here's just the before's because I just did this one today, and the photographer came right after I finished. I'll post the after's when she sends me the pics.
This property had $0 budget, except for my labor, so much of it was make something out of nothing situation.
~S~
David ... what a fun post!!!!!!!!!!
Before:
AFTER:
Phyllis, I don't know how you overcame the bright orange counters but you did! It looks really cute, even with the orange counters and avacado fridge!! OMG.....the sink and back splash are avacado too! Now I've never seen that before!
This was my first and still one of my favorite houses I've staged. The transformation was very satisfying. The owner was in a terrible emotional state due to a divorce situation and she was very appreciative of my help.
Those are some amazing transformations!! What were some of these people thinking with that wallpaper?
Liz ~ What a great transformation! Less is always more.
Matt ~ And most inspections take place after someone has agreed to purchase. It's too bad you see so many houses looking like the before pictures.
Kathy ~ Thanks. Good luck with the owners. Sounds like you are encouraging them and working with them to get their house up to its potential. Hopefully they listen to you...
Patti ~ That before picture is just wild. Wallpaper is one thing - that is entirely another with that bedspread! Good work on getting the transformation accomplished.
Phyllis ~ You may not have done everything, but you got the cabinets to look much better and the orange now looks funky instead of dated. And good thing that you got the smell out. A house that smells will not sell!
Susan ~ We'll look forward to seeing what you do with this house.
Pippa ~ A whole remodel. Nice. We are not generally that fortunate!
Sharon ~ Now that's taking an incredibly undefined space into something that a potential buyer can envision.
Very nice. I have so many I don't know where to choose from. I think I could do 100 pages easy on some of my good ones. I just finished a house yesterday that will be a contendor for furture ones once it sold which I am sure will be soon. Kym
Kym ~ Thanks for stopping by. We'd love to see what you think was your wildest before situation!
John ~ Thanks. Staging should always define a space so buyers can see the potential. As you said - niche spaces don't sell a house even if you like to dedicate a room to one in your own.
Hi David, fun post,
Here is one- no budget except for my labor and new carpet and they did some paint I suggested.
Sometimes you have to see through all the mess and clutter- I used only what they had in the house, made a bed spread out of pillow shams and twin coverlet and used white sheets rolled around a blanket to make the long pillow roll for shams. This was a low end home that sold in 30 days.
Kathy Dyer
Kathy ~ Great that you could be so creative and get this looking like a room that could be used. Always great to have a quick sale. Congrats!
Wow! Someone liked purple!
I had an inspection a couple of weeks ago where I would have bet my fee the house was vacant and totally staged. It was perfect! The house did not even look lived in, except for the clothing in the closets. BUT...the sellers got their asking price, the buyers got a VERY nice "move-in ready" home and everyone in the transaction walked away pleased.
Kristina ~ I think purple is popular right now with girls. We're staging a house on Monday with another purple bedroom. Unforunately it's not being painted, but we're not staging that room either, so we don't have to deal with the color.
Matt ~ Buyers want move-in ready in today's market. The less they have to do the better the chances of sale.
This was one we did last month after convincing them to rent new furniture.......
Lisa ~ Nice transformation - thanks for sharing it with us. The dark colors look so much better in what was a very bland room before.
This was a house where the "kid was king". I suggested that they would be more comfortable moving out rather than living in a staged house, and since they were soon to move out of state, it worked!
Here's another example of a different house:
Renting furniture made all the difference!
Great post, David! Your work is awesome!
Kathi ~ Thanks for sharing these pictures. That living room transformation is fantastic. What a wild setup it had before. The kid sure was king.