10 Steps of Staging

So, you might be wondering what the staging process consists of.

While cleaning, decluttering, doing minor repairs and decorating, are a part of the home staging process, it is not the only part of it. The process for prepping a house for sale involves an extensive analysis of the space. Neutralizing the environment and upgrading its look will help your buyer envision how it would feel to live in the home. A stager’s job is to create a welcoming and inviting space, and by doing so seriously considering how your house feels and how its interior elements are presented. Here are some examples of what might be involved in staging your home to make it market ready.

Phase 1: Space Analysis

Our first visit consists of walking around the space analyzing what needs to be done. What stays, what goes, what needs to be fixed, changed, upgraded, etc.

We come up with a plan of action and move on to phase 2.

Phase 2: Repairing or Replacing

Over time, things get worn down with use. Our team will ensure that all cracks, lumps and bumps are fixed. Anything outdated or broken, will be replaced or repaired, such as carpets, light fixtures, door knobs, curtains etc.

Phase 3: Repurposing or Reworking

If you were using a dining room as a home office for example, we would rework that space to make it more appealing for potential buyers and might consider making the space look like a dining room again.

Phase 4: Highlighting Features

A room’s best features need to be emphasized and flaws need to appear minimal. By highlighting the good features, the bad ones get camouflaged. This can be donewith lighting, adding texture to a wall, making a fireplace stand out etc.

Phase 5: Updating Space

Staging also might involve bringing in new piece of art or decor into your home to give it a more trendy, stylish, modern look. Keeping up with current popular lifestyle and design trends, increases your chances of connecting with your buyers.

Phase 6: Decluttering & Organizing

Treasured items like those special inherited pieces, our nik-naks, our shoe collections, and bulky furniture are the biggest contributing factors to clutter in our homes. Opening up the room allows potential buyers to move around freely and see the full potential of each space.

Phase 7: De-Personalizing & Neutralizing

This phase is the tedious one. It involves removing personal items from your home and painting the inside of your home using more neutral colours. This helps broaden your home’s appeal to help the largest number of prospective buyers imagine living in your home.

Phase 8: Deep Clean

This step involves: dusting all surfaces, vacuuming, mopping, washing windows, elbow greasing the bathroom, cleaning all baseboards, and airing the space out by opening up windows and letting the fresh air circulate. Lastly ensuring everythig is properly placed for visits.

Phase 9: Fragrance is Key

Smell is shockingly important. A great smelling home improves the overall feeling a potential buyer gets as they tour the property. The cliché about baked goods is true — baking a batch of cookies before an open house is not a bad idea.

Phase 10: The Final Touch

The primary complaint of many who view staged homes is that they feel sterile. Masterful home staging should make a house feel like a home, but be careful to balance it with neutrality so that it doesn’t feel like someone else’s home.