property staging Archives - Real Estate Agents in Hampton Roads VA

Show Us Your Best Staging Photos!

Calling all stagers! Realtor Magazine is on the lookout for great examples of staging a space in some of today’s most popular home styles, from farmhouse chic to modern or contemporary. I’m looking for some real estate professionals and stagers who would be willing to show off some of their favorite staging styles.

If you have a great example of a home staged in one of the styles listed below, please contact Melissa Dittmann Tracey at mtracey@realtors.org. Share with us a room photo and some of the staging accessories you used to enhance the look. We’ll be sharing some of our favorite submissions in an upcoming guide at Realtor Magazine online.

Design Styles for Staging Photos

Modern
Farmhouse chic
Rustic
Beach house
Industrial
Traditional

Source: National Association of Realtors

Light it Up: Add a Party Vibe to Your Outdoor Staging

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine

Outdoor lighting isn’t just for the holidays. You can illuminate your outdoor living areas anytime of year. Stringed bulbs are becoming a “hot” outdoor trend this year. These outdoor clear, vintage lights have big rounded bulbs that can really create a festive flair in a backyard. They’re reminiscent of the lights used at an outdoor street fair.

Homeowners are draping them across the top of their pergola, or along their back deck. Some owners may stretch them above and across their yard to create a canopy of lights.

Watch out that they don’t become an eyesore during the daytime. The glow at night are when these lights shine. Tuck them into the top of a pergola. Or, for a photo op, drape them temporarily across a courtyard. Take a picture of it at dusk for a listing photo that shows off the entertainment space of a backyard.

Or, string the lights to illuminate the backyard during a twilight open house. Check out how these designers used them.

Photo by – Discover patio design inspiration

Photo by The Cousins – Look for deck design inspiration

Photo by kbcdevelopments – Search patio pictures

Photo by PaveStone Brick Paving Inc. – Discover patio design ideas

Source: National Association of Realtors

Does the Color Purple Have a Place in Staging?

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine

Pantone selected Ultra Violet as its 2018 Color of the Year. The vibrant color is popping up in more fashion, but when it comes to home design, is it just too bold for staging? After all, no one wants to deal with a purple elephant in the room when trying to stage a home for sale.

But designers are showing tasteful ways to weave in shades of purple to brighten otherwise neutral decorated rooms. Purple up against a mostly all-beige or all-white room can be just the colorful statement to welcome in the spring buying season.

Purple painted rooms still may be a harder sell in a home for sale, but purple hues in pillows, throw blankets, accessories, florals, or even accent chairs or a tufted couch may just be the touch of purple that takes a room from blah to memorable.

Below we feature a few examples from the popular remodeling site Houzz that show how purple accents can be used in a chic way to brighten up a space. What do you think? Will purple be a hot accent for your spring-time staging?

Purple Velvet

Purple velvety accent chairs against an otherwise neutral backdrop helps make this room more eye-catching.

Photo by Smith Firestone Associates – Look for living room pictures

Photo by Gemma Zimmerhansl Interior Design Ltd – Look for living room pictures

Purple Pattern

The lime green patterned bedding helps to offset the purple statements in this bedroom design.

Photo by Kathryn J. LeMaster Art & Design – Look for bedroom design inspiration

Purple Accents

All shades of purple help spice up the décor in this living room, from the flowers to the ottomans, pillows, and blanket.

Photo by Wesley-Wayne Interiors, LLC – Browse living room photos

Purple Accent Walls

If you do purple on the walls, you may want to make it in just a small spot–careful not to overpower the room. Check out this example below, in which the designers use purple wallpaper to accent a fireplace nook in the dining room. The purple hue is then repeated in the lighting fixture and curtains.

Photo by FiSHER iD – Browse dining room ideas

Source: National Association of Realtors

2018 Home Trends to Guide Your Staging

Article Submitted by Fixr.com

Before you’re able to successfully stage a home for sale, you need to understand your target audience, and the kinds of things they’re looking for in a home. Home buyers today are much more savvy than previous generations; they know what they want, and they’re willing to wait to get it.

In a recent survey, industry influencers shared what they felt were the top trends in single-family homes for 2018. These trends took a good look at what home buyers were looking for, and what potential sellers and real estate pros can do to help make properties more attractive to those looking at them.

Before you stage another home this year, be sure to consider these top single-family home trends in 2018 to truly understand your audience.

The Purchasers

Before you can stage anything, you need to know a little more about whom you’re staging the rooms for. And while in years past, Baby Boomers made up the bulk of the home buying market, in 2018, you’ll be seeing a predominantly younger demographic.

Fifty-three percent of industry influencers surveyed believe that members of Generation X, aged ages 38 to 53, will compromise the majority of the market, while an additional 34 percent feel that Millennials, ages 21 to 37, will make up the remainder. With this younger group of buyers purchasing more than ever before, you need to pay more attention to what they want during your home staging rather than relying on trends of years past.

Keep in mind that influencers also feel that things like faux finishes and jewel tones—popular design trends of years past–are all out as far as today’s buyers are concerned.

Floor Plans

While you can’t always change every floor plan of every home, you can remove a few walls from a home’s interiors if it means making it more appealing to buyers. More than 70 percent of real estate influencers believe that an open floor plan will be something that home buyers want to see.

Open floor plans are great for entertaining, they help maximize natural light, and are extremely versatile in terms of how the space can be set up and used. These attributes are helping drive more home buyers, especially younger buyers, toward open concept homes than ever before.

Smart Features

When you’re staging a home for sale, don’t overlook one of the most popular trends right now–the smart home. While you don’t have to automate everything in the home to entice buyers, switching out lights for smart bulbs, and adding in things like a smart thermostat and front door lock can go a long way toward encouraging interest amongst buyers.

Fifty percent of influencers surveyed feel that smart homes are going to be the biggest feature that home buyers are looking for in 2018. Smart homes are accessible, functional, and according to Energy Star , they can also save homeowners money–10 percent to 30 percent on energy bills just by switching to a smart thermostat alone. That can certainly be very attractive to prospective buyers.

Exteriors

Everyone knows how important curb appeal is to a home. And today’s trends for home exteriors can help you make the most of a property’s curb appeal during the staging process. This includes using cool colors on the exterior, and for a fast and easy update to the yard, add some potted or raised planters to create a cozy atmosphere that attracts those who enter the yard.

Voice Control

As long as you’re including a few smart features in the home design, be sure to introduce voice control features as well. Surveyed influencers believe that voice control as part of home automation will be a very attractive addition to many homes for today’s buyers.

Luckily, with so many voice-controlled devices on the market, it’s easy to find one that will fit seamlessly in with the rest of the home’s design, helping to capture the attention of any prospective buyer who stops in.

To learn about the cost of household remodeling projects, visit the Cost Guides.

Source: National Association of Realtors

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Effect: Home Staging Tips to Spark Love at First Sight

By Phil Karp, guest contributor

Photo provided by Phil Karp

It’s no secret that a properly staged home can sell faster than an empty one. But how far do you need to go to inspire the “chocolate chip cookie effect,” where a buyer walks in the front door and immediately feels right at home? Sellers often look to their agent for home staging advice, which can be based on initial impressions and feedback from early showings.

Here are five tips for effectively staging a home before the next potential buyer walks in the door.

1. Create a Welcoming Entry Way

When it comes to selling a home, the importance of curb appeal can’t be stressed enough. Buyers need to fall in love at first sight — which happens around the time they pull up to the front of a property. For sellers who need to spruce up their yard, recommend inexpensive outdoor projects like a garage door replacement or an exterior power wash.

2. Enlist All Five Senses

Rather than focusing solely on how a home looks, give buyers a multisensory experience. Smells like fresh-baked cookies or scented candles can help create a welcoming, comfortable atmosphere. Calming music can also help to set the proper mood for open-house tours.

3. Encourage Decluttering

When a buyer walks into a home, they need to believe in the possibility that this house could belong to them. Seeing personal articles like photographs, kids’ artwork, or pet toys can detract from the appearance of a home that’s ready for move-in. Any loose papers and other stray items should be removed from countertops and tables to avoid distraction.

4. Turn on the Lights

To avoid a dark and dingy look, be sure to maximize the use of available lighting. Open curtains for natural light and turn on overhead lights in every room. If further accent light is needed, consider bringing LED candles or portable lights to showings.

5. Keep It Natural (and Neutral)

Neutral colors are still a favorite of house hunters looking to add their own style to a home’s decor. If you decide to add accessories for staging purposes, go for neutral accents such as throw rugs, shower curtains and towels or linens. If sellers are willing, replace window treatments or repaint rooms with dated color schemes. Natural touches like flowers and plants can also add a breath of fresh air to a home.

Home staging can range from simple decorative touches to repainting rooms or removing furniture. As buyers move through the house, they should have a clean, consistent experience designed to show off the home’s best features and make them want to move in immediately.

About the Author: Phil Karp is a 25-year real estate industry veteran and head of Brokerage Services at Owners.com, where you can list or buy a home while saving money in the process. Phil loves offering staging advice on how to make your house feel like a home to potential buyers.

Source: National Association of Realtors

Home Staging Could Pay for Itself and Increase Seller Equity

According to 31 percent of REALTORS® who work with buyers, staging a home before listing it for sale on the market could have a price increase of up to five or 10 percent. On a $300,000 home, that could add between $15,000 and $30,000, paying for the cost of home staging and increasing a seller’s equity.

In a new NAR report 2017 Profile of Home Staging, 59 percent of REALTORS® who work with sellers said that staging a home could increase the dollar value buyers offer. Twenty-nine percent said it can increase the dollar value offered by one to five percent and 21 percent said it could increase the dollar value offered by six to 10 percent. If there is no impact on dollar value, home staging can help speed up the time it takes to sell a home, 62 percent said it slightly or greatly decreased a home’s time on market.

How to Stage a Home

Forty-nine percent of agents representing home buyers said that home staging positively impacts their view of the home. Seventy-seven percent of agents said that home staging made it easier for buyers to visualize the property as their future home. The living room was listed at the top as rooms that are very important to stage (55 percent), followed by the master bedroom (51 percent), and the kitchen (41 percent). Thirty-eight percent of seller’s agents suggest that sellers stage all homes for sale and 37 percent recommend that if a seller does not stage that they should declutter and fix property faults.

Paying for Home Staging

Most often, the seller pays before they list their home on the market, said 25 percent of agents. In some cases, the REALTOR® personally offers to stage a home (21 percent). A REALTOR® can also offer to recommend a reliable and affordable home staging service (14 percent).

Source: NAR Economic Outlook

10 Staging Tips for Holiday Decor

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR(R) Magazine

You don’t have to go all Clark Griswold to show your holiday spirit. Decorations can be subtle, tasteful and inviting when a house is up for sale during the holiday months.

Sure, there are two sides to this: Some staging and real estate professionals assert that you shouldn’t decorate at all during the holidays, careful not to offend those who don’t celebrate the holiday. Others argue you should definitely decorate and that a festive house can welcome buyers. How much or how little you decorate may be open to debate with your home sellers. But if you are looking to add in some tasteful holiday decor this season to a home, here are some ideas:

1. Dress up the doorstep with a wreath and planter. Silver is shiny and can reflect the sun, making it a great choice to get others to stop and take notice of a home.

Photo by Mary Prince Photography – Discover traditional entryway design inspiration

2. Highlight the fireplace mantel with holiday décor to get this amenity to take center stage in the room. But don’t overcrowd it with decorations. Less is sometimes more, in this case.

Photo by AM Dolce Vita – More transitional home design ideas

3. Make a flower box more festive. Try adding berries or ornaments.

Photo by GreenCraft Associates – Discover traditional landscape design ideas

4. Offer up some holiday treats to visitors. Filled candy bowls and cookies will be a welcome surprise and may make buyers want to linger.

Photo by Lord Design – Look for traditional home design pictures

5. Put up a tree but have it blend into the style of the home. The tree in this dining room below compliments the subtle hues used in this French Country styled room. Have the tree coordinate with colors already used in the home’s decor.

Photo by Michelle – Browse traditional dining room ideas

6. Consider day and night appeal. Keep the holiday decorations looking as good in the daylight as they are in the dark.

Photo by Kerrie L. Kelly – Browse traditional exterior photos

7. Stage the table for a holiday feast. Show off the entertaining aspects the home has to offer.

Photo by The Expert Touch Interiors – Look for traditional dining room design inspiration

8. Use garland to highlight a feature. For example, get them to notice that curvy stairway with some festive garland wrapped around it.

Photo by Regina Gust Designs – Look for traditional staircase pictures

9. Add in some poinsettias. The holiday plant aren’t only festive but the red-popping color can add to a room’s tables or doorstep.

Photo by Robeson Design – More transitional dining room ideas

10. Draw from greenery. Use nature-inspired green to enhance a room with subtle décor.

Photo by Vale Garden Houses – Look for traditional sunroom design inspiration

Source: National Association of Realtors

Don’t Spook Buyers! Here Is Some Tasteful Halloween-Inspired Curb Appeal

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR(R) Magazine

You don’t want to scare buyers away. But who says you can’t have a little fun with your listing for Halloween?

Sure, you should probably skip the full cemetery tombstone display for the sake of curb appeal. And, probably the ghost popping out of the tree or the witch laughing a haunting laugh in the corner is not the best idea when selling a home. But a few non-scary, Halloween-themed accents here and there can help outfit your listing’s exterior for the season. After all, orange is an eye-popping color that you can certainly use to your advantage in the fall to up your curb appeal.

Try some pumpkins and fall-inspired décor around the for-sale sign for some added attention. Or how about a playful spider on a fake web hanging down from your sign for a little fun?

Need some inspiration? Take a look at few examples of stylish Halloween exteriors, all taken from designers featured at Houzz, a website for remodelers and designers.

Photo by Mary Prince Photography – Search traditional entryway design ideas

Photo by Southern Botanical, Inc. – Discover traditional entryway design ideas

Photo by Southern Botanical, Inc. – Search traditional entryway design ideas

Photo by Seaside Interiors – Look for traditional exterior pictures

Photo by Julie Ranee Photography – Search eclectic porch pictures

Photo by Mary Prince Photography – More traditional landscape photos

Source: National Association of Realtors

View the Same Property Staged 3 Different Ways

By Saghar Setareh, CoContest guest contributor

How can you know the best style for staging a property? After all, you’ll need to satisfy home buyers’ various style tastes as well as make sure you’re showing the property in its best light.

Thanks to the power of the Internet, we wanted to see just how much the point of view in staging of properties can vary. We asked for designers to upload their take on one floorplan at the CoContest website. All designers staged the same room, but recreated it differently based on their own style and taste and interpretation of the client’s request in the contest.

The challenge: This modern apartment in Connecticut needed to be renovated, in a way to enjoy the artwork during the gatherings of family and friends.

Photo courtesy: CoContest

Design 1: Classic Vibe

This room offered up a more classic appeal. The designer Decolite Design used a crystal chandelier for the main lighting, colonial furniture for the main living room, black chesterfield sofas with white armchairs, and a large, white rug. The artwork is also from the classic period. The pallet of colors is black and white, and a piano along the wall also helps to complete the look.

Design 2: Bold Artwork

This designer Marta Valente above used bright and saturated colors in the artwork to compliment the two dark sofas and white and mustard color chairs. In order to add a more modern and industrial look to the space, a wooden table with metal legs was brought in. To complete this look, the wall has gray bricks and there’s a colorful buffet in stripes along one wall.

Design 3: A Modern Touch

Another designer BIVIO Architettura. Paula Godoy & Celia Cardona used very modern furniture from the late 20th Century, puffs, and large paintings to work as a separator. Texture is also used in the modern furniture and couches to match the abstract paintings on the wall. Low, coffee table and cushions are also part of this look. But the most distinctive feature of this project: The vertical bars that divide the living room in two separated parts.

These are only three design ideas from many, that present the property in three, completely different styles, made possible to imagine how the property would look like, with a convenient price.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Saghar Setareh is the Content Manager of CoContest, the first crowdsourcing platform for interior design and architecture online. She is an enthusiast about home decor and all forms of design.
Source: National Association of Realtors

My Favorite Staging Accessory: Greenery

Styled Staged & Sold will be featuring staging professionals’ favorite staging accessories and props over the next few weeks. (Do you have a favorite? Submit your favorite for consideration to mtracey@realtors.org.)

Photo credit: Michelle Boyle, California Chic Staging

Go-to prop: Fake tree or plant

Stager: Michelle Boyle, owner of California Chic Staging Co., Roseville, Calif.

Why I love it: “So many people use awful and outdated greenery in homes. Spending the money on really great greenery makes all the difference when creating a look and feel for a home. You want a fresh, modern piece to help accessorize the space.”

Photo credit: Michelle Boyle, California Chic Staging

Make it work tips:

Learn the difference between a “good” fake tree and a “not so good” one. Typically, the better ones cost a lot more, but not always. Scout out places like Home Goods or Target. Some types of trees and plants can pull off being fake versus real much better, such as succulents, grasses, and Boyle’s personal favorite — the fiddle leaf fig tree.
A great place for adding greenery in a home is large empty corners of a room, coffee and side tables, and in bathrooms.
Don’t overdo it. Use fake greenery sparingly, such as one or two pieces in the main living room and one in each room thereafter.

Photo credit: Michelle Boyle, California Chic Staging

Photo credit: Michelle Boyle, California Chic Staging

Source: National Association of Realtors

My Favorite Staging Accessory: Mirrors

Photo credit: Karen Hakola, listing agent

Go-to prop: Mirrors

Stager: Natalie Gray, Gray Group Design, San Clemente, Calif.

Why I love them: “Mirrors are my favorite staging accessory because they play many roles. They can make a space feel larger, increase light in a room, act as artwork to create a mood, and they can reflect a great view. Using a mirror also gives a stager the opportunity to show off an architectural feature or other selling point of the property that a buyer might otherwise overlook.”

Photography by VirtualWalkthrough; Adam Alcaraz & Max Black, listing agents

Make it work tips:

1. Use a mirror to lighten up an otherwise dark space. Adding mirrors along with reflective surfaces – like tables and glassware — can bring more light to a room.

2. Choosing a great mirror is like choosing artwork for a property. The size, shape and style should compliment the architecture, and space of the property.

3. Be careful when taking photos. When using mirrors, you need to check the reflection from all angles and make sure the photographer is able to capture the best angle of the room without being in the shot.

Photo Credit: Gray Group Design

Source: National Association of Realtors

Top 10 Tips for Staging a Home for Photos

By Justin Riordan, Spade and Archer Design Agency

Ah, yes the beloved Top 10 list. If only life were that simple and any skill you ever wanted to learn could be perfected with just 10 easy to learn, neatly packaged tips. I can see it now… “The top 10 tips for removing your own brain tumor” or “The top 10 tips for raising the dead.” Now don’t get me wrong — I don’t think that having your house photographed is as complicated as brain surgery or necromancy but it is often best left to the professionals. However, if you find yourself without a professional and needing to prepare your house for photographs either for a vacation rental, to sell it, or to just show off your new digs to friends and family, here are Spade and Archer’s top 10 tips on how to best get’r done.