Is Any House Too Ugly to Stage?
There is very little in real estate that a little time and sweat labor can’t remedy. I recall seeing a house with a hole in the floor, but it only required a new floor before staging. Then there was the house with years and years of clutter. That took six trailer loads to the dump to take care of that. No, as long as the city hasn’t already condemned the house, a home stager should just say, “bring it on.”
Some may still think home staging is only about adding in plants and flowers. While fresh plants never hurt, that is about the last task to happen in the home staging cycle. The first few staging steps are always, repair, declutter, clean and organize. Repair usually involves a little carpentry , a little plumbing, sometimes, electrical repair, and a whole lot of clean up is involved long before the fun stuff of interior redesign or home staging starts. . The best value of using a home stager is that a professional stager is really particular about a repair project management. The home stager will not only want your home repaired to look good and the on-the-ball home stager will insist that your home is repaired correctly to show and sell or lease its’ best.
I missed a golden opportunity to take before pictures of the ugliest house in America. You see, this house was actually directly across the street from where I live. I can’t tell you where I live, it might hurt the feelings of the previous owner, but just take my word for it. This house was deep gray with peeling paint and a porch nailed together with scrap wood by someone with the talent of the “Beverly Hillbillies” clan. Then for good measure the porch sagged and swayed in front. The inside had not seen a cleaning in 15 years and how can I be so sure of that? The tenant leaving it all behind told me she had lived there for 15 years! And yes there were roaches, dead ones, live ones, and ones gasping as they were being exterminated. Okay, just getting into a Halloween spirit here. This house was so nasty it was fascinating, the same appeal that makes you wiggle your sore tooth. If ever there was a house too ugly to stage, this gruesome gray dilapidated house was it. The new owner is a friend of mine and still is, in case you are wondering. Here is the preliminary staging plan.
You guessed it: Repair, Declutter, Clean and Organize. In this house’s case it was difficult to distinguish between the decluttering and the repair. In summary, the dilapidated porch was taken off first and that was the main eye sore, the bones of the house were solid. The house was spray washed, caulked, primed and painted a pleasant yellow. There was some brick trim that was reinstalled as well. Inside the walls were patched, repaired, caulked, primed and painted. The most expensive repair was the new electrical wiring. The cabinets throughout were repaired, patched, and painted. Thus only only after all repairs were made was it time to stage. In this house I used a vignette in the living area of a round table, lamp, and chair. I then added 2 plants and a statue of John Wayne to watch over things! In the bath room, I placed a shower curtain, a silk plant ,a candle, and 2 towels to complete the staging. In the kitchen/dining, I placed a small black iron patio table, 2 wood chairs and put a coffee cup on the table. I then placed a vignette in the kitchen of a 3 candle arrangement, with a pineapple scent, a vase of fresh flowers , and a small lamp with incandescent light. Now, this property is currently leased having once been almost too ugly to stage.
It is a good thing I don’t have any before pictures, you would just think I made it up! Any house can be staged. Home staging is a holistic approach to marketing a property for sale or lease. Home staging is a curb to curb inside and outside approach. Home Staging is marketing your home to sell or lease. According to Barb Schwarz, creator of the website, www.stagedhomes.com, home staging is the way “to sell your house in the shortest amount of time for the most money.” “Is Any House Too Ugly to Stage?” My answer is “NO! Just Stage It!” .
