How Home Staging Began…And Why It’s Not Interior Decorating

By Lisa Reis

I’m not sure where specifically staging got started, but I certainly have a first-hand account of how it evolved into what it is today. I was exposed to staging at a very young age and it left a very positive impact on me, so much so that I have made a career out of it.

Back in the mid-80s, I remember my parents deciding to leave mid-town Toronto to move to a new home in the tiny suburbs of Thornhill, Ontario, Canada. I recall walking into the sales centre to see larger than life, watercolour illustrations of a newly created neighbourhood and remember a rendering featuring a man holding a block with a protruding antenna next to his ear (i.e. a mobile device).  All the renderings showed the homes looking picture-perfect and spacious, featuring a coveted California kitchen and an open-concept floor plan. The site plan featured a neighbourhood park with all the extracurricular activities an active family could wish for. Proposed shopping amenities featured all the popular retail destinations, showcasing the development as ‘the it’ neighbourhood. All I could think was, “Wow, if living here is going to be like the sales centre’s presentation, I can’t wait to move!”

Prior to making their final decision to move to the ‘burbs and over the course of my last year in high school, my parents, my brother and I made several trips to the sales centre. My parents wanted to ensure they weren’t making a mistake buying a home from a floor plan. After all, buying real estate isn’t exactly an impulse-buy. However, it is an emotional buy. The decision to buy was made final when we received an invitation from the sales centre, announcing that one of the model homes was ready for a priority-preview.

That weekend we drove up with a sense of excitement, the same sort of gleeful anticipation one feels when they’re about to pick-up their new puppy. We stepped slowly into the model home, enveloped by that new home scent, hardwood floors, fresh paint and new furniture beautifully coordinating one room with the next. Our eyes wide, doing a slow, 360° scan of every room, petting all the new appliances and furnishings, arms twirling about in the large California kitchen and we were all sold. All the doubts, questions, second-guessing went out the window.  My parents bought the home that day. That was my first exposure to a staged-home.

Out of necessity, new homebuilders knew that they needed to combat the obstacle of prospective homebuyers opting to purchase a resale home vs. buying a brand new home off of a blueprint.

Many people are visual and can’t fathom making such a large investment without seeing a sample of the builder’s vision. While a home may be built, it doesn’t really sell itself until it’s fully furnished.

At the time, Real Estate agents selling resale homes had not considered applying the new homebuilder’s presentation strategy. The most you could hope for with a Real Estate agent selling resale was a cleaning lady, to tidy up a home in time for the Open House. We can credit new homebuilders for setting the stage for Home Staging and we can thank savvy Real Estate agents for continuing the momentum of Home Staging into the resale market.

Once we bought the new home, my mother and I made a weekend hobby out of visiting other builders’ model suites. Not because we wanted to move again, but rather, because we enjoyed being inspired with the decorating ideas and the notion of a beautifully-appointed home. A trend that still abounds today. Walk into any sales office/open house (new or resale) and you will see there are a large array of ‘window-shoppers.’ New homebuilders who have been on the market for some time before unveiling a model suite experience a surge in sales centre traffic upon the unveiling of their model suite. Smart Real Estate agents know that a good first impression is everything, and for that reason, insist that Home Staging be done before the initial Open House.

I didn’t realize how much of an impact those weekend visits to model homes would make on me. When I graduated from university with a degree in marketing, I worked for various ad agencies whose main focus was marketing real estate developments.

As a Copywriter and Account Manager, I was responsible for managing the promotion of new homebuilders’ sales offices and model suites. It involved everything from naming a new sub-division, managing the creative and production process for the sales centre’s marketing materials, being a liaison between the client and the agency and my most favourite part of all; working with the interior design firm to complete the model suite. I enjoyed the decorating process so much that I ended up going back to school, enrolling in a 2-½ year Interior Decorating program, while working in advertising by day. In a few instances clients hadn’t budgeted for an Interior Designer, and I was more than happy to take on decorating the model suite.

However, after having taken my Interior Decorating course I discovered I needed more schooling—specific to being a Certified Home Stager. I enrolled in The CSP International™ Business Training Academy, the leading real estate home staging education provider in the world. Upon completing my CSP™ (Certified Staging Professional) designation, I quickly discovered:

– decorating a home for a homeowner is “Interior Decorating”

– decorating a home for a prospective homebuyer is “Home Staging”

When decorating for a homeowner, you decorate based on the homeowner or family’s décor taste, suiting the homeowner’s particular style and quite often that entails personalizing a homeowner’s space with paint, artwork, family pictures and the client’s sometimes eclectic taste in furnishings.

Whereas when you are appealing to a prospective homebuyer, it’s quite the opposite. You are decorating for every prospective homebuyer that walks through that home. Neutralizing the paint colours, ensuring none of the walls become an eyesore, yielding comments such as, “I would never have used that paint colour.”

Before

After

Never underestimate the foyer. It's the first "room" a prospective homeowner sees and it should be just as purposeful as every other area in the house. Here, a plant and a painting have been staged with a console, mirror and ottoman cubes...making the entrance way more appealing and functional. 

A Home Stager also ensures there isn’t anything a prospective homebuyer can pick-on to make the sale conditional, risking the homeowner and realtor having to negotiate a lower price. Anything that needs improvement or repair such as: damaged baseboards, an undesirable popcorn ceiling, an outdated kitchen, a leaky bathroom sink can make or break the deal. There is also a need to depersonalize the home, so that prospective homebuyers touring the resale home are not focusing on a child’s fridge-artwork or the family photo on the fireplace mantle. It’s far easier for a Home Stager to communicate décor issues to a homeowner, than it is for a Realtor who is busy building an amicable rapport with the homeowner…there’s no need for Realtors to have to relay bad-décor-news.

While we’re on the subject of decorating…it should be pointed out that Interior Decorators and Home Stagers who both decorate are never to be confused with Interior Designers. An Interior Designer has the capability to read building codes. They understand load-bearing walls and have the legal authority to move walls and authorize major renovations. Each of these professions has its strengths. If you are promoting a home for sale, hire a Home Stager!

Typically, the rule of thumb is to charge 1-3% of the cost of the home. It all depends on whether or not rental furniture is required, if the home needs some repairs and if there are any other belongings in the house that need to be hidden from view. A cluttered house will never entice a prospective homebuyer.

Over the past three decades Home Staging has evolved to the point where it is now – not just a nice-to-have service, but rather a mandatory, must-have service for anyone who wants to sell their property quickly and for the highest offer.

Here are a few interesting statistics about the effectiveness of Home Staging:

• 98% of real estate professionals surveyed believed it was necessary to hire a professional home stager.¹

• Only 20% of those surveyed have actually hired a professional home stager.¹

• 58% of buyers made a decision to buy after seeing 10 properties – effective staging keeps your house on the list of must-see properties.²

• 79% of sellers are willing to spend up to $5,000 to get their house ready for sale – working with the right staging consultant maximizes your return on investment.²

• 63% of buyers were willing to pay more money for a house that is move-in ready.²

• 86% of those surveyed said storage space is important to potential buyers – effective staging maximizes space and spaciousness.²

• The top three interior features for selling were freshly painted walls, organized storage space and current flooring. Effective staging will address all three.²

• 52% of buyers said the kitchen had the most significant impact on their purchasing decision.²

• 79% of buyers indicated they would be willing to pay a premium for a home with an updated kitchen.²

Sources:

¹ CSP™, June 2006, Survey of 218 Real Estate Professionals

² Maritz Research, 2005 and 2006, Home Staging Polls

Lisa Reis is the founder of DecorREISta.com™.  Lisa is a Certified CSP™ Stager and graduate of George Brown College’s Interior Decorating program. Over the past two decades Lisa has marketed some of the largest real estate developments in Toronto and the GTA. Lisa takes great pride in her work and treats every home she stages as if it were her own. She is best known for bringing out the natural beauty in every home she stages, showing prospective homebuyers how they can “Live…with style!”

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