I recently staged a vacant Circa 1600's house on the North Shore of Long Island. Although I worked up a detailed proposal for rental furniture befitting that style of home, the owner/investor opted to purchase the furniture instead of paying the approximately $1200 per month rental fees for living room, bedroom, kitchen and library furniture. I must tell you that I was somewhat skeptical as to what it would cost to buy all of that furniture, but I had a rare afternoon of ‘freedom' and was excited to see if we could pull this off!
The client and I went to a long ‘corridor' of furniture stores which is located here on Long Island. We began our search at "Raymour and Flanagans", but found that the furniture on display was not appropriate for this type of home and it was a little 'pricey'. We went to Bob's Discount Furniture and ‘hit a home run'! We found an 8 piece bedroom set complete with queen sized sleigh bed for $999; a 7 piece living room ensemble (with 2 Tiffany-styled lamps) for $1499, and a kitchen table (marble and glass) with 4 wrought iron chairs for $499. All that we needed was a loveseat and chair for the library.
While my client was handling the financial and delivery portion of the sale, I went out to other stores in search of an appropriate loveseat and upholstered chair. It was quite by accident that I discovered a perfect chair as I was leaving the first store. It was marked down to $399, it was striped and I loved it! I made a note of the style number and price and drove to a furniture store called "The Place". I was approached by a saleswoman who proved to be very helpful in narrowing down the choices to those items that fit my needs. I don't think that it took more than 5 minutes to find exactly what I was looking for. I called my client who had just left "Bob's" and asked him to come over and look at the loveseat.
When my client saw the loveseat, he eagerly approved and paid the $379 that it was marked down to. Since the ensemble contained 2 striped pillows that looked very much like the fabric of that $399 chair, I asked if we could take one of the pillows with us. The saleslady said that it would be fine, and when the order paperwork was complete, the client and I drove over to the store where I had discovered the chair. As soon as we walked in, I could see that it was a perfect match, and so that became the final purchase of the day.
All totaled, with delivery and tax, my client spent approximately $4500 and the furniture is his to use in other houses. It took us about 2 hours to chose and buy all of the furniture.
Since my design tastes always ran toward traditional, I had plenty of accessories of my own that would be perfect for this house. I also had 8 chairs that I ‘rescued' from a Chinese Restaurant that was being demolished. Once they were reconditioned and recovered, they were just what I needed for the dining room. There was only one ‘glitch' with the newly purchased furnishings and that was because the doorway to the library was very narrow and the loveseat would not fit through it. I had an antique loveseat in my possession that I no longer use, and even though it wasn't what I originally wanted in that room, it still worked AND it fit through the doorway! We actually ended up using the loveseat in a ‘family room' located off the kitchen. It was never my intention to stage that room, however once the loveseat was placed there, I just had to give the room a complete staging! I needed to ‘borrow' quite a few things from my own home, but the room really came together and actually became one of my favorite rooms in the house!
Here are some Before and After photos - the last picture is from the 'family room':
Staged 2 Sell NY specializes in Vacant House Staging. Call today and let us 'set the stage' for your successful sale!
 |
|
|
The PREMIER Home Stager for MANHATTAN, BROOKLYN, QUEENS, NASSAU and SUFFOLK COUNTIES. We specialize in VACANT HOUSES including BUILDERS' MODELS. We offer a full line of Home Staging services.
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2008 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved
Wow what a beautiful home! Looks great
You can really see the style of the home in the furnishings!
Wow, that is a different approach...but in the end could be more cost effective...and he gets to keep the furniture...what a bonus! Looks good.
We also own our furniture and accessories and have found that many sellers like the idea of the condition and variety we are able to offer. Secondly, it is another revenue stream for us as wel.
Your staging photos look very nice!
Heather Klein - Emmy & Me Interiors
The before and afters are really great! I love how it all turned out.
I had that happen once where they bought the furniture; had a blast shopping with them. This however is quite challenging due to the uniqueness of the home and style as well. Great Job, VAL good for you; you have me applauding!
Hey, thanks guys for your positive comments and support! I have been trying to edit the photos for the past 20 minutes! I can't get them to seperate - does anyone have any idea what I'm doing wrong? They appear to have a space when I'm writing/editing, but then once it posts, the before and after shots are blended together...this is driving me crazy!!
Any HELP would be much appreciated!
Val
I always love to go shopping with and for the client for all new stuff- doesn't happen all the time- but it's fun when it does! ~Leslie
Hi Val,
You picked up some great stuff, at great buys, in record speed, what a neat house with lots of character. The owner had to love it!
Val, What a difference! You did a fantastic job for the seller...good luck!
Ginger
Morning Val,
What a great job of staging that wonderful home! As it turned out, your wonderful day shopping not only enhanced the home it saved the owner a great deal of money, purchase vs rental cost for the furniture.
You are very well placed in your profession. Keep up the good work!
Bob
Thanks for sharing. This post is inspriational as you went "outside the box" an enjoyed success. Staging is a wonderful way to sell a home and stager's fees are generally affordable, it IS the furniture rental that often "bites" but you found a way around it. When I read the intro, I was wondering if you had shopped for 2nd hand furniture and was thinking just how long that might take to find the right pieces. Yet, you did it with new pieces in a timely fashion! Congratulations.
I would love to have that knack for decorating. I am only good at the obvious..like placing your seating in front of the fireplace, etc. I think I will stay in my lane. Great job.
Val, where have you been???! Shopping- I guess! Glad to see you back and doing a great job!
How funny! When we had a rep come into our office and when I heard the how much renting furniture costs, I thought to myself, "For that, you can just buy .... assuming you're not purchasing at one of the upscale places that would be sure to set the average person back tremendously!"
Love the photos! Great job!
Val I've been trying to get a realtor to convince a bank (bank owned property) to buy furniture for a group of 4 vacant condos. I take it one step further and suggested selling a unit furnished. A young couple who can barely afford the home would see "furnished" as a great motivator. A furnished home would stand out from the competition for sure. As you have proven, it can be done for less money than a price reduction...something to consider!
Very lovely work. The home certainly shows well. Good luck.
Rich
I am an agent in the Milwaukee area. A lot of sellers think they should offer the agent that brings in a buyer a higher commission or a bonus. I tell them to give it to the buyers. I like the idea of buying furniture and selling it with the house. An empty house never shows as well. If you look at the pictures in mls of a blank room it really shows nothing. Great ideas here. Thanks for the idea of selling a home with new furniture.
Hi Val,
Great job. We did something similar (yet smaller scale) last summer, all items were moderately priced, yet looked good.
We sold the home in less than 30 days. I can tell you it made all the difference in the world. Since then the furniture has been moved on the second home, which has been sitting vacant for a while. It's now sold, getting ready to close soon. if I don't have another vacant listing soon it will be stored in my own garage until then. The small price we paid was a great investment, far more effective than running ads.
BTW, in my case the credit goes to fellow Rainer Dawn Stille, a stager from La Habra, CA who gave me the coaching on the subject. Hopefully you've done the same for others!
Absolutely lovely. Perfect match for the style home. so professional!
Great job! The house looks beautiful!
Nice before and after pics. Well did the house sell? And did they get close to the asking price?
Once again, excellent work Val! I saw the infamous scrabble board -- and I got all excited again. You have gotten great mileage from that little piece; haven't you? I love it. Great post showing yet another way to help our clients get the best use of their money. Way cool!
Val - that's a great idea, especially when the market time for homes can run several months or into years. Buying furniture from a builder's closing model can work, as well as certain stores that sell pre-owned good quality furniture.
This is one for your brag book. Staging makes a house a home, and hopefully a sale. Great job! Wendy
Val - Very creative solution to the problem of expensive furniture rentals, especially if you think the home might be on the market for some time (as is often the case with antique homes, as they are a subset of the buyer population). This home truly needed to be staged. The before and after photos are dramatic. Great work!
Buying the furniture makes great sense and is probably a depreciable line item for tax purposes. Staging fees are too high in my market.
Thanks for posting!
Val this was great. Loved the property! Great work! I loved the pictures, very dramatic.
Wow- This is just another example of how staging can dramatically change a home...NICE WORK!!!
You did a great job. Amazing how things all come together sometimes and the prices you got them for were very good it sounds like. Good job.
Val,
I am continually disappointed with many of my seller clients decisions to fore-go the staging process based on (their perception) of price. Your solution is quite smart. I've been meaning to stock up on some items myself, this may be just the impetus I needed.
Thanks,
Wow - what an improvement some furniture makes! I wouldn't want to rent furniture. I'd suggest to someone that they look on line for some decent used furnishings on Craigs List and then go to discount furniture stores to finish it up.
Sounds like a fun project for you and one that worked out well and will surely be a great investment for the seller
Val a great blog since I have a model home and am told to put furniture in it and you have made the decision for me after I read this.
The pictures are incredible. It's funny how you expect a certain style of furniture in a house when you see the outside. It looked great!
Hi Val-
You got some fantastic furniture buys! Did you get a decorator's discount where you shopped? I wish I could get those deals here!
Kathy
I think it is often cheaper to buy the furniture than rent it! You did such a great job staging the home Val, it look great! Wow!
The home looks great and what a great idea to buy instead of rent furniture. Can have loads of future use and save thousands in rental fees.
Getting paid to go shopping! What a deal! Nice job, it looks great.
You made it look so much better. Really nice job, and looks like you do know how to shop. This would be a great piece for you to show the next time the situation comes up.
best
We are working with a homeowner who is purchasing, also. The shopping hours have been adding up, but it is still going to be a time saver when we don't have to de-stage! Also a money saver for the client, since rentals can be so expensive. Thanks for sharing your staging photos...Congrats on a great job!
Wendy Casey - Vancouver, BC
This is a great option for builders/investors who have a subdivision. They own the furnishings for use in the next home and aren't just renting furnishings. My first job was for a builder who hired me to stage a home for the local associtation tour of homes. Following the week long tour, the home became a model home for the subdivision. When the home sold, he called and had me stage the furnishings in the another home as the new model for the subdivision. Great repeat business!
I am not a great fan of staging, but you did a great job!
What a nice old house!!
Ironic that I just had this same conversation about the benefits of buying the furniture vs. renting with a local stager today. Renting can really pile on the expenses, especially for niche housing that may sit for a while. Buying, if you can work it financially, can pay for itself with just a few transactions for the savvy investor.
Very nice pictures. It definetly made an improvement in the homes looks
Val,
I've been doing this for years - Give those client options. I do not carry furniture stock, so I offer them both rental (Brook,) or purchase. I'm very lucky to live in a city that has offerings in both arenas. Rental is great because it's super quick, and leaves no end strings. Purchase is great because its tangible goods.
The striped chair looks lovely sitting by the fireplace. You did a great job for your client.
Hi Val...congratulations! In the metro NY area, we certainly have our fill of intermediate or value priced furniture stores. I offer this option to the homeowners as well and have a blast shopping for the day! Your choices were spot on...
So in your estimation, your home seller paid about what per month (instead of the $1200/mo from rental?) This number will be great as a marketing tool down the line. Great job, Maggie
Outstanding job, it really looks awesome. Another shining example of why a great stager is a vital part of the sales team.
Val you truly are the queen of vacants and now you have come up with this great option and great finds at Bob's no less, this house looks awesome. Keep us informed to the sale.
Phyllis Pafumi
Terrific job Val, it looks wonderful! Best wishes on the sale!