It's what you expect in Georgetown, right?

Well, yes and no. I guess it depends on what you're looking for. When I think of Georgetown, I think of a historic town that was there before Washington, DC, cobblestone streets, and elegant homes with tall ceilings and fabulous crown moldings, decorated in the latest fashions from England and France. Of course, that's the architectural historian in me coming out. But we all know that's not what Georgetown is really like. It's certainly not the experience of some of my family members who attended Georgetown University. For them, it was more urban with trendy stores and great restaurants.

So when you're looking for a new home in Georgetown, what are you looking for? Well, it goes without saying that you're probably going to end up with an old house. But does that mean you have to decorate it like a museum? If you walked into a Georgetown row house up for sale, what would you expect to find?

Well, on one hand, I think you'd expect on some level to find that long ago elegance of a parlor. (Does anyone even use that word anymore?) On the other hand, though, you'd want more modern, urban, livable surroundings. This was my approach to a beautiful, vacant Georgetown row house we staged. When you walk in, you almost expect it to look a certain way, and this was achieved by renting a few antique pieces that really complimented the size and shape of the living room (or is it a parlor?), yet are actually comfortable and not overwhelming, and are OK to sit on and relax. All of the other rooms, however, reflected a modern elegance.

The dining room, which can easily seat 8 comfortably, had updated furniture and contemporary art work. It's a beautiful room with a lot of personality already built into it (see the built in cupboard?). The master bedroom had a gorgeous queen bed with a leather headboard and matching leather cubes at the foot of the bed. Certainly not something George Washington slept on!

All in all, this house as a staged property spoke to a broad audience of potential buyers. It's got a little bit of old and a lot of new, all of which you'd expect in Georgetown, right?

The feedback from the Realtors on this property was fantastic. Virtually everyone who saw the house thought it was lived in by some very neat people. I take that as a compliment, as it tells me that I achieved the warm and welcoming feel that a good staged home - vacant or occupied - should have.

But best of all was that this home, listed for $1.2M, sold in just 26 days! And the new home owners have been in touch with me regarding buying some of the furniture and accessories, and with questions about the size of rugs and tables. They also told me that they are going to copy my layout, as they can't imaging the furniture placed any other way.

There's more to the story of this staging, but that's for another blog! In the meantime, visit Preferred Staging's Gallery for more pictures of this fabulous home!

All the best,

Monica