The Most Frustrating Home Staging Client I've EVER Had

The Most Frustrating Home Staging Client I've EVER Had - the kind that makes you want to pull your hair out!

You probably know the type of home staging client I'm talking about .... demanding, needy, and second-guessing your every move. During this particular vacant home staging project, I was tempted to walk away a number of times in frustration! My patience was severely tested and when I'd return back home in the evening from this seemingly never-ending staging project I'd be exhausted, physically as well as emotionally -- and yet I'd return yet again the next day, ready for a fight if necessary with this perfectionist homeowner who kept changing her mind about what was 'just right' for the space.

Even though I'd remind myself that I'm a professional home stager, it was very difficult to plan and design this job .... I even consulted with some of my staging colleagues and emailed them photos, asking if they thought the accent chair looked better facing this way -- or that way? Did they like this rug in the great room, or would it be better in the dining area? Rarely have I ever been so frustrated with any staging job ... or lost so much sleep over one.

Usually I stage a vacant home in one or two days, but this project went on for 4 or 5 days ~ there were lots of rooms to stage on three separate floors, and many stairs to navigate (who needs a Stairmaster when the house has one 'built in'). But the main reason this vacant staging job went on longer than usual was the demanding client who just kept changing her mind. I reminded her again and again that she was too close to the project, that she should just let me do my job and give up trying to control it. Once or twice I even suggested that her mouth should be taped shut!!

The staging was finally completed, tweaked and re-tweaked, and the home went on the market. At the first Open, eager buyers made an offer. Just 13 days later, the sale was closed -- making it the fastest closed sale of any home that I've staged.

And that difficult client? Well if you hadn't guessed, it was me! I'd moved out of my house a few months earlier and had to stage this vacant home with "staging" furniture, not what I was used to seeing in the space. It gave me a new appreciation for how my clients must feel when we change the comfort level in their home! I will never again assume that sellers can easily accept the changes that we stagers recommend. It's hard to be objective when it's your own home, but I'm glad I was determined to do just that because the quick sale was very satisfying!

Here are a few photos of this 'nightmare staging job' ... that had a happy ending!

~ Staging and Photos by Room Solutions Staging ~

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Maureen Bray is the owner of Room Solutions Staging in Portland, Oregon. Her Portland home staging blog provides tips, home staging Before & After photos, and stories about home staging for consumers as well as other home stagers.