What The Brandywine River Museum Taught Me About Home Staging

I had visitors last week, and so, I took them to the area sites that I usually don't take the time to enjoy myself. Why do we wait to enjoy the things we already have?

One of the things we did was to visit the Brandywine Museum in Chadds Ford, PA. This museum houses three generations of Wyeth art, as well as other artists that are part of, or close to, the Wyeth family. If you are ever in the Philadelphia area, I urge you to visit this museum--not only because it has great art, but also because it is small enough that you can truly enjoy the entire visit. As an added bonus, it is situated on the Brandywine River and the views from the museum and its grounds are spectacular. But on with my point. . . .

Looking at the art, the docent pointed out how the artists used object placement, light and color to pull you into the paintings.

Part of this particular tour was a side trip to the Kuerner Farm. This was the neighboring farm to Andrew Wyeth growing up and where he painted many of his works. As the tour guide pointed out various scenes from the windows and then showed the art they inspired, she stated that what Wyeth seemed to do was, "clarify, simplify, and accentuate. . . sometimes to the point of starkness".

Is some of this starting to sound familiar?

• How many times do home stagers hear, "why did I wait until I was putting my house on the market to fix it up and enjoy it?" If you are even thinking about new flooring, carpet, solid surface counters or upgraded lighting fixtures, DO IT NOW!! Enjoy it yourself. Then you won't feel so bad about the money you have to invest to make your home market competitive. Painting may not apply here if you love bright colors, but painting is relatively inexpensive.
• OK, I've heard it, but at the museum it hit home! Don't home stagers use placement, color and light as an artist would? Staging is an art! We know how crucial furniture placement is for directing traffic flow. Similarly, we use color and objects to direct the buyer's eye to the features we want noticed. Stagers are sure to make use of natural light and try for triangles of light with artificial lighting.
• Clarify, simplify, accentuate. . . that is the goal of every home staqer! We remove clutter to place the focus on the features of the home. We simplify wall collages, fabric patterns and contents so that the buyer is not overwhelmed. We accentuate architectural design elements or other selling features of the house. And yes, sometimes it appears a bit stark to the owner who is used to seeing it the "way it was."

The rooms are our canvases; the showings are our museums! Staging Is An Art . . . .

Kim Dillon, founder of Creative Eye Home Staging, serves parts of Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania including Chester County.