Julie Chrissis - Professional Home Stager

Recently, we were referred to a really nice architect in the Boston area who was completing a rehab project. He wanted to stage the units before they began marketing them so they would really shine. We went through our usual process of getting a quote, visting the site, discussing the demographics of the likely buyer, and narrowing down the budget and installation dates. We then began the process of selecting furniture and accessories to create a final quote and really get the process started.

What we did not know was that our client was secretly shopping us against a "budget" rental company we no longer shop with because of their less than scrupulous methods, typically damaged furniture, and eternal product selection process that takes about nine times as long as our preferred vendor.

What he kept stressing to me as I tried to get him to a final figure he could wrap his arms around was that he really liked MY work and wanted to work with me. He said the other stager's work did not compare to ours. In the end, I simply could not get him to a figure that competed with our budget competition. I knew if I rented from the other company I could easily match the other stager's quote.

But here's the problem.

I have worked too hard establishing myself as a professional, challenging myself to keep up with trends and to deliver beautiful, compelling spaces to compromise myself. As much as I really liked this client and totally sympathized with the fact that he was constrained by a budget I just couldn't allow myself to use product I do not believe in and put my company's name on it.

It was a tough call especially where the client was a referral. But I did what I really felt I had to. I explained to the client that I simply could not match his quote. I explained why I choose not to use the other company and told him I really wanted to earn his business. I have not heard from him since. Certainly, I am sad to have lost a client but happy that I stayed true to myself and the vision that I have for my company and our reputation as a leader.

We just finished virtually staging a listing for one of our favorite Southern NH agents. Here is what we did:

vacant kitchen before Digitally staged kitchen after

Vacant Living Room Before Digitally Staged Living Room

Vacant Bedroom Before Digitally Staged Bedroom

Vacant Dining Room Digitally Staged Dining

We just staged this listing on the Waterfront. It is being offered through Antonia Monarski at Sotheby's.

Living Room Living Room into Kitchen

Living Room Kitchen

Kitchen Guest Bath

A good friend of mine just sent me a lengthy email asking me if I think it is price or beauty that really drives sales. As I started to debate that it is price I began to wonder if it is really the attractiveness of a home that wins out in the end. And thus the debate began in my own head. Of course, in the end, price and beauty are tied together. Sort of. And that is when it really hit me......I know what I have been accomplishing with my staging all along however I guess I have never really put the right words to it.

It is emotion. Plain and simple. Emotion.

Of course, I find this almost ironic. A house from a financial standpoint is likely a couple's (or an individual's) largest source of debt and biggest asset. And yet, I cannot think of a single conversation I have overheard from buyers that reflected this in the decision making process. I always hear things like "I looooooovvvvveeee the jacuzzi in the master suite" or "this is a fantastic great room - we could have great parties in here" or "the back yard is amazing - lots of barbeques here in the summer". I cannot think of a single time a buyer has asked about the home from an investment perspective. Questions like "will the pool help us or hurt us when we try to sell in a few years" or "does our proximity to that major highway make this space undesireable to most buyers?" and on and on.

Essentially, what I am getting at here is that home buying, above all else, is emotional. Staging plays on that emotion. Well, good staging does. I know what is important to buyers at different life stages and at different income levels. This is key. Bad staging is worse (in my mind) than no staging at all. Actually, I guess you could say they are about the same thing.

And I am sure there are a handful of buyers out there that are unaffected by the emotion of it all. You know, the buyers that are just buying that apartment in the city so they have somewhere to stay on the weekends when they are in town shopping. Or flippers or other investors. But I would venture that the majority of buyers, across the board are considering the quality of their lifestyle in the home before taking the plunge.

I cannot remember if it was the end of last year or the beginning of this year that I came face to face with photos of one of my competitor's staging projects. Up until that moment, I was totally confident in all the work I produced. After all, my clients were always thrilled and the homes always sold quickly. But in that moment, when I saw that my competitor had taken some risks and made some bold choices, I decided that I could do better.

So when it came to establishing some goals for myself for the new year, I opted to only make one. In years past that would have been something like grow revenue xx% or build my database by xx people or complete xx more projects than last year. Not 2010 though. This year my single goal was to challenge myself more: take risks and stop making "safe" choices.

I will say this; it has not been easy. There have been times I have been in a complete cold sweat watching the furniture get delivered to a model unit. I have had difficult conversations with Realtors about my choices and why, if they just trust me, they will be thrilled.

What this has been though, is a ton of fun and a very eye-opening experience. I have seen rooms come together in ways that I never thought possible. I have also reached a new level of collaboration with the designers on my staff. It is like we have a new "well, let's try it" policy. No idea is too stupid to try and nobody's ego is bigger than anyone else. We are all creative professionals truly just trying to make this project more spectacular than our last.

And so, you may wonder what the result has been. Amazingly, our business is growing and growing. I have had multiple projects where a buyers agent has called the listing agent on one of my projects and asked for my contact information. I became a preferred vendor to the Ritz Residences in Boston after staging a unit there. But, most importantly, I am more proud than ever of the quality of work my team is producing.

I am surprised that what seemed like such a personal goal has had such incredible results for the business. We are working on improving in other ways too. But, I will save that for another day.