Liz Harrison ASP

I recently saw an article on another real estate/staging related blog which I'm declining to share just because my related spike in blood pressure has made me forget where I first saw it. But I will tell you that the first few lines of the article referred to staging in terms like "House Fluffing" , "House Primping" and "the art of decorating". I'm hoping to use that as an opportunity to educate consumers and even professionals in the real estate industry about REAL home staging.

Professional staging is a much more involved process than fluffing or primping or decorating might imply. I stress to REALTORS I work with and to my clients that Professional Home Staging is an essential MARKETING TOOL. A good stager knows the market, knows the target group and knows how to package a product (your home) for sale. Its like the difference between how a window display at an upscale boutique might look compared to an aisle endcap at a discount department store. While decorating may be part of the staging package, the real objective of professional staging is to highlight the positive features of a home, address any challenges or obstacles to potential buyers and to use a universal style to create a space that will appeal to a broad range of buyers. Its important that consumers (sellers) work with experienced home stagers to take advantage of all the substance professional staging offers. Just "fluffing" or "primping" is promoted by amateurs and won't help much in selling a property.

I enjoy getting "out of the box" once in a while to use my skills in marketing and staging. At a recent Home and Garden Show, I staged the booth for a local mortgage company. They loved the homey feel that brought people in to talk about home loans and refinancing.

This past weekend, 2 colleagues of mine from the Mid-Valley Professional Stagers (MVPS) group and I had an opportunity to do a community service project. The Salem Art Association had its annual fundraising auction and dinner, ClayBall. We professional stagers recommended the layout for the festivities, hung the art for auction and "staged" displays for 3-dimensional art and the many non-art items up for bid. Where plain paper describing a weekend in Ashland laid, we placed medieval candlesticks, a book of Shakespeare's works, a framed photo of the playwrite and of course, a rose. Beach stays were highlighed with sea shells, beachbags and sandals and cooking classes drew attention from bidders with colorful kitchen accessories and cookbooks. The staging, which I've done for the Art Association for 3 years, added a richness to the event and encouraged the bidders to linger and really look at all the great things being offered at the auction. I'd like to think that along with the great wine, the staging had much to do with the success of the fundraiser. It was a long day with set up and take down of over 100 items but the chance to enjoy such an event was well worth it.