Wanda Richards Shows Great Home Staging

Ask any stager and they will probably tell you, staging is hard work. This past week I saw just how hard staging can actually be. I spent the entire week without makeup, in old clothes doing hard, physical work. We packed, we cleaned, we removed wallpaper, we painted, changed light fixtures, did landscaping and so much more, but in the end, the results made it all worthwhile. Especially when the owner called me her "fairy godmother".

You see, the present owner had lived in this home for over 49 years and now it was time to get this home on the market and do it within a week, on a limited budget, while using the owner's existing furniture and accessories. My team and I worked for 5 and 1/2 days and it took a lot more than a little "fairy dust" to pull this project together on time.

Take a look at some of the before and after photos...

Real Estate Stagers have a plan for preparing homes for the market and realize that time is money. If you are considering selling your home...call a stager and let us work our magic on your home.

Now if someone can just tell me where in the heck I left my fairy dust!!!

This past weekend I had the pleasure of staging a new model home. Hardwood floors, gorgeous cabinetry and countertops, plus warm neutral colors throughout. The perfect blank canvas for showing off some of the new Fall colors. Adding a few bold colors when accessorizing helps staged homes "pop" online.











Shows Great Home Staging and Web Solutions - providing Real Estate Staging, Furniture Rental, Real Estate Redesign and Upgrades, Web Design, Virtual Tours, and Social Media Advertising Campaigns for Real Estate Professionals and Home Owners in Southwest and Central Virginia.

We just finished our latest staging project. In real estate...time is money so we were on a tight schedule to get in and finish the job in 2 weeks. Thanks to the help of a great staging team and subs and we managed to get it done! Yeah!!!

Take a look at some of the before and afters:

The Kitchen was dark due to the dark cabinets, black range and refrigerator, and black counter tops. It also appeared cluttered and small when it was well laid out and offered a great work space. The hardwood floors were showing lots of wear.





We had the hardwood floors refinished, painted the kitchen cabinets, packed away the personal items, and repainted a soft beige with yellow undertones to add warmth but a bit of light. The outcome was a kitchen that is move-in ready.





The Dining Room was painted a pumpkin orange and the furniture was dark and heavy for the room.



We removed the window treatments, removed the top of the hutch, refinished the hardwood floors, and painted the same color as the kitchen. The results were amazing...

The family room had dark wood paneling and dated, blue carpet. There were also lots of personal collections that needed to be packed away.

We painted the paneling, packed up the personal items, had the carpet replaced with a light neutral carpet, and added a large piece of contemporary art to compliment the sofa. This room now has that WOW factor!







If you are thinking of selling your home give us a call. We can put together a plan for your home that is within your budget and time constraints.

Before you pick up that paint brush and start painting "real estate beige" on all your walls, you might want to consult a real estate stager. When selling your home, painting is usually the cheapest thing you can do with the greatest return on your investment, but it is not always necessary to paint. Sometimes you can tone down a color and make it work to your advantage by just changing out the bedding in a room or adding some accessories that complement the color. Sometimes a little color will make room "pop" online.

Below are a few examples of homes where we used the existing color to give the room some interest and pull it all together without ever picking up a paint brush.

The sage green in this bedroom was a little bold when the room was vacant. When the realtor called us to stage it with furniture, we decided to keep the sage but add a lot of white to softer the color. It worked. This beautiful master suite became an inviting and relaxing place that home buyers would want to come home to. It went under contract in just over 30 days after staging.





This great room had been painted a warm gold and without furniture, it appeared a little too yellow. Once again I elected to soften the color with a white sofa but add some bright pops of color. It worked and the color became an asset instead of a problem.



This home was dated by it's bright orange counter tops throughout. The owners did not want to invest in changing out the counter tops. We took what was a negative and made it a positive. We used modern art throughout with lots of orange and brown. I also used orange linens and dishes and suddenly the orange counter tops and orange accents made this dark cabin come alive with color. It had been on the market over a year before staging and sold in less than 60 days after staging.





The blue in the bedroom below was a little too bright with no furniture. We were called in to give a price quote for painting. After some consideration, we decided it would cost less to stage this space with a bed and some artwork. Once again we would use lots of white to make the blue work. The master suite became a soothing get-away that now appears as inviting in person as it does online.



Sometimes there is no alternative. You just have to paint. "Real Estate Beige" is still my favorite.



So before you pick up a paint brush or start ripping out counter tops to sell your home, call a professional real estate stager ...you might find that there is an easier, more cost saving way to get your home ready to sell. Statistics prove that homes that are staged sell for more money in less time than unstaged homes.

This post is a follow up to several blog posts I wrote a week ago about a staging project we were working on that we had to make a few color changes before we could stage with furniture. The home was vacant and although the colors probably worked well with the previous owner's furniture and accessories, now that the home was vacant, the colors were just too dark and strong for most buyers.

Living Room Before was a dark tan with a golden tone and even the ceiling was painted the same color. The stairwell was a deep burgandy and even the ceiling was painted that color making it feel like a cave as you walked up the stairs.





Living Room After - I selected a softer beige in an eggshell finish and painted the ceiling and trim white. I decided to paint the stairwell and upstairs hallway white to lighten the effects of the darker rooms upstairs that we were not going to paint. We added furniture and accessories and now the space looks "move-in" ready for potential home buyers.





The dining room was painted lipstick red.



We carried the same beige with white ceilings and trim into the dining room.



I decided to keep the kitchen color and just add some accessories to pull it all together.



As they say on TV..."the owners are expecting an offer any day now".