The Anatomy of a Stage, Part 2: Planning

Welcome back!

Thanks for coming back to see where this journey is headed to!

So in Part 1 we left off where I had sent Steve the finished staging proposal.

6 Days later…January 23, 2013

As you can guess he accepted the proposal, so I sent out the contracts and as soon as they were signed, the fun part begins..I start planning!

First thing I do is look at the list I made during my initial visit with the number of pieces I need for each room.

With that information I can start to look at the feeling I need for the room, including, who is going to be the buyer for this home, what are the best features, what might be a drawback, how are the buyers going to move through the home.

All of this is very crucial to home staging. This is how we make the emotional connection with the buyers.

So the purpose of saving my fingers from typing out how I came to the design of each room, we will only be focusing on living room.

This picture is how the room looked the first time I saw it.

Obviously the fireplace is the main feature/focal point in the room, but also there is a huge picture window as well in the room. The window looks out into the front yard which is surrounded by woods, nature which makes if feel completely private.

Because of the window, and the natural stone of the fireplace, I knew I wanted to keep the color pallet of the room subtle as not to fight with the natural colors that surround the home.

Once I knew this, I looked at the inventory that I had available. Since Steve wanted the staging done the next week, I knew I wouldn’t be able to order any furniture so I had to use what I had or what I could get quickly.

I started with the sofa, I chose a muted sage and a simple design sofa that the buyers eyes would just glance over.

For the cocktail table I had a couple of options so I decided to bring both to the actual stage so I could decide then, same with the rug. I brought the only one I had that I thought would work knowing I might need to purchase a new one if I didn’t like it.

In my inventory I didn’t have two chairs that would work with the space. But I did see some in a store ad that I thought were fun, a great shape and would add the subtle pop of color to break up the neutrals. So I knew I had to go shopping.

When I come in contact with people and tell them what I do they always say “Wow! That’s so fun!” Yes it is fun, but there is a lot of thought and work that goes into each stage. I would love to say that my favorite part about my job is shopping, because that SHOULD be fun, but to me it’s more of a hassle. I frequently go into stores trying to find the perfect piece, and sometimes I find items like this…

What the what? I have no idea what people would want with this thing, or who would even pay $100 for that! But, to each his own.

So I was able to find the chairs I wanted, and some more accessories, but I did need pillows. And call me cheap, but I hate paying for pillows, really I hate paying for things that I can make myself. So that’s what I did. I found the fabric that added a subtle color but also gave some movement, and I got started.

In my mind I think I had everything planned out, but I did not want to attempt to go to my storage units where all my inventory was just yet, because let’s face it, it was too damn cold! So I decided I would just go a little earlier than my movers to pick the rest out. What could go wrong?

Stay tuned for Part 3: Staging Day!

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The Anatomy of a Stage, Part 1: Contact

This is part one of a four part series I am doing called “The Anatomy of a Stage”

Many homeowners, investors and realtors don’t really know the complete process of what stagers go through to stage a home. So I thought this series would shed a little light on what we actually do.

Now I am not saying this is how other stagers work, and I’m sure they don’t. But this is, as of right now, how I work and what works best for me.

 January 16th: First Contact.

So I get an email from Steven Kovacs, the owner of HV Home Solutions saying he has a new property for me he is interested in staging. I worked with Steve last year on a flip in Kingwood Park, so I was happy to hear that he wanted to work with me again.

We set up a time for the next day and I met Steve at the home.

January 17th: The Viewing

During this part of the process it’s just a quick stop at the home so I can look at the rooms, the flow, measure, take pictures and get a feel of the home. I also have a form that I take along on my ipad that I can quickly pop in what types of pieces of furniture I will be needing. For example 1 couch, 2 chairs, 4 art pieces in the living room etc.

This is all very vague because since I haven’t technically won the job yet, why would I spend a ton of time designing and thinking of specific pieces?

So once finished I told Steve I would have a proposal emailed him by that night. 

That Night: The Proposal

Coming up with the proposal, for me is usually a fairly quick task. What I depend my price on is the rental of furniture, (usually a minimum of 3 months) my time, movers, and other assistants.

I finished the proposal, sent it off to Steve and within an hour I got an email back saying he will look over it and tell me what he decides…

Continue Reading… Anatomy of Stage, Part 2: Planning.

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