Home Staging vs. Interior Decorating

Friday :: May 14, 2010

Friends and family members may have told you that you have a “great sense of style” or are a “natural” at decorating so you see no need for a home stager. But then you put your house up for sale and the comments aren’t very favourable. What’s the problem? The problem is that decorating and staging are two very distinct things!
Interior decorating is a reflection of a home owner’s personal style. From fabric and flooring choices, to the selection of lighting and paint colours...all of these decisions you made for your enjoyment in your home. And even if you had someone else decorate your home, he or she made choices with just you in mind. BUT home staging is very different from decorating.
The objective of home staging is the direct opposite. A staged home must appeal to the broadest range of buyers so that it sells fast and for top dollar. The techniques learned by a professional home stager or using the techniques taught in my How to Stage Your Own Home DVD can be applied to every home, not just one. The final outcome of each staged residence will look different from the next because of what each home has to work with, but the basic principles apply to them all. Taking into account the possessions in the house, you or a home stager must evaluate then choose to keep them, rearrange them or remove them to show the function as well as the features which will then assist potential buyers to envision themselves living there.
When it comes to preparing your home prior to listing, knowing and seeing the differences between home staging and decorating can help you carefully assess your home and open your eyes to the need for a home stager or the benefit of utilizing the How to Stage Your Own Home DVD. It’s a simple fix to quickly move you on so you can enjoy developing your own personal style in your new home!