This is a question that is frequently asked who is better to get a home ready for sale a “Stager” or a “Decorator”! well let’s first start of by outlining the DIFFERENCE between decorating and staging.
1) Decorating: Is making a home a reflection of what you LIKE and putting a stamp of YOU on your home. A decorated home says “HI! I live here and this is what I LOVE!”
2) Staging: is making the home a house. Removing aspects of who lives in the home and preparing it so the home doesn’t have a statement of “I LIVE here” its more “Don’t YOU want to live here”
With those two guidelines I hope it is obvious now that a professional Stager is best to hire when getting a home ready for sale. Not saying a decorator cant do it but they should ALSO have their diploma in home staging as it is completely different! As a professional stager we know our ROI (Return on Investment)! We know that in a certain price point of home WHERE to invest your money so it results a HIGHER return on investment! A client I recently had was selling a $400,000 home in Dunrobin and her real estate agent hired us for suggestions. We did our tour of the home and determined that at that price point, location, and target market that replacing their well maintained laminate counter to a granite would NOT give them a return on investment as their “Decorator” friend had suggested few weeks prior! She said it is a MUST because the kitchen is the main room in the home! Although I do agree with her statement that kitchens are quite important when selling I DON’T agree that investing $5,000 on granite would result in getting the $5,000 back at the time of sale. If you are NOT going to make money by doing certain things then DON’T DO IT! it’s not worth it!! Instead of putting in granite take that money and repaint the dark walls or add carpet to your unfinished basement THAT is a better return on investment!!
You can find a professional home stager on the Real Estate Staging Associations web page www.realestatestagingassociation.com they are all listed there and if you DON’T see them on the list then maybe they are not the right company for you. I can talk about the benefits of using a RESA stager but that’ll be another blog! In short…..stagers that are a member of RESA take this industry seriously. They are held to specific ethics and standards as well as being deemed a COMPANY not a hobby stager.
Its your home, ensure you are making the right decisions prior to sale by working with a professional that has real world experience and know’s when to invest and when to save money with in your home.
Above you can see a DECORATED dining room is made to reflect the home owner. The STAGED dining room is more neutral and can appeal to many types of buyers.
Kristy Morrison ISRP, IDDP, IOP, PCC, RESA-PRO
Property Stylist & CEO
(613) 832-8958 / info@chsd.ca
Capital Home Staging & Design
-2009 Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics Winner
-2009 & 2010 RESA Rookie Stager of the Year Finalist (top 5 stager in North America)
Services we offer:
Home Staging, Interior Redesign, Colour Consultations, Furniture & Accessory Rental, Home Flipping Consultations, Interior Decorating Guidance, Organizing.
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