Home Staging Tips

Home Staging Tips Part Two

Brad Rozansky:   

Hi, everyone. Brad Rozansky here of The Rozansky Group at Long and Foster.  I'm here today with Vivian Gilbert of Home Staging by Vivian. Today we are going to ask Vivian about home staging tips. This is the second video we recorded about home staging, you can watch the other video here.  

We consider Vivian part of the Rozansky Group team. She's helped dozens and dozens of our home sellers create additional value of their homes and she adds the wow factor that buyers are looking for today.

Brad Rozansky:   

Vivian, my clients are always asking me, "How much does it cost to stage?" I know you have two different types of home staging services. Share with us some home staging tips.

Vivian Gilbert:                 

Yeah, I do.

Brad Rozansky:    Could you please explain them to the audience?

Vivian Gilbert:     

Of course. The most obviously one is a vacant staging. When you have nothing in the house and the client has moved out, we bring in furniture, art accessories and we stage the property. That usually runs somewhere between $4,000 and $8,000.

The other type of staging is an occupied property and that's when we use the client’s existing things.  Their art, their accessories. We marry them with what we think is necessary. That usually runs between $2,000 and $4,000. Both are for a minimum of three months.

Brad Rozansky:   

Got it. Thank you, Vivian. Great answers.

Brad Rozansky:   

Some of the best home staging tips, involve older homes.  I live in a 1957 rambler. I have Formica countertops, an avocado refrigerator, and of course, a pink bathroom. I don't understand, what is home staging going to do for my home?

Vivian Gilbert:     

Well, today's buyer doesn't really want to do anything. So it's important that they can see that they can move into the property the way it is. When you stage a property, you help to minimize those things that you're describing, the deficiencies of the property. But it also helps accentuate the things that are really wonderful about the property, too.

Brad Rozansky:    Okay. Terrific.

So, Vivian, the other night you were nice enough to come on an appointment with us and I learned so much. One of the things about this particular house was how it was spaced and it was tight. I knew you came up with some great ideas if you could share them with the audience.

Vivian Gilbert:     

Sure. First, it's really, really important when you have a smaller home or a home that has awkward spaces and misshapen rooms to stage them because a buyer's never going to know how to use it.  So, giving a purpose to a space is really important. One trick I always do to expand spaces is to open the shower curtain. So when you are taking pictures of the bathroom, you actually gain three feet of space when the shower curtain is open rather than when it's closed.

Brad Rozansky:   

Great comments. Thank you, Vivian.

Lastly, Vivian, can you share with us some of the trends you're seeing in today's home design that will draw the attention of today's buyers?

Vivian Gilbert:     

Well, it's really important to stay on trend. Everybody watches HGTV, everybody gets their Pottery Barn catalog, so we all are looking at the same thing. But while you stay on trend, you also have to listen to what the house has to say so you want to make sure that the trends that you are using and the color palette you're using actually meshes with what's existing in the house.

Brad Rozansky:   

Wow. Great, great information on home staging tips. We want to thank Vivian so much for meeting with us today and taking time out of your busy spring schedule.

Vivian Gilbert:     

It's been a pleasure. Thanks, Brad.

If you have any additional questions, please reach out to us at 301-656-7700 or you can email us at Brad@rozansky.com If you would like to see some of Vivian’s work you can see it here.