Home Staging Props Every Seller Needs

Essential Kitchen Home Staging Props

Most kitchens lack warmth and personality because they are filled with hard finishes.  Never clear every counter and try and sell a bare kitchen!  Since the kitchen is a huge selling opportunity for the home seller it becomes even more critical to carefully stage counter vignettes that add texture and warmth.

I personally love the look of layered cutting boards sitting upright on a kitchen counter, a bowl of fresh fruit and brand new woven dish towels.  White accessories denote cleanliness, so using white home staging props will help to make the clean connection for buyers.  These small, inexpensive additions go a long way in creating a clean, natural atmosphere.

Check out how these simple kitchen home staging props along with paint completely transform this kitchen my sister's staging company, Pacific Home Design in Santa Cruz designed:

Essential Bedroom Home Staging Props

Bedrooms are so personal, that it can be discomfiting walking into another person's boudoir for a buyer...especially if the bedding is old and tired looking.

Adding white bedding enlarges the space and gives it a fresh, clean feel in any bedroom.

Essential Bathroom Home Staging Props

Bathrooms are similar to bedrooms in that they are intensely personal, so using white and having it immaculate will never scare off buyers.  Use a tray to anchor a vignette on the counter.  Fresh white, fluffy towels stacked by the tub and greenery gives the space that spa feel.

This luxury white towel set for under $35 bucks is an essential for every bathroom in the home and with over 1300 positive reviews as an Amazon Prime Choice, it's a steal:  https://amzn.to/2Af5yCA

Perfect Coffee Table Vignette Home Staging Props

Home Staging Props for Living Spaces

Even if the home seller is on the tightest of budgets, these many items valued in total at around $2000 will make a $20000 difference in the value of the home.

Buyers are looking for stylish decor and statistically will pay more for homes that have updated decor, so spending a bit on these versatile accessories will be an investment in the sale of the home.

This post contains a couple Amazon affiliate links:-)

Make sure to go full-screen on this video to be able to watch the valuable chat room comments (it blew up the entire time) AND see the many emails that stagers and designers shared with me on how they have used my "A-Z Guide to Going Remote" and pivoted their business to make money during this unprecedented time.

As usual, cheers to you and your business!

Hope to see you in my next webinar where I'm totally switching it up and talking about dreaming and side hustling:-)....hope to see you in the chat room!

In the video I share tons of inspiring and encouraging stories of stagers partnering with their agents clients to help sellers staging virtually, as well as talked about how so many of us have taken moments to "reset" in life, relationships, passions and business.

I also talk about the mistakes stagers are making during this time!  You don't want to be the person who annoys but rather helps yet some stagers are marketing with the wrong tone (I show you an example).  Selling aggressively is not the answer.

I recapped all of the training, Canva Templates and materials I've been teaching in my "A-Z Guide to Going Remote and Staging Virtually" so this is a good video to watch if you missed my past happy hours.

I also provided a 4-page, resource filled handout in the happy hour, so to get that simply sign up below:

Will some positive things come out of this pandemic?  I absolutely believe so and so do the people in the chat room when you read their comments!

This video will inspire and encourage you, so take a moment to unplug, grab your happy hour drink of choice and watch the full replay...let me know what you think below!

Ann Struve took my advice from the training video below and contacted 8 agents using my scripts (below) and had 3 agents get right back to her about her remote staging services...woot!

I also shared inspiring stories of people just like you who are shifting their business to work remote or starting something brand new with their life during this downtime.  In other words, they are not satisfied with puzzles and Netflix:-).

The video is about an hour since we go over A LOT of stuff but I promise it will inspire you!

In fact, after I gave this eye-opening marketing presentation, I got some super cool and encouraging emails from you all...

Email from Laura in hard hit New York who loved the idea of being on happy hour with her martini with 250 other people:-)

You can download my scripts and resources below the video training.  Make sure to go FULL SCREEN to see the details of what I'm sharing...

During this difficult time, I'm so grateful for all the stories and encouragement I've gotten from you all!

I would love to hear your feedback below on what you thought of this marketing strategy and Virtual Happy Hour, so please comment below...

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Hope this helps to clarify all of the goodness and value that goes into adding E-Design packages and services to your business!

If you missed my step-by-step, training on how to easily add E-Design to your business, then make sure to click on the image below to watch it!

You see it's not just enough to learn HOW to do E-Design projects for clients but critical to have inspiration and ease of use when you have an account that is filled with valuable projects, great products and gorgeous inspiration rooms!

In fact, my training members use these boards to showcase their talent and get more business!  Here's another blog post on how one stager did just that...

Okay, now that you're ready to check out these rooms with your expert eyes as a learning activity, let's indulge and get inspired!

For those folks who think stagers should stick to only beige, I would disagree.  Navy has been the new neutral these days and in the living space above, Gina Gailing a South Florida home stager and long-time, HSR member showcases it beautifully!  

Another colorfully staged living space but this time with the not-so-neutral but ever popular yellow.  This is a log narrow space, so Daniela uses brighter color to draw the buyer's eyes to staged area starting with the living space.  This makes it so you focus separately on the "parts" of the room rather than seeing it as a long, narrow whole space.

Let's Talk About What "Designed to Sell" Means...

QUICK!  Before scrolling to the "after" photo below, ask yourself what you would fix for these home owners who want a fresh new design for  their kitchen...

Wowza!  Lindsey Machado hits it out of the park with this kitchen design.  You may have thought that you needed to fix the tile flooring (that probably runs through the entire house) but Lindsey repeats the tone of the floor in the island and bar stools which actually helps to improve the look of the floor.

The above photo is the perfect example of why "not all vacant staging is equal" and you "always get what you pay for when it comes to vacant staging".  This oversize space needs oversize furnishings.  Large, luxurious furnishings cost money.  You should always be pricing your vacant stagings with size and luxury-level in mind, so that you can afford furnishings like Michelle's above.

One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing small, scale furniture in a grand scaled space...it just looks weird.

Michell Middell wisely staged this space absolutely to scale AND even used a huge rug to emphasize the large scale layout.

I could not resist throwing in this amazingly, serene bedroom that HSR Grad Michelle also staged.  Her spare use of color makes us love it even more.

I particularly LOVE how she layered not one but two throws on the bed!  What do you think?

There is something about the composition of this photograph and space that makes me swoon!  Maybe it's the repeated, various black and white patterns Nicci used or the way she draws the eye away from an otherwise unsightly fireplace...but the combination is very cool.  Designed to Sell AND designed to photograph.

Even though the large, round mirror has been so popular and overplayed...I still can't get enough of it.  What about you ?  Hint - Tons of these mirrors were at High Point and Market so I guess I'm not alone:-)

I have so many amazing photos to share but only so much time, so I will wrap it up with this living room staged by Melissa Mendelson.  Imagine if this room were bare...it would be so vanilla!

Melissa spices it up with lots of texture and detail. I love how she repeats the tone of the wood floors in the retro, leather chairs which by the way, draws the buyer's eyes to those fabulous focal point windows.

In the live webinar I'm going to show you how I use these pages in my work and life, so make sure you attend to get fired up on your 2020 year and decade!

So let's get our dreams, plans and goals down on paper and get personal this Wednesday, live at my webinar!

Nicci Nolan Wright of Staged Wright Home, one of our HSR members has a strong background in photography and shared some of her hot tips in our Stagers Connect group via video.

Watch my 3-minute video below that shows you exactly what I did on my iPhone to completely transform my room photo...

Can you believe how easy that was?!  ​

For more super cool staging hot tips, join me on my next free, live event...

In our Facebook Stagers Connect private home stager group we collaborated on the unique ways we "leave our business mark" in the homes we stage and I thought it would make for a wonderful post to inspire others in their stager branding and marketing....enjoy!

Shirley Borloz of Signature Staging in Nashville, TN cleverly adds her business name and information in a stack of books vignette....how cool is this?

Angie Creech Design used a different variation on that the book stack by adding a frame behind it and layering it over a cutting board with her business cards.

Sarah Williams of Finishing Touch Design out of Redlands, CA creatively leaves her mark in a couple places in the home.  Starting with the front entry, she has a custom door mat with her business name and will then place her business cards and marketing postcard on a table in the home...

Dani Powers of Taylor Made Staging and Design varies her calling card vignette by season...below she has a fall centerpiece with her cute signage and business cards.

Kandice Lee Designs, a home stager out of Denver CO said that since she leaves a peice of her heart in every home she touches, her signature item is a pink heart shaped stone on her business cards to show buyers the love that went into that space...very clever!

Melissa Raab Mendelson, a home stager in the Chicago Area goes one step further by creating an eye catching vignette and adding her calling card, framed postcard with brochures and business cards.

Sarah Beam of Altogether Lovely keeps is simple but adorable on the kitchen counter.  I also like how she includes her photo on her business cards to make her staging and branding that much more memorable and personal.

Susan Vaneria of Fresh Spaces out of Hartford, CT also uses the kitchen counter with a cute printable chalkboard of her business name and stack of cards.

Mallory Johnson of Nine Elements Interiors out of Twin Cities changes up her approach depending on the home and here she uses a tray vignette that can be moved strategically to different locations in the home.  Again, she's very smart to have a photo on the business card which again personalizes her brand to her prospective clients...

Mitch Bage of Maison De Campagne a home staging company in League City, TX uses a more subtle approach but I kind of love it...

Or edit all the text, photos and add their personal branding, as well as change the fonts SUPER easily...

I've got a 10-Page Statistic Driven Canva template for home stagers to use in their Realtor PowerPoint Presentations:

I've got Canva templates for home stagers to give their Real Estate Agent Partners in order to make them look great:

I've got a fantastic hand-out to give to home sellers, agent partners or have on your website as a give-away (in exchange for their email):

I've got OODLES of gorgeous staging statistic imagery in a Canva template form, so  home stagers can put them on their websites, brochures or even use in their social media...here's just one example:

My HSR members are NEVER looking at a blank page or reinventing the wheel with their business, so that they can focus on what they do best...stage and transform homes!

Now, I've got a freebie for you just so you can see how incredibly useful these templates can be in your marketing and branding.  Simply swap out the before/after photos to your own and use this in your social media or on your "Vacant Services" page on your site.  

Just answer the quiz question below and get my Canva Template link to the imagery below for FREE!

PS - In full disclosure, I am a Canva Affiliate since I LOVE that website.

E-Design is simply technology helping you get your vision across to clients that much easier, better and more beautifully!  

How does E-Design do that?  Well, the best technology allows you to clip and save whatever you're searching online for in a "project" with a direct link and product price/information, so that while you're shopping or sourcing for clients it's being recorded into that  client's project folder...

In the past, designers would try to explain the vision they had to clients verbally or even tediously create a hard copy "mood board" but now technology gives us the tools to simplify, pass the vision along easily and even give clients the direct links to shop for themselves if they wish.

Here Are 3 Not So Obvious Ways E-Design Can Grow Your Sales...

There's so much more you can do with E-Design technology, so if you want all the answers to how to incorporate E-Design into your staging or design business, click to join me on a workshop about it below...

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Penn State wisely contacted HSR Certified Carolyn Plummer of Carolyn Plummer Designs and home staging based in Harrisburg, PA for a solution to boring dorm spaces and you won't believe the transformation...

I absolutely love how Carolyn softens up the space with an on-trend color palette that pleases both boys and girls along with a TON of textures and cozy rug, pillows and throws.  Imagine previewing colleges with your child to find this staged dorm space as an option vs. the typical un-staged space above it?

The builder was ecstatic with her work and these staged spaces put Penn State on top of their college recruiting game!

Here's some more photos but to read the WHOLE story, CLICK HERE.

The builder also used these photos in their marketing materials...in fact, the developers of this housing unit were so impressed with the job Carolyn did, they kept the furnishings for the model unit.

They’ve since rented out all of the units through the next three years—wow!

As a contributor to the National Association of Realtors staging blog, my favorite thing to do is to brag about the incredible talent of my HSR certified home staging members.  I also find it so interesting to watch the MANY different directions home stagers take their business because there are so many niches available to them.  

I will share Carolyn's behind the scenes Member Success story soon but here's what she had to finish with when she shared her dorm room project with me...

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It was vacant and I completely designed and staged the entire space. Now I am partnering with him to manage the space and will receive a cut of the profits each month. This will be an Airbnb. 

But it gets better...there are 2 other units just as stunning in the same "home" and I'll be doing the same with those. Residual income!!

And will you succeed?  Yes!  You will, indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

Kid, you'll move mountains!  Today is your day!  Your mountain is waiting.  So...get on your way!

Here are the 4 out of the 10 mistakes home stagers (and designers) make when they create their services and pricing list...to see the last 6, click on the image above and join me on my Pricing Webinar.

This may seem like an obvious one but I'm constantly seeing service details left out of the pricing list of stagers and designers.  "Consultation" is a VERY broad term in this industry and one person's may be a 15-minute, assessment while another's is a 2-hour walk through with a staging report...would you agree that those are VERY different priced services?

What happens when we ASSUME?  Why let your client assume anything from your service list!  Be crystal clear in what you're delivering, have a equally clear contract and you will alleviate most every problem that stagers encounter (which are usually misunderstandings based on "assumptions" anyway).

So many home stagers believe that clients purely go off of price when choosing a home stager, so they price too low in order to win the job.  While some uneducated clients will choose solely on price, most people are savvy enough to recognize that staging is an art  form and "you get what you pay for" when it comes to the staging design work done in the home.

The "low ball stagers" are usually not invested in their business or HSR Certified.  They think "staging would be fun" so they  just think they will charge what their hourly was in their last position...ugh!   

These untrained stagers would also not know how to shop wholesale, not understand the real estate market, not have those valuable vendor relationships, a good contract, understand client phraseology, have insurance or be in business by this time next year so never fear the "low ball stager"!

This is an honest mistake I see even the most veteran stagers make when it comes to their business.  By nature, we are creatives...not hardened, "salesy" negotiators.  The "typical" successful skill set needed to be an AWESOME staging artist usually comes from the right brain, so it's easy for us  to "cave" when a savvy, negotiating agent wants to "value down" a stager's pricing.  Please trust me on this...DON'T DO IT.

Having said that, I do believe that you need to have a "Good, Better, Best Pricing" when it comes to vacant homes since that allows flexibility in pricing for the budget minded.  I will get into a lot more of that in my live webinar next week, so I hope you can join me...

I also think there are ways to be "flexible" in your pricing that doesn't diminish your pricing credibility like wavering and discounting does...and this brings me to another pricing mistake:

Not everyone has the budget to have you in their home, staging it for days, so that is why it's always good to have a stair-stepped price model that allows for the "Do-It-Yourselfer" who can take your detailed Staging Report and do the work.  

I always say that successful staging requires 4 things to work...

Looking at the 4 items above, if the seller has the time and energy to put into the staging, then a stager can have stair-stepped pricing and simply provide the objectivity, extreme expertise and vendor list in the Staging Report.  This is what HSR Certified stagers are trained to do and they have access to a large, staging report model that works really well in the home!

Hopefully that gives you some food for thought on pricing.  I'm going to continue this conversation in my next, BRAND NEW, live webinar, so I hope you can join me!