Undo #2: Theme Rooms

I ran into a friend who I hadn't talked to since starting my home staging business. She said "Oh, you FIX houses to sell, like on TV!"

I wish I was "like on TV." They seem to have very high budgets, staff in matching t-shirts and that handy fast-forward edit thingy. However, I usually use what my clients have -- plus a little BEHR paint, trust and pixie dust. My business partner (Miss Honey I'm Home) and I work together and Hunky Husband is our only team member. We do not have that music that makes the room suddenly look gorgeous in the last two minutes.

I also do not FIX houses.  Houses are usually working just fine for the people who live there. Sometimes we make small repairs (the nagging little list of things we all put off, but need to be done before a listing). We more often undo the very things that have made that house work for the current owner. 

gorgeous Tangled mural via Pinterest

Staging shows off the space, light and storage in your home -- or creates the illusion of it. 

Sometimes that means taking out half of the bookshelves you have added.

Sometimes that means going from 10 pieces of furniture in one room to three.

Sometimes that means taking down the little decorations that make you smile every time you see them.

Some of the things you have done to FIX up your house are the first to go when we need to appeal to buyers.

#2 Adorable thing to UNDO:  Theme Rooms

Transformer decals are not for everyone

Yes, kids rooms are kid's rooms. 

If you live in a family home, in a family neighborhood most of the people looking at your  home will prolly be needing a place for their short people to sleep.

However, their child may not like Transformers or Tangled as much as yours does.  

My Big Girlie loves the ocean. She wants to be a Marine Biologist and her room reflects it. Her bedding looks like a coral reef. Her pillows look like sea anemones. Her dresser is painted in an aqua color called "Sea Life." Now, she wants to hang fish pictures from the ceiling. That is all fine to live in, but can you imagine putting that in an MLS picture? We would show up on Hooked on Houses for sure.

too many tiny chefs in this overly flowered kitchen landed in
"funny MLS" pictures on  Hooked on Houses

The fact is, a growing number of buyers shop for a new home on-line. 89% of home buyers who buy online say they notice pictures first -- before square footage or description.  A growing number are shopping online exclusively and buying their home without ever visiting it in person.

Let your pictures show off the size of your rooms, not your over-the-top addiction to zebra print.  Let your pictures show the high ceilings, not hunky husband's experiment in camo as decor.
Let your pictures show your wood burning fireplace, not the life size storm trooper made of legos.

You can do it! Pack up the jungle, bistro, Disney, undersea, Caribbean, birdcage, sports pub, vineyard wonderland. It will be great in your new home and make your listed property more Visit Ready.

just bec


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