I recently received a call from a very sweet lady, Sue. Sue’s elderly mother lives in a condo in Spring Hill and Sue wants to sell her mothers condo and move her mom closer to where she lives in Franklin. It’s a stressful situation, and emotions are high during a life transition like this. What I understood from the call was that Sue’s mom has a lifetime of belongings crammed into this actually not too tiny condo, but that it will be a feat to get everything packed, moved, and re-settled. Also, Sue’s mom is in good health, but she’s elderly, and a move at ANY AGE can be extremely stressful! Sue and her mom have very good taste in furniture and decor, so I was excited to see how I could go out and help make their move (and therefore their lives) just a little easier and less stressful. In the market today, sellers need every advantage they can get to get their homes sold quickly- every day the property sits on the market can be stress inducing, and it can also gain a stigma. In order to get top dollar, it needs to sell QUICK!

As I expected, her condo was lovely; it just had too much STUFF. Of course, I am making that statement in regards to staging and selling. Her mother may like being surrounded by all her treasured belongings, but when potential buyers walk in, they can view the excess furnishings and decor as clutter, and it can distract them from the potential the property has to offer to them. Which brings me to one of my universal staging truths- Staging is not about you or your stuff, it’s about the BUYERS, and what the home can represent for them. That’s why it’s important to spell everything out crystal clear, through strategic highlighting of the homes architecture and potential.

This is the living room before. Nice, but a little visually…blah.

After. Even though the picture is a little dark, you can see that by strategic furniture placement, we were able to make the room seem bigger and a little more high end.

Master bedroom before.

Master Bedroom After.

Dining Room Before.

Dining Room After. Less visually overwhelming.

Kitchen Before. Notice the clutter?

Kitchen After. Look carefully- we did more than just clear the counters; though that did help as well.

Kitchen Before. The homeowner lives alone and didn’t have a table or chairs in her kitchen; instead she had a tv, recliner, love seat, and various living room furniture. Although the arrangement worked for her, it wouldn’t work for every buyer. We moved a table and chairs that she had upstairs into the kitchen to make it look more like the perfectly appropriate eat-in kitchen that it is. I couldn’t talk her into removing all the living room furniture, so one recliner and floor lamp remained for her to use as she was used to doing.

So, this story has a GREAT ending! After staging, and getting the home on the market… it sold! It is the highest priced property in the development, and it sold for asking price within 30 days of listing! See, staging works! It is the ace in your pocket. If you or anyone you know is considering selling your home, I’d be glad to help strategize with you to help get your home sold for top dollar.