Staging a Home for Sale

I often work with people who have decided to put their house up for sale and who need to de-clutter and make the home more presentable to the buying public. When a person decides to put their home on the market, it has been shown that a properly de-cluttered and staged home sells much faster and often for a higher price than when these steps have not been taken. The question often arises as to what professional should be hired to accomplish this task. Certainly, the de-cluttering process is best left to the professional organizer. Generally speaking most designers/stagers do not take on the task of sorting and purging a home of unwanted items, clothing, paper piles, and the like. They will recommend this step to their clients who are often unprepared to accomplish this task on their own. However, this is a good project for an organizer and an interior designer/stager to work on together.

Preparing occupied homes for sale often requires organization and editing before the actual styling process can take place. Therefore, the stager might recommend certain repairs or improvements that should be done, although this might also be recommended by their realtor. The stager will also decide how the house should look so that it most appeals to a buyer. The professional organizer will handle the de-cluttering and possibly packing up things for the move, while leaving those things the stager needs for staging the home. It is a team effort, although some professional organizers are capable of handling both tasks.

For a vacant property, a stager would likely be the professional needed and an organizer would likely not be necessary. A stager would likely have access to furniture and decorative items if it is thought beneficial to promoting the sale. Professional organizers and stager/interior designers working in tandem can be a win-win situation for a prospective home seller.