Styled, Staged & Sold

Bringing you the latest home design and staging trends. From REALTOR® Magazine.

By Julea Joseph, Reinventing Space

Every morning on my Chicago area social media feed, I see acres and acres of empty rooms posted by real estate professionals. So many empty dining rooms, breakfast rooms, kitchens, living and bedrooms. Do I stop and click on the photo, intrigued to have a look at the room, the house, the property? No, I just scroll on by ... Do I read the eloquently written description? Do I appreciate the professional photography? No, I just scroll on by ... Why? It's that they all look the same; devoid of any senses, any flavor, any style.

WHY?

#1. An empty home leaves an empty canvas to paint negative thoughts on. Prospective buyers will find imperfections or they'll not be interested or overlook features. An empty home amplifies negative thoughts.

#2. Empty homes lack a vision of its layout. What is this room? A staged home shows off how the home flows and how each space can be used.

#3. An empty home is void of imagination and feeling. People buy homes on emotion. An empty property is just a HOUSE, a staged property becomes a HOME. Home staging creates the emotion that your prospective buyers envisioned.

#4. The National Association of REALTORS 2015 Profile on Home Staging found that 81 percent of buyers find it is easier to visualize a property as a future home when it's staged.

“A staged home may seem like it has furniture that’s fixed in place; but what is going on in the buyer’s mind is a very kinetic process. With a home that is staged, they see a family - celebrating home." --Julea Joseph

See the difference for yourself: Here are some before and after photos.

Empty_Family

FamilyRoom_AFTER
Photo credit: Julea Joseph, Reinventing Space, julea.com

Empty_Kitchen

Kitchen_After
Photo credit: Julea Joseph, Reinventing Space, julea.com

Empty_Living_Dine

Living_Room_AFTER
Photo credit: Julea Joseph, Reinventing Space, julea.com

This post originally appeared at Julea: Reinventing Space. Copyright 2015.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Julea Joseph is the owner and lead designer at Reinventing Space in Chicago. Visit her website and blog at Julea.com.

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