About Home Staging

About Home Staging

What is Home Staging?
Home Staging is the art of preparing a home to show off its best features and highlight the focal point of a room. The entire objective is to make your home show to its full potential and appeal to as many buyers as possible. The focus is on maximizing use of space, showcasing architectural highlights and creating an inviting environment buyers can envision themselves living in. Your home is typically your largest asset and you want to get the best offer possible. The way you live in your home and the way you market your home for sale are two very different things.

“I hope you never get tired of me telling you how much I appreciate you and your staging talents! The sellers at the home in St. Paul did EVERYTHING you recommended. 24 hours on the market and we had 14 showings and 5 offers! When I walked in after everything they did my jaw about hit the floor. It didn’t even look like the same house. I was so impressed that we increased the list price by $10,000 and got even more in multiple offers!! You are the best Shar. Thank you”
- Paul, Realtor
“Thanks to your staging we have a contract on the house.”
- Nancy R., Realtor

Why should I Stage My Home?
The average buyer will decide if they like your home within the first eleven seconds. If they don’t like what they see from first site, they may never make it to the lower level to see your incredible surround sound or upstairs to see your exquisite bathroom. First impressions matter and can make all the difference between a swift sale and a house that remains on the market. Buying a home is emotional and there is a lot of competition. Anything a buyer finds unappealing will begin the process of a lower offer. Usually the offer is reduced by much more than the cost to fix or replace the problem area. Don’t lose even one potential buyer, stage your home with Rooms With Style BEFORE your home goes on the market.

“Home Staging used to be an option, now it is a necessity.”
- Barbara Corcoran, Real Estate Mogul

“We sold our house after 10 days and we received awesome feed back including an ’excellent’ rating in staging with comment that our home was stunning! Thanks for all your tips!”
- Heather, Northfield, MN

“I wanted to let you know that your 2 hours of staging advice led our hand toward a very quick offer and sale of our house in Richfield. We met with you in our home and made color, furniture purchase and placement decisions based upon your advice that really made our showings pop!”
- Mark, Richfield, MN

Can we afford home staging?
It is more cost effective to invest in staging your home then to lower the asking price. Home staging costs less than your first price reduction. We at Rooms With Style are very sensitive to all budgets and will help you choose the most cost-effective approach. You can get expert, critical staging advice for as little as $200.

“I so loved having you here today. Your advice feels so right, and it is totally the best $200 I’ve probably ever spent as it will certainly save us far more money when we come to sell and everything is perfectly staged to appeal to the next owner. There were many things I know I would have botched and ended up wasting money on a poor decision.”
- Maureen, Bloomington, MN

Why do I need to make repairs to my home if I am moving? No one will notice!
Although not every home needs repairs, we have found that buyers who have been looking at potential homes for a while DO notice smaller details such as a bad paint job, cracks in the ceiling, a stained kitchen countertop or outdated bathroom fixtures. Simple projects such as these can be changed inexpensively and make your house stand out from the competition. You may decide to complete only the suggestions we make regarding furnishings, de-cluttering and accessories, but we will always advise you on the obvious repairs that make your home more appealing. Rooms With Style has preferred vendors we can recommend to assist with your home improvements.

“I’ve been meaning to tell you how successful your advice proved to be! We worked for two weeks, the realtor came, listed it 3 days later and we had 3 offers within 3 days…actually got $5,000 more than the asking price. Very little money was spent to make this happen. We are very appreciative of your good eye and practical suggestions.”
- Deena, Farmington
“There is no doubt in my mind that the staging is the reason we got an offer so quickly.”
- Dave O., Realtor

What if our home is empty?
Vacant homes typically do not show as well because buyers are unable to visualize what it would look like with furniture. 95% of the population has trouble visualizing and it is extremely helpful to show buyers where their furniture will go and that it will fit. Vacant rooms appear smaller when they do not have furniture in them. Rooms With Style will choose proper furniture and accessories for your home and will work within your budget to either stage the entire space or key rooms. We will use furniture from our own ware house, we do not rent from rental agencies. The furniture and accessory pieces are hand selected to showcase the vacant home at it’s full potential.

With a 3000 sq ft warehouse we have the inventory to pick the best size and style to fit your home and the targeted buyer.

“Shar—thank you so very much for helping us prepare for the sale of our family house. The empty house has transformed into a home. Your little touches, i.e. the over-turned book on the nightstand, the table set for dinner, the beautiful pillows and artwork bring the rooms to life…My father who built the home 46 years ago came back to visit and to see the staging–he got emotional and said, ‘it looks beautiful!’ On behalf of our family, thank you, thank you, thank you!!”
- Kathy, Richfield, MN

“My Mother’s 5 bedroom 4 bathroom home was on the market for 11 months when I hired Shar Sitter to stage one floor of the home. I had resisted tearing out carpeting and removing all furniture until Shar informed me that prospective buyers were likely calling the home “dated” because of the antique furniture still in the house. I was reluctant to repaint the main floor a warmer color but did so at her suggestion because I was really tired of checking on the house every day and wanted to find a new family for this home.

The house was staged on a Thursday and sold the next Tuesday. Family, friends and eBay customers were thrilled with the staged rooms as well. Thank you Shar for your absolutely essential help!”
- Mary Jo, St. Paul, MN

Dear Miracle Worker, You are totally amazing!! The house looks major WOW! We had about 7 groups through and this time they ALL spent much more time in the house and no negative comments this time!!! I love it!! Can’t wait to get the pics up on MLS tomorrow!.”
- Pat K.. Realtor

“Thanks for staging the property so well. We only had 2 people look at it the first week on the market before we got the offer. I’m sure the staging made the difference!”
- Sandi, builder

“I was so excited when I walked into the house! It looks AWESOME! SO CUTE! I sent before and after pics to the seller and she was very excited as well. I think seeing the before and after really makes an impression and really shows how staging really helps with the first impression!
- Tovi, Realtor, Eagan, MN

Why can’t I just stage my own home?
Most home sellers are usually incapable of successfully staging their own home. Why? Because our home is like our child, we don’t always see all of their flaws. We’ve gotten used to the way it looks and in fact it is difficult emotionally to change it. If you can’t view something objectively then you are unable to market and package it effectively. Not to mention most home sellers don’t “stage” homes everyday so the idea that they can expertly transform their own home is difficult. That’s what professionals are for and that is where the greatest returns come in.

There is a vast difference between a home that is simply de-cluttered and cleaned and one that is professionally staged. Creating the “model home” look is not easily achieved without the help of someone who does this everyday for a living.

“Shar did a staging consultation for us and it was money well spent. We took a few weeks to make her recommended changes and then listed our house the first week of December. We sold in 5 days at only a small amount below our asking price!”
- Michelle, Savage, MN
“Nice work! The house sold in 1 week flat! It was the right price and it was staged beautifully, hence the quick turn around.”
- Joel, Mpls, MN

Can’t homebuyers use their imagination and look past the décor?
Only 5 percent of homebuyers can actually visualize the potential of a home. It is important to offer a warm and welcoming feeling while still allowing potential buyers to see that they could easily incorporate their own style into a home. This is also why having a vacant home professionally staged is so important. Buyers cannot visualize size and scale so furniture helps to give them a frame of reference.

“The house sold in one day and there is no doubt the staging is a big reason for that. Thank you!!”
- Mike, Realtor

“I am convinced the staging helped to sell it.”
Trevor, Lakeville, MN

“Thank you for your Home Staging recommendations. It helped to sell my home in two days! Adding the 2” blinds, repositioning the dining room table and adding the modern panels in the living room enhanced the appearance.”
- Alba, Eagan MN

If you are looking for Staging you have come to the right place! Call (952) 232-4114.

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