Beaux R'eves

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Home Staging~Before And After~Week 4

Welcome back to my Home Staging
~Before And After Series!  
If you have missed the past three weeks 
you can find them all here.


So far we have covered Decluttering, 
Light and Bright Spaces, 
and Accessorizing.  
This week I would like to talk about something 
that I touched on briefly last week 
~ Photographs and the Internet~ 
85-90% 
(and I am being conservative here) 
of home searches begin on the Internet!  
The photos of your home 
ARE your First "First Impression" 
to the potential buyers.  
The second "First Impression" 
occurs when the potential buyers 
drive up to your home.  
(We will cover the outside next week.)  
And, lastly the third "First Impression" 
occurs upon walking into the home.  

In the Home Staging example 
that I am going to show you this week 
the homeowners were adamant 
about using their own photos for the MLS,
which shows up everywhere on the Internet.  
The Realtors tried to dissuade them 
but sometimes people just don't listen.  
They were in a huge hurry to list their home 
and didn't think that they needed a Stager.  
After a few weeks on the market 
and not ONE showing, the Realtors 
contacted me just to ask me 
what I thought of the pictures etc.  

Well, let's look:
 This is the first photo that you saw 
when you clicked on the listing.  
Would you want to view this home in person 
based on this photo?  
It's dark and blurry and it's hard to even 
tell what you are looking at.  
Is that a living room?  
I see stairs and some clutter on a table.  
Not too inviting...
The second pic on the listing.  
OK, living room, yes we guessed right.  
But that's the point!  
Don't make people GUESS what they are looking at!  
I know these Internet lookers!  
They have a short attention span 
and will click on over to the next house in a flash!  

OK, I am not judging here 
but if I am an Internet browser, so to speak, 
I am wondering 
WHAT THE WHAT 
is that thing that looks like some wood stacked 
up next to the couch with a head on it!? 
It has distracted me so much that now I am just over 
the whole house and nothing will change my mind.  
That is how people think!  
Let's FIX it! 
OK, After.  
What?  
No WOW!  
What a difference?  
Why is that?  
Because I am not a professional photographer! 
Let's see how it should REALLY look.
Ahhhhh!!! 
OOOOHHHHHHHH!!!  
Applause!   
NOW do you want to put this one FIRST 
on your list of houses to see?  
And the reverse angle!  
I could end this post right now because 
I think that I have made my point!  
But I love before and afters so we will keep going.  
I rearranged and angled the furniture 
to increase traffic flow 
and I got rid of the wooden side table.  
Profesh pic...  Nice!
Another angle.  
I really need to take more photography lessons!
 "Their" MLS photo.  
The angle of the picture is so weird 
that you have to really question 
what you are looking at.  
Too many personal photos, 
but of course you already know 
I will remove those.
My "After" .  
I angled the desk, 
removed the clutter 
and now you can see the pretty tile 
and striking wall color.  
Hey!  
How did he do that?  
You see the whole room and the pretty drapes too!  
The dining room "Before".  
I am usually the bearer of bad news in these situations.  
As much as I love toile the wallpaper has to go.  
It was just too distracting.  
We kept the drapes and painted a neutral color 
and now the floors stand out!  
I love the touches of green with the apples.  
Miss Beaux came to help me that day 
and I made her go to the market and buy green apples.  
I love the fact that she can drive!  

Professional angle.  
It's very dreamy, right?
Homeowners picture of the Great Room 
and Breakfast eating area.  
My eyes immediately go to the bar counter.  
I spent a lot of time looking 
at these pictures and 
wondering what that was.  
I see the dogfood bowls were left out 
and I am STILL 
wondering what that wooden thing is! 
My "After".  
I rearranged the furniture a bit 
and replaced the reclaimed wood breakfast bar 
with a table that I had at home.  
I put the tablecloth on the table 
to give the room some softness.  
I brought over a few of my extra chairs too.
MLS Photos show the entire space. 
Thank you Wide Angle Lens!

See what a difference Staging 
and Professional Photos makes?  
 Upstairs, little girls room, 
Before picture.  
Personal photos and lots of clutter on the shelf.  
The room itself is great.  
I love the Shabby touches 
and the wall color.  
I just cleaned it up a bit and lightened the bed-cover 
with my famous trick 
of all white with the bed-cover 
folded at the end of the bed. 
And an even better view!  
Another Girl's room.  
I love the theme but it is too cluttered for resale.
By just removing the sofa 
and repositioning the bed you gain so much space!
I really did think that this was an adorable house.
New MLS photo.  
The Guest Room.  
It looks dark and uninviting.  
I took out the extra furniture 
and used lighter pillows 
and that was it.
NICE!  
When I saw the Master Bedroom pics 
what jumped out at me was the chairs 
turned toward the fireplace.  
They were blocking the view.  
You are trying to sell the features 
of your home not furniture!
I literally wanted to reach 
through the computer screen 
and turn the chairs around!
Oh!  
I feel so much better now!  
I love those chairs, don't you?
So nice, 
how does he do it?  
The rest of the bedroom just for fun.
And the Master Bath.  
So, the lesson learned here?  
Your Internet Photos have to SELL your home!
All MLS photos courtesy of 
Midwest Virtual Tours

Until Next Time,
Beaux R'eves

16 click here to Comment:

Calypso In The Country said...

Nice changes! It all looks so much fresher!
-Shelley

Pinky at Designs by Pinky said...

Staging is a must IF it is done right. I hated the things our stager brought in. Our house sold after it was all taken out and it was empty! You do a BEAUTIFUL job, and Pro. pics are fabulous!

Unknown said...

So Glad your home sold Pinky! Thanks for the nice comments! I just love staging!

Cranberry Morning said...

Wow, yes I guess a very important point was made here. Our son had a 'stager' and photographer also and their home sold super quickly. I hadn't realized what a huge difference it makes!

ℳartina @ Northern Nesting said...

Cindy you always do such a great job!! It looks so much brighter and fresh now!

Alycia Nichols said...

I got a good laugh out of this! You're so funny! Seriously, though...what were they thinking??!!??! Their photos were SORELY lacking, and they just didn't show off ANYTHING good about the house! I had no idea the living room was so pretty and that the area where the curtains were was so attractive. The photo was taken head on rather than at an angle at which the feature could be appreciated. Same in a lot of the rooms with their photos. And blocking the fireplace with those chairs...what the what?!??!?!?!?! In the kitchen, SO glad you deep-sixed the wallpaper. That's such a personal choice, and home staging is no place for personal choices!!!

Much better photos = much more appreciation for this house!

Unknown said...

I just love this series you are doing! So much fun to see befores and afters! You do a wonderful job!!

Heather@http://southernabbey.com said...

Thanks for the lesson. Your tricks really made all the difference. And the photography...I wish I understood how they do it! The pictures look great, and the biggest wow to me was the front hall. The new pics made it look so inviting. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for showing the whys and hows of staging and photography.
How long did it take to sell this place after you worked your magic?
Does your fee come out of the realtor's commission or does the seller pay it separatey/
Sorry if the questions seem dumb, but I haven't sold a house in over 20 years.
But thinking of it again now.

This N That said...

I just LOVE this series..Right up my alley..I sold my house last year and my agent has her own photographer..Huge difference..By the way, that was a great house..I assume it's sold??

lynn cockrell said...

Thanks for all the great tips! The series was fabulous and the staging made all the difference.

Marin Smith said...

Hello friend
you have done great job. While browsing internet I found to see your blog which forced my attention to engage on them. Each image is so nice that I am unable to describe in words. Till now I have not seen this type of blog anywhere. In recent days home bar furniture are playing pivotal role in everyone’s life to make their home more and more beautiful.

Liz@ HomeandGardeningWithLiz said...

What an excellent example of how staging and good picture quality make a difference!

angela hodges abode said...

This is great advice! Thanks for sharing...I would love for you to share this at my linky party going on NOW!
http://hickorytrailblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/happenings-on-hickory-trail-and-weekly.html

The Vintage Chateau said...

This is one of the best posts ever! You really taught me a lot about the importance of great photography to help sell a house.
Karee

marciagd said...

Never could understand why realtors always focus photos on the bed, couch, dining room set. As you said, "You are trying to sell the...home, not the furniture". I'm not buying or selling, but there are lessons here to be learned for de-cluttering my home.

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