Staging smarts, In a competitive market, sellers are paying lots for stand-out appeal

By Julie Janovsky, Jun 2, 2006

Brenda and Paul Totoritus unknowingly committed a real estate faux pas when they began over the winter to get their South Farmingdale home ready to be put on the market.

They emptied out nearly every room and painted all the interiors white.

"Our original idea was to make everything white and put wall-to-wall carpeting down," says Paul, a semi-retired machinery designer who thought the light space would help buyers visualize what they might want to do. The couple had recently purchased a new place in Waterbury, Conn., and had begun moving most of their furnishings to the new location.

While doing research online, Paul says, he found an article that said "the hardest thing to sell is an all-white, empty house." A few mouse clicks later he found another article on solving their dilemma and making their three-bedroom split ranch more marketable.

The article was on home "staging." Paul says he was impressed by the "before and after" photos he and Brenda, who works in furniture retail, saw. "I thought staging would give us an edge," Paul says.

A popular trend

The Totorituses are among a growing number of sellers opting to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars to stage their homes before putting them up for sale. Similar to decorating, staging is a process in which homes are enhanced to help prospective buyers visualize themselves in the house - and, therefore, improve its salability. Staging can involve helping the seller select colors, choose carpets, flooring and window treatments, and offering other advice on making the house more marketable.

Barb Schwarz, author of "Home Staging: The Winning Way to Sell Your House for More Money" (Wiley, $19.95), says the staging trend started on the West Coast in the 1970s and slowly spread to the East Coast in the late '80s and '90s, going mainstream in the metropolitan area about three years ago. Fueled by the popularity of staging-themed TV shows such as A&E's "Sell This House!" and HGTV's "Designed to Sell," staging is becoming as important to sellers as to real estate agents, says Schwarz, founder and chief executive of StagedHomes.com, her Web site.

When Kristine Jegi, owner of Brooklyn-based NY Home Staging Solutions, was hired by the Totorituses, who found her through Schwarz's site, she didn't have to confront the typical challenges of clutter and worn-looking furnishings found in many long-occupied homes. By the time she met the couple, most of the belongings they had accumulated from their nearly 30 years in the house were gone. And their three daughters, in college, had taken their things with them.

But even with the absence of furnishings and collectibles, Jegi says, the home staging goal is the same. "It is redesigned for the sake of selling the home - the environment is neutralized, but at the same time we add interest and elegance," says Jegi, a member of the International Association of Home Staging Professionals.

What must be changed ...

After walking through the house, Jegi suggested the couple change the color of the walls, replacing the stark white of the living room, finished basement, master bedroom and corner bedroom with a creamier sand tone, as well as using a warmer, honey-toned hue in the kitchen and center bedroom. Jegi's other suggestions included hanging a simple white curtain on the living room window and 2-inch faux-wood blinds on the kitchen and door windows. She also picked out beige-toned plush carpeting for the living room and upstairs bedrooms in case the couple decided to cover the hardwood floors.

While the Totorituses set out to complete their tasks, Jegi rented furniture from Farmingdale-based CORT Furniture Rental. She also rented candles, mirrors and other accessories from her own collection to the Totorituses. Two weeks later, after the couple had painted and carpeted, Jegi returned to stage the house. She placed a dark-wood coffee table and end tables to offset the creamy hues in the living room. Little touches included oval wall mirrors, a faux tree and, for the coffee table, two white pillar candles and a tray of apples.

She continued to use dark-colored furniture in the master and corner bedrooms and in the finished basement, and she accessorized the whole house with warm accent lighting, rich plum floral area rugs and decorative pillows.

A cozy nursery appeal

Jegi transformed the cozy center bedroom into a nursery, to appeal to younger buyers, with a white crib, small white end table and lamp and a multicolored butterfly-shaped rug.

The house went on the market April 25. "Everything was inviting and pleasing to the eye," says Chris Simonetti, owner of the Farmingdale-based A-1 Realty Network of Homes, who listed the house. The asking price is $429,900.

Staging was also on real estate agent Jennifer Mahoney's mind when she realized a Southampton client's summer home needed sprucing up before buyers could view it. She hired stager Leslie Tarbell Donovan of Southampton-based Staging Places to look at the kitchen, dining room and sunroom. "First impressions are key," says Mahoney, of Southampton-based Allan Schneider Associates.

Upon walking into the house, Donovan, who is also a member of the International Association of Home Staging Professionals, noted the furniture seemed a bit crowded and the living room and sunroom had a long and narrow feel. Both failed to accentuate the waterfront view. She found there were too many area rugs, and that the rug in the sunroom was an unsuitable heavy wool. "The way you live in your home and how you are selling it are completely different," Donovan says.

She was inspired by the home's waterfront view and wanted to enhance "the relaxed, carefree lifestyle of the homeowners and translate that feeling to prospective buyers." Through what she calls her "editing process," she surveys a space, taking note of the room's best features, and looks for distractions that can be removed or minimized.

In two days, Donovan was able to use most of the furnishings on hand, with some heavy-duty rearranging.

Following the house's lead

When it came to accessorizing, Donovan tried to use much of what the homeowners had, such as a shell collection. She bought accessories, including an antique metal-and-mesh sailboat sculpture, a silver starfish and metal shells, that complemented the home's waterfront vibe.

For the kitchen, Donovan decluttered, replaced the dark high- back stools at the counter with low-backed antique bamboo stools on loan from her own collection, and warmed up the space with golden- colored accessories. The house is on the market for $3.4 million.

The Southampton staging cost about $2,400, including the initial consultation and walk-through, prep work, staging time and purchased accessories. In South Farmingdale, the Totorituses say the approximately $8,000 they spent - for paint, blinds, carpeting and supplies (about $3,000), the staging fee (Jegi would not say how much, only that a house that size can cost between $1,800 and $3,000 to stage) and furniture rentals ($1,000 a month) - makes them feel much more confident their home is going to sell for a good profit.

Tips when on your own

Some do-it-yourself tips from author Barb Schwarz's new book "Home Staging: The Winning Way To Sell Your House For More Money":

• Declutter: Clutter eats equity, says Schwarz, who suggests clearing all unnecessary objects, including items on kitchen and bathroom countertops.
• Depersonalize: Pack up family photos and collections. Personal items can be a distraction to buyers, who need to visualize themselves in the space.
• Clean: Every area and surface of the space should be "Q-Tip clean," Schwarz says. This also means repainting where necessary and replacing worn carpets.
• Lighten: Light-colored walls make a space appear larger. Schwarz also suggests turning on all lights and lamps to brighten the space.
• Rearrange: Some homeowners tend to have too much furniture in a room, Schwarz says. Rearrange or remove some furnishings to open up the space.

New York Home Staging Solutions Inc.
Kristine Jegi
telephone: (917) 523-8268
email: kristine@nystaging.com
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