Home Staging – What It Is and What It Isn’t

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Home staging is not interior decorating nor does it always use the latest design trends. It is a unique creative science that readies a home so that it appeals to the greatest number of buyers.

When a home is staged by Design Smart Home Staging and Redesign, the team uniquely arranges furniture, accents and accessories— either a seller’s own pieces or those supplied by Design Smart—in a way that allows buyers to imagine living there and so that the home sells quickly and for the greatest profit.

Empty or cluttered doesn’t cut it

home staging olympia
Using Lisa Poundstone’s years of experience, a home is staged to move off the market as quickly as possible.

Interior decorating can be highly personal and depends on the tastes of those who live in a home. Staging, on the other hand, is a creative science that neutralizes, depersonalizes, and de-clutters your home while creating an atmosphere that appeals to the greatest number of buyers.

“A home overly-decorated or cluttered with personal pictures, collectibles or décor a home feels claustrophobic and overwhelming,” says Lisa Poundstone, Design Smart owner. “You cannot see the house through all the ‘stuff’ and it may feel smaller than it actually is. It can also make buyers feel like they are intruding on a seller’s personal space.”

At the other extreme, Lisa will tell you that a completely empty home feels cold and unwelcoming and provides little physiological or psychological attraction for buyers. It is hard to miss its flaws and even harder to figure out its proportional space. Home staging makes an empty home warm and inviting to buyers.

Latest trends may not cut it either

home staging olympia
Homes that are staged typically sell faster than un-staged homes.

Lisa also says that temporary design trends may not always be best for a staging a home.

“I do not make staging decisions according to trends,” says Lisa. “Many current trends don’t work here in the Northwest. Grays are popular now but are so neutral and depressing. We have so many gray days. When people tell me they want gray walls I will tell them that it doesn’t work here very well.”

Lisa adds further that it is important to consider the style of a house, especially considering the area.

“We don’t have many modern, sleek homes in our area,” she says. “A lot of our homes are Northwest contemporary, or have some unique character to them.”

home staging olympia
Design Smart Home Staging is celebrating seven years of business.

Design Smart Home Staging has proven in the last seven years that staging is a creative science that works by making a home look great for buyers.

“With hard and soft furnishings and accessories, the right amount of furniture placed in specific areas to show off the space or highlight features of a room, along with pops of color to make it memorable, a seller will be surprised at how fast it sells,” Lisa concludes.

Lisa Poundstone, PhD, is the owner of Design Smart Home Staging & Redesign, LLC.  She is an Accredited Staging Professional (ASP®) and was the 2013 and 2014 Winner of the Best of South Sound for Interior Design. Contact her at 360-480-5810 or visit her website.

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