Monday, June 4, 2018

Staging A Dated House, Part 1

 When we were nearing the end of renovations on The Chalet, my father asked me why I wasn't staging other homes. My immediate response was that I didn't have the experience. Except, hang on a second, in fact I did have the experience. After The Chalet's open house a realtor gave me a call. She had a client who was ready to sell her split ranch after over forty years of living there. It was incredibly hard for this woman to leave this house and its memories behind so she wasn't willing to do anything drastic such as renovate the kitchen or bathrooms. My job was to transform the space from outdated into something fresh. So let's see how I did!

This is the table that was in the kitchen, along with some supremely outdated seats. The table is timeless, however, in the small kitchen it took up too much space. It cut off half the kitchen.


I went with a small, round table so it wouldn't jut into the walking space. You want seating in the kitchen but to also be able to move around. A quick thank you to my sister, who painted these chairs for me a few days ago. They were pastel yellow (my tastes have clearly evolved over the last fifteen years). 


In the dining room, the furniture made the space feel incredibly small. The table and chairs are great quality but wrong for this size room. Also, I'd love this table if it was stripped and stained a darker color or  painted white and sanded along the edges.


Below is the dining room right before I staged it. They had the walls painted along with the wainscoting. My personal suggestions would be to paint the trim white and the walls a light grey. I think it would brighten up the room quite a bit. 


The picture below is missing two of the dining room chairs, but you can imagine what it should look like and how you can move around the table. There's even space for a bar cart in the corner (I'll highlight that in another post). 


When I entered the house for the first time, the stairway was closed off and dark because a couch was directly in front of the railing. There was also a LOT happening in this room. My focus was to simplify and not block any sight lines.
 


I had suggested painting the railing black, which made it look new and so much cleaner. You'll notice I used the homeowner's side tables. They might be old but I think they're pretty fantastic and great quality (I'd probably stain them a different color). Then I brought in simple, not-fussy furniture. There is a little busy-ness in the carpet and pillows but otherwise everything is neutral tones (my favorite) and nothing is chunky. The table, chair, and couch are all raised up, which allows you to see through and under them and makes a space seem larger. 



And since I am obsessed with plaid, there is always a touch of it. I can't help myself, it just makes me feel at home. Sadly, that white chair is no longer allowed in my house as my cats think it's perfect for scratching. So it has become a permanent staging chair. It's actually really comfortable, especially for reading.


So that's the main living space. Hopefully potential buyers will be able to imagine their own furniture in the space, or see what furniture they could buy and fill the space with. And if all else fails, you can always ask me for help!

~ Stephanie

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4 comments

  1. I never saw the before photos, I had NO IDEA the magnitude of the transformation! AWESOME job, Steph!

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  2. Steph, you have such a natural gift for staging. This honestly looks like a completely new house. Can't wait to see the future posts on more elements of the transformation!

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    Replies
    1. Well shucks! Way to make a girl feel talented!

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