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Staging isn’t just for theater any more

My true debut into theater might have been as a nameless nun in The Sound of Music when I was 15. I prefer to see my staging as Mr. Tumnus, the helpful faun in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (at 16).

In either case, staging means “the performance of a play on a stage.” If it isn’t that, it is “a temporary raised platform that a person can sit or stand on while working.” So says Merriam-Webster.

My husband and I recently made the decision to list our home with a professional real estate brokerage. We’ve decided it’s time to get serious about selling. It’s time to move on to the next phase of our life – which includes a one-level structure for our aging knees and backs (and the rest of our bodies, as well).

One of the services provided by the firm we chose is a professional staging. As you can see, this could be quite confusing if you don’t excel at decoding word meanings from context clues.

She wants to put a play on in our house? We can’t lift the house up and put a platform under it, can we?

In reality, she wanted to set the stage in our home so it looked neutral and uncluttered. When this is the case, people who view the home have an easier time envisioning their own things occupying the space.

Here are a few before and after photos of our house:

Dining Room before the staging
Dining Room before the staging
Dining Room as a blank slate
Dining Room as a blank slate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A lovely lived-in master bedroom
A lovely lived-in master bedroom
A master bedroom anyone can mentally redecorate
A master bedroom anyone can mentally redecorate

Can you guess what staging involved in the Hughson household? Too much painting requiring a work-filled weekend. Furniture removal that makes the garage look like it did before our garage sale last summer.

Decluttering was another time-eating requirement. My word processor doesn’t even believe that is a word, but I can tell you it is WORK.

The end results are amazing. Anyone who can’t picture their furniture in these sparsely decorated rooms has visualization issues. You can even see the walls in my master bedroom closet (which apparently makes it seem larger).

Anyone who thinks selling a house is as simple as creating an ad on Craig’s List needs to rethink it. Even with my decades-old background in the business, I didn’t know half of what real estate professionals advise these days.

What do you think about staging a house before you sell it? If it required a few hundred dollars and 40 hours of labor, would you do it?

What do you think? Add to the discussion here.