Challenges If Not Staging a Home

There are challenges in selling a home that is vacant compared to one which has been staged. For instance, the first thing buyers experience is empty, cold and unattractive rooms, areas of neglect are front and center, even if the rooms have been painted, there is nothing for buyers to connect with visually, and no perspective for the scale and size of the space. The home remains on the market for many months with little or no interest from buyers and their agents and ultimately frustrating the seller. Buyers do find ways to ask for a reduction in price because they see the duration of the listing period and assume that the seller is eager to sell. Empty homes also lose momentum when listed before they are staged. Many sellers think they will save money if they stage it later, however the listing period continues even after staging and each month results in big loses for their return on investment.

The benefits of staging an empty home are enormous! Using a trained home stager, they will work with the home and each room to create strategic placement of furniture, decor and artwork, the home says "welcome" to prospective buyers, and home staging provides intention while giving each room purpose, plus the features of the home are highlighted.

Vacant home before and after images of master bedroom and living room with dining room.

In this example, upon entering the house, in the living room is immediately off the front door,  the couch was placed against the wall to project a larger room size and draw focus to the kiva fireplace, rather than the odd shaped and small room.

Of course the major benefits to home staging is more money in your pocket and faster sales, incredible photos for on-line marketing, which do make a difference, and in most cases staging a home will increase the selling price.

As a trained and certified home stager, I encourage my clients to make the most of their listing and invest in the process of staging their home at the start. This means taking the time to fix and mend those neglected areas, freshen up the wall colors, replace outdated light fixtures, do a deep clean, and hire a trained home stager. Trained home stagers know how to maximize and position the home to sell, they focus on placement, furnishing arrangements and are trained to style the home to attract buyers. Some home stagers are able to use existing furnishings or they have an inventory you can rent.

These little tips will bring in faster offers in a shorter timeframe and the home will stand out against the competition. Buyers are savvy, they do not want to buy a house if it is dirty, unattractive, has a lot of repairs to do (unless of course the house is sold-as is for a lower price), looks a mess and is empty. Buyers want the perception they are getting move-in ready home and one that feels like a five-star hotel when they walk in.

All homes deserve to look their best and this can be achieved through home staging. If you want to sell your home quickly, first step hire a trained home stager, it's a wise investment that gets great results!

Debbie DeMarais is a trained and certified home stager at DeMarais home staging + design, and trained in the field of interior design. She provides full service solutions for occupied and vacant staging, color consultations, and interior design services. She can be reached at 505-699-4989 to schedule a personalized consultation to sell your home faster.

Case and Point about De-Cluttering

The importance of de-cluttering is to enhance the rooms and showcase the features of the home. It also frees up space and increases the livable areas of the floor plan. If a home is going to be listed for sale, the best thing is to strip it down and start from the beginning to highlight those great features. This also means trading out dated or period specific furnishings and linens, removing personal photographs, and paring down the furnishings.

Recently, I was asked to prepare (do some home staging) to an occupied home that was going to be photographed and listed for sale. The owners were gracious to follow my instructions and we went from room-to-room of a very full house and started emptying the rooms, storing all extraneous furnishings, books, collectables, etc., into storage. We even gave some rooms a new coat of paint. With that complete the next step was to rearrange and style the rooms for good flow and ambiance. Sometimes there's nothing one can do with existing furnishings, especially when it's occupied, so you make it work and that's what we did. For a fresh facelift, we brought in updated linens, removed old towels and throw rugs, plus added new artwork. There was plenty more work behind the scenes that took place to showcase this home, and now it feels as if it's square footage has increased! Future buyers can envision creating a new life, dreaming of how great it will be to gather with friends and family during the holiday's in the great room, and calling it home.


Does your home tell a good story or does it warn people to look the other way? If you're uncertain, then getting an impartial professional to do a walk-through can help. It may be all you need to seeing your home in a different light.


There's so much more to see in this beautiful home, take a look at the unique features and the fun exercise/music room.