Home staging and decorating (or interior redesign as it’s also called) are very similar. Both services are concerned with creating a visually appealing home, which is why home stagers are often hired for decorating projects. You are either “decorating to sell” or “decorating to live.”
In home staging, we are decorating a property for the real estate market
Our home staging recommendations are driven by what will make the home most appealing to the likely target buyer. Our goal is a faster and higher-dollar sale for the home owner.
Good home staging is very focussed on the likely target buyer as I wrote about in a related article.
Bad home staging tries to appeal to “everyone.” You’ve seen bad home staging advice like: paint everything white or beige, remove all personal items, avoid any surprises.
This frequently results in a bland and boring environment. It won’t offend anyone, but doesn’t get them terribly excited (or motivated to buy) either. In fact, if you toured 6 badly staged homes in a day that followed this advice, you probably wouldn’t remember any of them. Guess what, neither will potential buyers!
Home staging should include a measure of style and flair.
It must delight potential buyers and leave them with something to remember at the end of their day of house hunting. When you have a clear picture of the target buyer you are decorating for as a home stager, this is much easier to achieve.
Your creative vision is key
Since my home staging clients trust me to decorate their home to sell, and they know they don’t have to live with my recommendations, they really get out of the way and let me do what I think is best. The gives me more creative satisfaction then I ever imagined before getting into home staging. It also appeals to my perfectionist tendencies and fondness for being in control 🙂
In a redesign project, we decorate for the current home owner
Our decorating or redesign recommendations are driven by what’s needed to make the home most appealing and comfortable for the people living there. Our goal is creating that ideal environment that is their refuge from the outside world, and/or their place to entertain. Depending on what they’re looking for.
We focus on the needs of the various family members, and how they’ll actually live in the home day-to-day. Or at least we should!
I’ve seen designer-done homes that look completely impractical to live in. Equally bad, they so strongly bear the style of the particular designer, I wonder if the home owner had any say in the end result. I also wonder if they’ll be comfortable day-to-day, or feel like they’re living in a magazine spread (or someone else’s home).
When I’m doing a redesign consultation, I spend almost as much time getting to know the owner as I do the house. I listen to what they’re telling me, but also what they’re not saying. Some people don’t really know what they want, and it’s up to you to draw it out of them.
Your creative vision may be significantly changed
There is a lot of creative satisfaction in interior redesign or decorating too, but it’s tempered by the need to mix in your client’s vision with your own.
Remember that TV show Frasier, starring Kelsey Grammer? He was a totally uptight snob and his father (who shared the apartment) was a beer drinking, plaid-wearing unsophisticated guy who wouldn’t know Eames from Le Corbusier. The contrast between the design sensibilities of both characters was hilarious.
You might create the perfect living room for your decorating client, and then they drag in “Dad’s favorite chair,” that goes with nothing. I have plenty of projects I’ve never photographed for my portfolio for this very reason.
Personally, I find this creatively frustrating, but it’s also my client’s house. They have to live there comfortably in the years ahead. It’s my job as a redesigner or decorator to help make that happen.
This is one of the many reasons I believe a home staging business beats a decorating business. Both use a similar skill set, and most home stagers can do both.
In fact, due to the seasonality of home staging, interior redesign/decorating is the perfect way to fill in the gaps between home staging projects.
Debra, I love staging because I get to be more creative, I have more control and the payoff is quicker! I do take on ‘staged to stay’ clients particularly when a home staging client has moved into their new house. It just doesn’t give me the same buzz!
Totally agree with you Imogen, thanks for commenting!
A concise article but I must say, I needed clarification on what you meant by “home staging beats out…” so it was really handy that you provided a link for that 🙂
I would agree with you that it’s easier to start a home staging business than a decorating business. My business is an example of how home staging can lead to interior decorating just by people being happy with your staging work. Both fields are highly competitive and home owners have their work cut out for them by narrowing down their choices! Early in your article you mentioned “bad staging…” and referred to the removal of “all personal items” …this comment has peaked my interest so I’m off to check out that article! 🙂
Fantastic Jackie, thanks for commenting!
Thanks for all you send me…love it, love it, love it!
Have so enjoyed decorating my own home for many years and have received many compliments for my efforts….very excited about home staging too.
Am trying to convince a friend to partner up with me to start a home staging business, but she is resisting.
Any ideas?
Thanks, Joanne
Thanks for writing Joanne. If your friend is resistant to partnering up, perhaps this is a great opportunity to consider why you really need a partner at all.
To be honest, of the hundreds of home stagers I’ve coached over the years, the most profitable ones work solo. Something to think about!
You might enjoy this article, Addicted to Decorating or Born to Be a Home Stager.
If you want to add another comment about why you think you need a partner, I’d be happy to fold it into a future article on this very topic. Thanks for commenting and I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the information I’ve been writing.
Having served as an interior designer for more than 20 years and then partnering with a friend to start a home staging business, I totally agree that staging is much more satisfying. I love the fact that a beautiful environment can be so quickly ready for photographs with no hand wringing by the homeowner. Since it’s not about them, they usually just step aside and let us work our magic! My friends all love to work with me and I always pay them. It has been suggested that perhaps they should pay me for the opportunity!!
Thanks so much for commenting Debbie, especially since you have the perspective from being an interior designer for 20 years before starting a home staging business. Excellent to hear your experiences! Thanks!
I have found the most fun thing I do is help a previous staging client set up and decorate their new home. I already know what makes each member of the family happy and comfortable. I work to find just the right spots for their treasures. We’ve become intimate friends. I’ve dug through all their corners and witnessed their angst and conflict when I recommended we pack up pieces that are important to them, so we could stage their old home. I know how they used to live, so I can adapt their furniture and accessory placement to welcome them to their new home. It’s a fast forward to getting comfortable in their new home.
I love the experiences you’ve shared Karla, thanks for commenting. What you said also reminded me of an article you might find interesting, Staging a Home Transforming the Owner.
Thanks again for commenting, really appreciate it!
I am surprised by how much of my business has become more redesign than home staging. A client I had a few months ago was very challenging. Her personality was great and she was very fun but she had very kitsh style and I really had to think out of the box. She wanted her living room painted pink and I was really thrown for a loop when she insisted that she purchase 2 pillows one that said “eat more bacon” and another that said “have more sex” she said she had to have them. So I worked with it and pulled it all together (thank God for Pinterest). It was a challenging project but also very rewarding because she loved how I pulled it all together. I am now working on a home staging project with the home owners who are completely open to all my suggestions and letting me choose everything which is very fun as well! I think both are rewarding in very different ways! Another great post Debra couldn’t be more true!
Wow Cari, so glad you shared that experience with us! Those pillows are hysterical, and not something I’d be inclined to put in my portfolio. But as you said, she “had to have them” and she’s happy so that’s what matters 🙂
I too have been surprised how I can get creative, and get into doing a look that’s totally not me— often with stuff I find kind of ugly (at least to my taste). But when it’s put together in the right way, it’s amazing what you can do!
Thanks for commenting!
Hi! My husband and I have start our first house flip. I am an interior designer but I haven’t staged a totally empty house before. I’m wondering if you have any advice about renting furniture. Are there certain companies I should is? Or do I just by furniture and tailor it to each house?
Erika, I’ve written several articles about this very topic. Just do a search on Google for “furniture rental staging diva” and “inventory staging diva”. Thanks for stopping by!
I also find that when clients understand we are looking at the home as “a product” not as “their home” they do hand over control and the barriers come down. I really don’t think anybody loves people changing their home around but gaining their trust initially is so important- they need to trust you are helping them to reach their goal of selling… Doing this with confidence and calmness I have found vital to putting the customer at ease! … and then I find they are eager to see you work your magic!- I always enjoy what you offer Debra… you’re a genius!
I meant to say also that if you do a great job staging you may get your customers asking you to their new home to help them out. I often get clients saying they lived better after I staged their homes and I only use what they have. One couple said they came together more as a family and that was simply because I made the living area a place people wanted to linger in… not everyone has the ability to do this. So some will not like your recommendations for living if they are staging to sell but others will actually find they lived better after the staging!
Thanks so much for both your comments Helana. You raise great points and I appreciate you sharing your experience in our community!
Debra,
I certainly agree that it’s all about targeting the right audience. Like you said, attempting to please everyone just isn’t going to work. That approach is most likely going to backfire on you and you will end up pleasing no one! Thanks for posting this.
– Mindy
Thanks for commenting Mindy!