“We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives… not looking for flaws, but for potential.”
Home stagers, I love this quote by American journalist and Pulitzer prize winner Ellen Goodman because it reminds me of how much we can focus on the negatives in our lives. But instead of saying “look for what’s positive” which (sadly) has become almost cliche, she tells us to focus on our potential! How brilliant is that? And what a great thought to start the new year with!
Of course I also couldn’t resist this quote because it’s the perfect metaphor for what we do as a home stager! We literally do walk room by room noting all the problems. But the difference is, we don’t stop there, instead we are always looking for the potential for beauty.
After personally staging hundreds of homes, I’m still amazed that I can walk into a place that seems so ugly at first glance and if I look closely enough, there is always potential to be discovered. It continues to amaze me because every time it happens, there’s that moment at first where I think “this is it, this is the house that’s impossible to fix!”
Many times I’m working on a home I’d never personally want to live in, or working with furniture that is not my taste, yet there is always a way to highlight what is good and decorate in a way that will appeal to potential home buyers. Of course, that’s why home staging works! When my staging job is complete, I actually do like each and every house, even though at first glance I never thought I would.
Home stagers, how about you? Have you ever thought a house was “hopeless” before its potential was revealed to you?
Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®
President, Six Elements Inc. Home Staging
Debra Gould staged hundreds of homes before creating the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program to teach others how to earn a living doing something they love. She has written 5 guides and appears on HGTV and in numerous magazines and newspapers.
Debra,
Great quote and I loved this post because I can so relate!
Even though I’ve never had a home that didn’t turn out great, I still often have that initial panic thought that there is just NO way this house could ever look good! Twice, I actually skipped the before pictures because I didn’t think I’d ever want to use them in my portfolio and then was kicking myself later because the transformation was so dramatic!
The wonderful thing about staging is that even if the furnishings are not what we would pick out; by simply arranging them correctly, they can almost always work to enhance the room.
Thanks for sharing that Lisa! It really is amazing what we can transform when we keep an open mind. What you said about pictures is a great point. Everyone, take photos of any house you’re in whether you’ll be doing the staging personally or just giving advice. You never know what will happen later and to miss the really awful before shots is a pity. You can also use them later for examples of how bad unstaged homes look 🙂
I always see potential in a house, but many times I wonder if the client’s budget will allow me to pull all that potential out! It always seems that the houses that need the most staging have the smallest budgets. But … who doesn’t love a challenge?!
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Jill R. Monczunski
President/Designer
Michigan USA
Jill, I know what you mean about the homes with the worst problems also having the smallest budgets.
Have you also noticed how often the people with the most wealth also seem to have the worst taste. Oops, did I say that out loud?!
As a note to everyone, size of budget is not always correlated with how much cash flow they actually have. I’ve seen people with modest incomes invest in necessary changes while people with tons of money coming in refuse to repaint a bathroom that hasn’t been touched in 30 years.
I think Ellen Goodman’s quote is a perfect New Year thought to share, Debra, especially as one year ends and the new year offers potential for everything we do, think about, touch, build, and care about. As a home stager I will always work to bring compassion and an eye for potential to each situation! It is helpful to hear comments from other stagers about what they have encountered, and learned. I thank each one for sharing valuable insight that only contributes to MY potential! 🙂
Thanks Stacy, I appreciate you taking the time to share too!