“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I love this quote for many reasons.

Especially because it so nicely distinguishes between home staging and interior design.

Less is More in Home Staging

We’re not trying to impress the home buyer with the contents, but rather with the home itself.

That’s why over-accessorizing is distracting. The best home staging is invisible.

On the other hand, many interior designers delight in adding more and more.

They layer texture and pattern. These definitely create more visual interest. Yet, designers often include far more furnishings than are optimal when you’re decorating a home to sell.

To see this carried to it’s extreme check out many of the features in Architectural Digest.  Having “more money than God” (as my mom would say), can mean buying ever-more stuff at absolutely obscene prices. Even when it’s impractical or uncomfortable.

But I digress.

Home Staging Demonstrates Living Well with Less

Personally, the ability to live well with less is one of the reasons I love home staging.

I prefer less furniture to more. Fewer accessories to showcase the beauty of the ones that remain.

During a home staging consultation, my eye goes first to what can be taken away. It’s usually a lot!

It’s incredible the collections of stuff we build up over the years.

Often the home seller is relieved when I clear their fireplace mantle of all their “tschotchkes.” The myriad  items that have become clutter, hiding the beauty of their favorite items.

During one interior redesign consultation, my client greeted me at the front door with:

“People in my family keep dying and my house is filled with their stuff. Help me figure out what to get rid of!”

She clearly needed my permission to let it go. My permission to free her from the burden of saving it all, as if old furniture would preserve their memory.

Together we looked at each piece of furniture, determined to keep only what she absolutely loved. The end result might not have been “perfection,” but it was a heck of a lot better than where we started!

Sometimes home stagers end up like the “shoemaker’s children.” Our clients’ homes look great but our own homes look like they need some staging!

Your staging mission should you choose to accept it . . .

Here’s a challenge for you that’s perfect for this time of year. Pick a single room in your home, perhaps the one that bugs you the most.

You know that room. The one that makes you feel constricted or anxious as soon as you walk into it!

See what you can remove to make it that much better. Then come back and share your results with us! What’s shifted for you, now that you’ve shifted the contents of a room?