This was the condition of the living room when I arrived to conduct a home staging consultation. I’m standing on the stairs for a bird’s eye view of the scene for you.
By the way, that’s a great home staging portfolio photo tip for you. You can get stronger before and after photos to showcase your work if you stand on the stairs and shoot down on the scene (with a wide angle lens of course).
I have to admit just looking at all the baby paraphernalia took me back to my own first year as a new parent. It’s really incredible how one tiny baby (who isn’t yet holding up her head) can take over an entire living space!
So what do you do when you have to provide home staging advice to a new parent?
Here are some home staging tips to keep in mind:
Your client is overwhelmed as a new parent and the prospect of selling their home and moving is probably enough to put them “over the edge.”
There are severe limits on how many changes you can request of them. After all, a quiet and happy baby comes first (in their minds), not a perfectly staged home.
They hired a home stager because they recognize they need help, so don’t be afraid to provide it.
Keep your advice to the point. There is limited quiet time, energy and focus to devote to you, so don’t beat around the bush.
Be direct, but deliver your staging recommendations with kindness.
Organize/do whatever you can for your clients in this first visit, so they aren’t left with an overwhelming “to do” list after your home staging consultation. If you’ve taken the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program, you know that a home staging consultation should usually also be a working session and how that affects your income and how much staging you will do.
Help your client figure out which baby items can be put away until after the house sells and which ones are immediate must-have’s. In this one room I spotted a bouncy seat, playpen, swing and car seat! Not all 4 are necessary every single day. By the way, where did our own mothers put us down before all these contraptions were invented?
Few parents have the time/energy to run upstairs every time the baby needs changing. Work out a method to keep what they need hidden away on every level of the home. For example, a decorative and covered basket can hold baby wipes, clean diapers, etc. so they are always handy but aren’t spread all over the coffee table.
Eliminate unnecessary furniture when you can’t eliminate baby stuff. For example, in this room I recommended putting the tall wine rack with glasses in storage and pushing the playpen over if that was a “must keep” item. The tall shelf looks terrible where it is, regardless of the baby situation. It competes with the fireplace and looks awkward from all angles.
Home stagers, what other advice would you provide for those of us doing home staging consultations for new parents? Please share your comments below.
Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®
President, Six Elements Inc. Home Staging
Internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould is President of Six Elements Inc. and creator of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Debra bought, staged and sold 6 homes as a single parent, while her child was aged 14 months to 12 years.
As a Realtor I would advise the homeowners to insist that the viewing of the home should be perhaps on the weekends only. No other viewings or maybe one on Wednesday afternoon too. This would give the new parents a bit of a break. Having people coming and going through your house on a daily basis is difficult. Make sure that it is noted on the listing that the limited viewing is due to a new baby. Most people will understand, if not, too bad! Cornelia.
Thanks for sharing that suggestion Cornelia, you raise an interesting point. Though I would be reluctant to advise being so restrictive.
I have bought 8 homes and whenever there was a home that was hard to get an appointment to see, I passed on it.
Perhaps there’s a happy medium between “come whenever with as little as an hour notice” and “only come on weekends.”
Appreciate your idea/point of view!
Ahh, this takes me back. I’ve been on the Market with a baby & it’s not fun. A mum of twin toddlers rang me the other day. She knew what to do to prepare her house but was just overwhelmed in the doing it. I was unsure how to help her. Looking back if I’d madeit more of a working session we could have achieved quite a lot. Also, would recommend a baby helper in the house during the consult so that 1 parent can focus without distraction
Imogen, thanks for commenting! Totally agree if you’re helping a new parent, they need a baby helper during the consultation. Notice in my photo, that’s Dad on his laptop in front of the TV. Not quite what Mom had in mind for his presence during our visit I’m sure!
I definitely roll up my sleeves most during consultations with new parents. The look of relief that crosses over their face as they see their home transform before their eyes is priceless!
I’d get that TV out of the corner, add a nice area rug, get rid of the tall stand/shelf unit, add an end table and lamp with the soda.
Is that one piece of furniture he is sitting in or two individual chairs? If two
chairs, then get those spaced apart a bit. Room needs a bit of greenery- plants or fresh flowers.
I’d do something different with the mantle, too.
Excellent suggestions Jennifer, thanks for sharing!
Love the photo because it speaks truth; parenting new ones and selling a home looks and feels hectic. I have done consultations with new babies in the home, and other consults with toddlers and preschoolers present. I’m definitely in agreement with Imogene about having a teen or young adult playmate for the toddlers and preschoolers during the time I work with their parent(s). The time I did not recommend this, the 2 hour consultation went 3.5 hours! With new babies, I schedule the consult at a time when baby generally sleeps so mom and dad are feeling less anxious and able to focus on the staging activities and recommendations.
I also agree that hands on staging during the consult is in the best interest of every party at the consultation. Parents who generally struggle with anything getting done when they have little ones will breath a sign of relief that at least something was accomplished! Home stagers will feel much the same because we know that time with these parents is limited as we work to get them through the home preparation and home staging process.
Your idea, Debra, of helping parents find ways to disguise baby items such as diapers and wipes inside baskets or ottomans that are used in staging is clever and client focused. I like that!
Thanks for sharing your experience Stacy!
I always tell new parents (and anybody with a lot of stuff on the kitchen or bathroom counters) to get a plastic laundry basket or handled tote and put everything that needs to stay on the counter in it. Take the item out, use it, and put it back in the container. That way, when there’s a showing, you can just grab the container, put it in your car. and drive away. Easy.
Also, if there are a lot of toys that gather in the living room and child’s bedroom, put a basket or box in each of those rooms. Come showing time, just scoop up everything into the box, and put it in the car.
Finally, clean the home in the evening after the kids go to bed. When they get up, dress them, make the beds, and then feed them. If a call comes in, you are pretty much ready. Trips to the library or park are always good, too, to entertain them outside of the home so it doesn’t get so messed up.
Thanks for your comments Mary. That’s good advice.
Great tips Mary, thanks for sharing!