Looking at the photo of me with the drill and tulips you’d probably guess these are my favorite home staging tools. Actually they come a close third and fourth. The most important staging tools a home stager has (other than their innate talent) is a measuring tape and paint swatch book.
Don’t make the mistake of getting one of those small, light, easy to carry “girly” measuring tapes or those fancy new laser ones (which can’t measure furniture).
You need a good old fashioned contractors-grade tape measure. It’s bulky and usual neon colored (so they can find it in the drywall dust I guess), but it does the job. I can measure huge rooms and any size or shape piece of furniture. It’s also easy to measure where the windows are on the wall (critical for planning furniture placement).
While I can walk into a room and instantly know if the furniture is in the wrong place or it’s the wrong size, I do rely on my measuring tape to help me decide how to move it all around. Don’t leave home without it!
My second essential tool is my paint swatch Designers Kit, the kind you get from paint manufacturers. Imagine one big “box” that you can carry on your shoulder that has every color you’d see in a paint store display. Not only does it contain 2500+ colors, it gives me larger samples of each. I recommend paint colors in many of my home staging consultations, plus many of my clients want me to pick colors for their new home.
As an aside, when you’re recommending paint colors make sure you also specify sheen level. I once had a client paint her front door with flat paint (which isn’t washable and shows all finger prints and scuffs) and her stucco wall in high gloss (which magnifies every bump as the light bounces off the shiny paint).
Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®
President, Six Elements Inc. Home Staging
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[tags]home staging, home stager, learn home staging, real estate staging, home staging tools, color for home staging, home staging training, Debra Gould, Staging Diva [/tags]
And, those big, bulky, usually neon yellow or orange measuring tapes and the ability to use them as a contractor would bestow you with a certain cache…adding to your expert status nicely!
Also, thanks for pointing out the need to specify sheen level. It’s amazing how many people have no clue here.