Your house is officially ready for sale. It has been professionally staged to make the best possible first impression. Real estate photos have been taken. Now the viewings have started. How do you keep your listing presentable? Here are my tips for sellers who are living in a staged home.
 

Selling a house can be stressful. Professional staging can help it sell faster, but it can still feel too long for sellers who continue to live in their home while it’s listed. Especially for sellers who have kids, keeping your home like the stager intended can be quite a challenge.
 

So what do you do when your realtor calls for a short notice showing when you’re living in a staged home? Don’t panic. Be prepared.
 

I wrote about the value of having an open house box. Here are some more tips:
 

Kitchen: In the short term, consider changing your eating habits to avoid cooking anything that creates odours. Sure, you can try to eliminate the odours, but it’s simpler to avoid creating them in the first place, especially if you have an open concept space.
 

Bathroom: In your daily life, you love your own private bathroom. But for your own sanity in keeping the bathrooms clean, tidy and moisture free for viewings, consider sharing one main bathroom for use by everyone while your home is listed.
 

Bedroom: You’ve gotta make those beds, put away clothes, and clear off the night stands. Consider designating extra bedrooms “off limits” while your house is for sale. You can even encourage kids to “camp out” together in one room in the short-term to reduce the last minute scramble.
 

Bins, cabinets and containers: Make these your best friends while selling. You will have already de-cluttered, donated, and perhaps sent some items to storage in the process of staging to sell. But for those everyday items like toys, shoes, important papers, etc., have a system in place to quickly hide them away.
 

Living in a staged home for sale is not the most convenient lifestyle choice. That said, it is possible to ease the stress with preparation while you keep your listing show-worthy.
 

Want more of our home staging tips? Stay in touch. Follow Set Your Stage on Twitter.
 

I love to work with do it yourself home staging clients. I’m an avid DIYer too (when I have the time). Since this is such a popular option for people who are preparing their homes for sale, are willing to do the work, and want professional guidance on a budget, here are some of the recent tips I’ve shared on the Set Your Stage blog.
 

I hear from plenty of home owners who prefer to opt for a do it yourself home staging approach when it’s time to sell. Some wonder, is paying for staging worth it?
 

Dave Rhydderch, a Calgary realtor who I work with, put it this way in his post, What 2015 Can Tell Us About 2016:
 

“If your home is in a price bracket where 75% of the listings aren’t selling, you will need to price your home competitively and make sure it shows well in order to maximize value and not chase a falling market down.”
 

You have to make sure your home shows well! Here’s how. Combine do it yourself home staging with customized professional guidance:
 

• Can’t I save by doing my own DIY Staging?
• DIY Home Improvement – Set Your Stage on Pinterest
• Home Staging Design by Set Your Stage in Calgary
• DIY Home Staging Can Showcase Your Stunning Listing in Calgary

Your listing has one chance to make a positive first impression. Apply your do it yourself home staging skills with customized advice from a trained home staging professional who has proven results in your specific neighbourhood to create a winning combination.
 

If you’re in Calgary, I invite you to contact me to schedule your free, no pressure, personalized Home Staging Assessment today.

Still curious? See more examples of my work and reach out when you’re ready. Ask how the Set Your Stage team can help you meet YOUR Calgary real estate goals as a do it yourself home stager!
 

At Set Your Stage in Calgary, Earth Day isn’t just about one day of the year. We make eco friendly staging choices on a regular basis. If you also value making green choices, it’s one more reason to consider this a factor in your decision making when you hire your next professional home stager.
 

It’s time to sell your home or condo. You want to stage it to sell. But which one of the multiple Calgary home staging companies should you choose?
 

If eco friendly staging matters to you, take a look at Set Your Stage.
 

• Increasingly over the past year or so, we have been more conscious of what we buy – for example, accessories with less plastics and more quality;

 

• When appropriate, we purchase staging furniture and accessories from consignment stores (to reduce packaging and reuse good quality pieces);

 

• Elysse, Jen & Whitney carpool as much as possible for vacant or lived-in staging jobs;

 

• And if a consultation is within 1 kilometers, Jen walks!;

 

• Rather than over purchase and then store large quantities of staging furniture, we will sometimes rent specific furniture pieces for a listing;

 

• When a piece is damaged, we repair instead of toss;
   

 

• Instead of using plastic/paper wrap, we wrap all of our art/accessories in old towels;

 

• Cleaning supplies are natural, not synthetics.

 

As a Calgary home staging professional, my job is to help you get your property sold quickly and for top dollar. I’m proud to offer an eco friendly staging option – on Earth Day and every day – and will continue to deepen this commitment. We can all make a difference. It’s a matter of making more conscious choices.
 

If you are planning to sell your Calgary home or condo and value eco friendly choices, I invite you to find out more and contact me, Jen Campbell at Set Your Stage, where we get proven results for our clients.
 

To see condo and home staging transformations is to prove the value of hiring a trained home staging professional the next time you prepare to sell. Take a look at these Set Your Stage before and after staging photos to understand what I mean.
 

The results of before and after home staging transformations speak for themselves. Just notice how you respond when you look at the photos. Based on your immediate gut reaction, do the spaces seem equal to you?
 

As a potential buyer, which property would you be more excited to see? Or more quickly decide it was the right fit for you?
 

As a seller, which one (before or after) would you prefer to be posting as your listing photos?
 

I’ve written before about how an empty room feels like a sad song. That’s not what buyers are buying.
 

In most cases, your potential buyer wants to find their next home. A place that meets their needs AND feels like a happy place to be.
 

Staging can add life to a space. It can make it feel more updated (which is a bonus for buyers who usually assume that updates will cost more than they do, resulting in hesitation or low ball offers). Staging can make a room seem larger. Staging can guide the potential buyer’s eyes toward a feature you want to highlight, and away from what you don’t.
 

Home staging transformations help buyers say YES to your listing!
 

For more examples of the power and impact staging can create in a space, take a look at the Set Your Stage Facebook albums featuring many before and after photos of the various homes and condos that we’ve successfully staged to sell. Let our experienced team create jaw dropping home staging transformations for your Calgary listing!