Stephanie and Melanie met for lunch downtown in the Old Market. Stephanie eagerly asked Melanie about her appointment last night with a home stager. Because Melanie is selling her house, her realtor had set up the appointment with the best home stager in town.

“How did it go?” asked Stephanie.

“She wanted me to change everything!” Melanie fumed. She said I had too much furniture, too many knick-knacks and I needed to replace my wallpaper with paint. Aunt Bess left me those antiques and you know I spent years finding the right 1890’s wallpaper set them against. And to top it off she told me to take down all the pictures of my family!”

Stephanie patted Melanie’s hand and inquired gently, “Why do you think she said those things?”

“She obviously didn’t like my decorating taste,” Melanie huffed.

Stephanie smiled and said, “No, she’s doing her best to turn your home into a model home. Do you remember the model homes we saw last summer? Those homes where decorated in neutral colors with colorful accent pieces. They had very little furniture and it was arranged so well the rooms looked really big. We could easily imagine moving in right away. That’s what the stager is trying to do to your home. Your house has become a product and to sell quickly it must appeal to all people.”

Stephanie is right. People are listing their homes because the economy is improving and late winter and early spring are the most active times in real estate. There is lots of competition out there. If a person is serious about selling their house and getting on with their lives then they must depersonalize the house and think of it as a product to sell. 

I’ve found a great video on home staging I want you to watch.  Susan Botticelli has lots of good ideas and she presents them well in the video with before and after pictures. Take a look and let me know when you want to list your home. Give me a call at 402-697-4251 or email me at Marie.Otis@cbshome.com. Together we’ll get the job done and done right!