Occupied Home Staging Checklist for Sellers + Real Estate Agents

The satisfaction of our clients is extremely important to us. The purpose of this blog is to make sure sellers and real estate agents are aware of all the details involved in prepping for staging and that we have everything we need in place to ensure a smooth and successful occupied staging. We set the home up for photos and showings, so this checklist will help you be prepared for both.

Besides putting away extraneous items, small appliances, food, chargers for electronics, and piles of mail should all be put away in preparation for staging. We do allow a coffee maker to remain on the counter. All other appliances should be put in a pantry, cupboard or garage for easy access when needed while the house is on the market.

Property Readiness – We will sweep and vacuum upon completion of the staging project, however, we do not provide professional cleaning services, therefore the house must be clean and ready at the time that staging items are to be delivered (this is required in the time of COVID/social distancing). Home must have electricity; we use steamers and drills regularly; running water (used for cleaning staging items and steaming); working toilets; drive-up and non-blocked, convenient pedestrian access for unloading. We always take precautions, such as rolling out neoprene sheets for protection, but cannot be liable for soiling of flooring if entrance is not landscaped, or is dirty, muddy or being mulched or landscaped at the time of staging. 

Please ensure the following happens before staging, photos, and showings: 

• Have the house professionally cleaned prior to staging, and then maintained for photos and showings (including fireplaces)

• Clear kitchen counters of all appliances, dishes, spices, canisters, etc.

• Clean and clear kitchen sink of all dishes and sink mats

• Remove or hide trashcans

• Organize and declutter pantry

• Remove pet dishes, litter boxes, scratching posts, beds, and toys

• Clear bathroom counters of all toiletries, put away trash cans, toilet brushes, and plungers

• Clear showers and tubs of soaps, shampoos, sponges, etc.

• Put away bath towels and, if possible, purchase fresh white towels for all bathrooms. Stash all bath mats in the cupboards

• Put fresh toilet paper rolls in all bathrooms

• Remove all personal photos throughout the house as well as refrigerator magnets and kid’s artwork. Put away all laundry and hampers

• Make all beds and straighten pillows

• Remove any art, posters, stickers, string lights, etc., from kid’s walls and doors

• Put away kid’s toys, stuffed animals, clothes, neaten or remove excess books from crammed bookshelves, especially binders and magazines, hard backs and encyclopedias are okay

• Straighten and thin out closets, organize clothes by category and color, pack away any out-of-season clothes, ideally have everything on matching white, clear plastic or velvet hangers, neaten shoes, and clear everything off of the floor and from top shelves. Luggage can be stored in the garage

• Put away any gaming consoles, games, and cords

• Clear desks of papers, pencil holders, family photos, kid’s artwork, and miscellaneous items

• Remove any wilting or dying houseplants and flowers

• Put away chargers, remotes, and hide cords

• Clean any patio furniture, sweep or blow patios, clean windows inside and out

Don’t get us wrong—we love our pets—and yours, but during staging day, for their safety and security, pets should be crated, secured in an extra room, or off premises. Interestingly, while more than 85% of buyers are looking for a home that will accomodate pets, they prefer not to see them, or evidence of them, during showings.

Staging Timeframe – Most occupied houses take 1 to 2 days (it may take longer for larger homes or if we’re in our busy season and doing mulitiple projects that day). Agents scheduling photography should plan accordingly and please schedule photos after 4pm on last staging day so staging can be completed and looking its best prior to photos being taken. If house has to be cleaned after staging and prior to photos, please ask house cleaners not to move staging, including furniture or décor, and to please clean around staging as items are placed/angled strategically for great photos.

Pets – If you/homeowners have pets, please ensure they are secured: dogs in yard or crate and cats in a specific room, but ideally, removed completely from the premises on staging day.

No Owners/Agents Present During Staging – Our preference is that owners and agents not be present during staging for safety and liability reasons, as well to ensure our creative process progresses uninterrupted.

Let us surprise and delight you with the end result—they don't call us The House Whisperers for nothing!

Staging is the new standard in real estate residential sales and an important part of any agent or Realtor marketing plan to get a home or listing sold quickly and for a higher price.

The House Whisperers is a top award-winning staging company that stages prolifically both vacant and occupied homes throughout Southern California. Call us today for a quick home staging estimate over the phone at 858-335-9577. We can also schedule a complimentary quick quote or paid consultation to help you prioritize and make cost-effective cosmetic changes to maximize your sales time and proceeds. In times of quarantine, these services can, of course, be performed via Facetime or Zoom.

For more info, visit www.house-whisperers.com

Prepping a Property for Photos

This gorgeous main bedroom we staged in Carmel Valley, California, was photographed to perfection by Ian Myers and PreviewFirst Photography. Note: The origin of the name “Master Bedroom” is unknown, but we are now calling them Main Bedrooms to avoid any racist and sexist connotations. 

A good photographer is key and we will be posting a blog soon on keys to identifying the best photographer in your area, however, getting good photos is a two-way process. The seller or agent should make sure the following is done prior to photos to present the property in its best light:

INDOORS

• Clear all counters of small appliances including toaster oven and microwave 

• Clean all the dishes and the kitchen sink

• Remove all magnets, photos, etc., from refrigerator

• Put away all dishes, clothing, toys, laundry, towels, shoes, etc

• Polish stainless steel appliances

• Put away any charging cables, computers, or electronics

• Dust and vacuum

• Make all the beds, fluff the pillows, straighten bedding

• Remove all posters and stickers from kids room walls and doors

• Fluff any accent pillows on furniture and beds

• Throw blankets should match or coordinate

• Remove all bottles, washcloths, sponges, razors, loofas from showers and tubs

• Put away all medicines and vitamin bottles

• Put out fresh white bath towels and hide the others

• Toilet seats and lids down, toilet brushes, plungers and trash cans put away

• Replace all toilet paper rolls with fresh ones and hide spares

• Remove floor mats, runners, and scatter rugs

• Shower curtains should be clean and wrinkle-free

• Windows, shower glass and mirrors should be clean

• Make sure people and pets are out of the house during shooting

• Depersonalize by removing any family photos 

• Remove any personal items from nightstands and tables

• Make sure all light bulbs are working and are the same color temperature. Some bulbs will cast off yellow light, some white, some blue; white is preferable

• Turn on all lights including cabinet lights, stove, and under-cabinet lights

• Turn off ceiling fans at least an hour before the photographer arrives

• Mop floors the day before

• Lighting the fireplace is a nice touch in winter, but photographers can add flames during the post editing process

• Open all blinds, shades and curtains and make sure blinds are all at the same level

• Put away all potentially questionable or offensive art including nudes, pornography, and anything that could be construed as racially biased

• Put away pet food and water dishes, litter boxes, beds and toys 

• Put away any seasonal or holiday décor as these can quickly date your photos

• Secure all valuables

• Hide or remove any visible cables or extension cords

• If the house is vacant or missing basic pieces of furniture, accessories, art, or rugs, call a qualified stager to help make your home look magazine-ready

Outdoors:

Photography by Ian Myers, PreviewFirst Photography

• Have windows professionally cleaned

• Move trash cans to side of house

• Roll up garden hoses and put away outside toys, garden tools and bikes

• Sweep walkways, patios, balconies, garages and decks

• Clean-up after pets or other animals

• Give agent and/or photographer instructions on how to turn on outside landscape lighting and pool lights

• Power wash or hose down concrete or pavement areas the day before to avoid drying marks and puddles

• Move cars from driveway and park at least a few houses away and, if possible, remove cars from curb in front of property

• Outdoor furniture should be clean, in good order and arranged neatly in the proper places

• Pool should be uncovered and clean and lights working. Remove security fencing for photos.

• Remove pool toys, pool cleaning gear, and hoses

• Uncover grill and remove items around grill and outdoor kitchen areas

• Remove yard art, statuary, and holiday or seasonal decorations

• Fix or replace broken landscape lighting, replace bulbs 

• In colder climates, shovel snow from patios, decks, walkways, and driveways

• Open umbrellas. Remove umbrellas that are faded or tattered.

• Have landscapers tidy everything up—blow leaves, cut grass, etc

• Trim hedges, trees, especially if they are blocking the view

• Consider planting brightly-colored flowers or succulents in flower beds

• Spread new bark or mulch, preferably a darker brown bark type rather than shredded wood

• Pots and planters need to have healthy-looking plants and flowers in them, so replant or remove them to the side of the house or garage

• For arial shoots, make sure the rooftops are clean and free of debris

Just-staged dramatic entry in a recent staging project in Carmel Valley. Photo courtesy of Ian Meyers, PreviewFirst Photography

The House Whisperers is a top award-winning staging company that stages prolifically both vacant and occupied homes throughout Southern California. Call us today for a quick home staging estimate over the phone at 858-335-9577. We can also schedule a complimentary quick quote or paid consultation to help you prioritize and make cost-effective cosmetic changes to maximize your sales time and proceeds. In times of quarantine, these services can, of course, be performed via Facetime or Zoom.

A house we staged for an Amazon Exec. It had been on the market for a month after staging by another company. We came in, restaged it appropriately for the market and it sold with two all cash offers within two weeks. Photography by Richard Hansen.

Gorgeous xterior photo of a home recently staged by The House Whisperers. Ouststanding photography by Ian Meyers, editing by PreviewFirst Photography.

For more info, visit www.house-whisperers.com 

Special thanks to the Professional Real Estate Photography Facebook Group including Karlton Warren, Amy Knight, Richard King, Karl Boudreau, and Trent Og for contributions to this list.

10 Important Things to Ask Before Hiring a Home Stager

1. Do you own your own inventory?  Pricing of stagers that don’t own their own inventory is driven by high furniture rental prices or retail furniture costs. Find a stager that purchases everything new from wholesale vendors, as they generally can offer a more superior product for the price.

2. Are you a trained interior designer?  Many stagers took an on-line weekend class and hung up a staging shingle. You’re not going to want second-rate staging and there are different levels of staging, just as there is fast food, fine dining, and everything in between! Be sure you check out photos and, if possible, actual staging projects so you know what you’re signing up for and don’t have any unpleasant surprises later. A hefty percentage of homes staged by budget stagers get restaged after the owner and agent realize that the bargain staging is totally inappropriate and out-of-scale for the property—and it could actually cheapen the home rather than elevate it. A confident home staging company will graciously offer a tour of their warehouse so you can inspect their inventory and operation before signing on the dotted line. A stager who’s an interior designer is ideal because they'll be able to better blur the line between typical staging and interior design to make your home look magazine-ready and stand out above the rest.

3. Do you stage the kitchens and baths? Many stagers don’t or they put a small potted plant in the kitchen and consider it staged. The kitchen is arguably the most important area of the house, so a good stager will make sure it gets as much attention as the other rooms. Bathrooms are important also and can feel cold when they’re not staged, so make sure the company you choose does all the bathrooms in the home. 

4. Do you coordinate the colors, style, and decor throughout the home? Many stagers don’t and they'll use varying colors and random styles throughout so there ends up being a disconnect and very little consistency in design. Ideally the home should look pulled together. Make sure your stager is expert at making the look current and cohesive, like a model home.

5. Do you coordinate the staging with the architectural style of the house? Make sure your stager doesn’t just put generic furniture in every home, but custom stages each one to work with the finishes, the style of the house, and the price point in the area. Top stagers will have sales statistics and awards to prove it, and understand the psychographics for staging each individual home to appeal to the widest majority of buyers.

6. How many housefuls of staging do you have in your inventory and how many houses do you stage per month? Knowing these numbers will give you a clue as to how much experience and business a stager actually has. At any given time, a full-time staging company—experts with daily staging projects—will have a customer service/logistics department, in-house delivery team, moving trucks, and stock inventory for 100 homes. Someone who stages only one or two projects a month—which comprises 95% of stagers—may not have the inventory nor experience your clients deserve for their properties.

7. Do you have electronic lockbox access through the local board of realtors? If not, someone will need to meet the stagers over the course of the project to let them in and out of the house. Some stagers have licensed agents or affiliates on staff with electronic access to make access more convenient for clients.

8. Do you take credit cards or accept ACH? Some stagers don’t and if not, as the agent or seller, you may end up having to deliver checks to them. An established staging business will take all major credit cards, checks, or ACH transfers through a secure network.

9. Do you have liability and workman’s comp insurance? Although it’s a legal requirement, few stagers carry liability and workman’s comp insurance because it’s very expensive. But, if you are an agent, you or your clients have a lot invested in their properties, so you should make sure whoever’s working on them is adequately insured with at least a $1M policy. Using a vendor without insurance is like an agent without errors and omissions insurance! Additionally, without workman’s comp, homeowners or agents could be liable if anyone were to become injured on the property or if the property were to be damaged. Make sure the staging company you chose is completely covered by liability and workmen's comp insurance and ask for the paperwork to prove it.

10. Are you affiliated with and have you been recognized by staging industry organizations for excellence in your work? The best-run staging companies will have won multiple awards and be affiliated with a trade organization such as RESA (Real Estate Staging Association) or HSRA (Home Staging & Redesign Association) that will hold them to the highest standards of business, ethics and integrity.

This San Elijo Hills home, staged by The House Whisperers, was already perfection… from the gorgeous wood flooring to the rich finishes…but it needed beautiful furniture for buyers to be able envision themselves in the huge rooms and open floor plan.

Don’t leave money on the table when selling your home! The House Whisperers are San Diego’s most trusted luxury stager with top awards in both occupied and vacant staging. Whether your home needs partial staging or everything but the kitchen sink, The House Whisperers can transform it to appeal to today’s buyer. The right staging can result in multiple offers, sales that are on average 86% faster and 10% more than the unstaged competition…not to mention streamlined agent commissions! Call The House Whisperers today at 858-335-9577. Photography by Ian Myers, PreviewFirst Photography.

Best Top 10 Tips for Home Staging with Shelf Decor

Everything you wanted to know and more about home staging with shelf decor!

If you’re staging your home before it goes on the market, you’ve most likely received advice from your real estate agent(s) about de-cluttering as much as possible and packing away anything that’s personal. 

Staging is the process of depersonalizing a space and arranging the items in that space to their best advantage. It also allows a prospective buyer to imagine her items in the space. One place to start is your built-in bookcases and shelves around your property. These surfaces are your opportunity to display the lifestyle potential buyers could have in this home.

Composing shelves, in particular can be a challenge because they’re designed as exactly that—a place to keep all that clutter—but it doesn’t have to be, and the last thing you want is for potential buyers to feel overwhelmed as they are walking through the property. So, if you’re prepping a home for sale, here are our simple and easy seller-friendly top ten tips for staging your shelves:

These are some upstairs hall shelves in a decidedly zen-style home The House Whisperers staged in La Measa.

This lovely office, with it’s dark cabinetry and accent wall, was brightened up considerably with white accessories and light upholstered pieces, then books in a Classic Hermes Orange were arranged artfully to carry the eye around the room. Staged by The House Whisperers.

1. Start with a clean slate. Remove everything from the shelves. Repair any scratches or dings and paint the shelves if necessary. Dust or polish the shelves. 

2. Staging shelves beautifully is an art form in and of itself, but remember, staging is not decorating, so pack away heirlooms. This is the time for your Lladro or Himmel collections to be put away and to make way for more generic items like books, vases and boxes (this is #4). As you begin to stage your shelves remember—less is more! The House Whisperers uses the interior design industry's 30% rule as a guideline when decorating shelves, so we recommend minimalism and filling only about a third of a shelf. Remember, you’re selling the built-in, not the items on display, so leave empty space on the shelves for the eye to rest.

3. Leave a few strategically spaced shelves empty to help create the feeling of more space. After all, buyers will be paying for square footage and a house will always feel bigger with less stuff. Also, you want them to see that there’s plenty of room for storage, not that the space is maxed out. If your shelves are full, it will leave the subconscious impression that there’s no room for their stuff. So edit accordingly, then everything else gets packed away and will be ready for the movers once your house has sold. Nice!

4. Whether the items are books or accessories, they can be grouped by theme, color, shape, or material and propped up with bookends. Symmetrical design where items of the same size are opposite each other works best in more formal areas such as living rooms, dining areas, and stately dens. More asymmetrical design is best in the more casual areas like offices and family rooms where you can achieve a balance by placing like-sized or colored items in a Z-pattern to carry the eye pleasingly from one end of a shelf to the other end on the shelf below it and so on. 

5. You can remove shelves or change shelf height to add larger singular items like vases as they will photograph much better than small clusters of items.

6. Horizontally stacked books make great bookends and perches for objects d'art like silver trophies, orbs, boxes, pottery, and greenery, but try to keep decorative items larger than a cantaloupe or shelves can start to look junky in photos. We also love using lamps, design-forward or sculptural items on shelves. Organic and textured items such as driftwood and geodes are all the rage right now and they make great additions to an artfully arranged shelf. On occasion, we’ll stage bookshelves with a single type of object repeated over and over again for continuity. This could be a collection of vintage cameras or typewriters, or an art glass collection. For kitchens, we clear the existing shelves and use attractive cookbooks, white pottery or clear glass repeated on open shelves and in glass cabinets.

7. Grouping books by color or intermingling one specific color, like the Hermes Classic Orange shown in the photo, or vertically arranging them by size, helps make arrangements that are most pleasing to the eye. Stacks of coffee table books or open books, like an atlas opened to a beautiful map that happens to color coordinate with the decor, can be just enough to visually complete a lower shelf. 

8. Using smaller framed artwork or generic photos on shelves helps fill space and can be more cost-effective than books alone. Think small framed city scenes, photos of nature, and travel  photography. It’s especially nice if the items tell a story that related to the home, like groupings of beachy photos, driftwood, and large shells or starfish perched on naturally-colored books for a coastal property.

9. For a cleaner, more uniform look, you can spray paint books white, but most fabric book covers will require several coats of paint, so we prefer to wrap them in white paper, brown butcher paper, or gift wrap (check Pinterest for diagrams on how to fold paper to make book covers). We like to remove the dust jackets from hardbacks for a less busy, more uniform look. And, and our very best-kept secret is to turn the covers inside out so that you have crisp, clean white covers and a streamlined look overall.

10. If you’ve got old books that you’d like to get rid of, call your local library or let your local stager know. Books for home staging companies can seem like an endless expense, so stagers are almost always happy to cart off any old hardback books or booksets you’re not planning to take with you when you move.

These were some shelves we did for a long-time design client when she moved to a new home and went from traditional decor to more of a modern vibe.

Close-up showing some of the more mid-century and organic items mixed with some of her previously owned items.

Close-up of newly style shelving with whites, creams, neutrals that result in a clean, sohpisticated, curated look.

These shelves were staged by The House Whisperers for an interiori design video shoot in San Elijo Hills Estates, San Marcos, California. Accessories sourced at Z Gallerie.

This lovely custom cabinetry was staged with botanic prints, globes, candles and books for a sophisticated farmhouse feel to fit the style and geographic location of the home. Staging by The House Whisperers.

Shelves we did for a design client’s office utilizing white, black, natural and grey.

Close-up of shelves. Lots of texture, white, natural tones and eclectic items that give a collected feel.

Close-up of office shelf decor including marble vases and bowls, pottery, sentimental items, graphic bookends, and coffee table books.

This shower shelf decor was chosen to add a touch of whimsy to an architecturally significant $10M beach house in Mission Beach. Staging by The House Whisperers.

The House Whisperers is a top award-winning staging company that stages prolifically both vacant and occupied homes throughout Southern California. Call us today for a quick home staging estimate over the phone at 858-335-9577. We can also schedule a complimentary quick quote or paid consultation to help you prioritize and make cost-effective cosmetic changes to maximize your sales time and proceeds. In times of quarantine, these services can, of course, be performed via Facetime or Zoom.

For more info, visit www.house-whisperers.com 

This coastal shelf decor done by The House Whisperers in a traditional La Jolla home brought to mind for buyers the proximity to the ocean while the blue and white tied into the Spanish tile throughout the home.

This was some muted shelf decor done for a main bedroom requiring a feminine feel.

More muted shelf decor for a bedroom that helps evoke feeling of calm.