What Is Home Staging and Why It Works (a.k.a. Why Your Aunt Karen’s Doilies Need to Go). Let’s start with the basics: Home staging is the art (yes, art) of preparing your home to appeal to the widest pool of potential buyers. Think of it like dressing your house up for its big debut. You wouldn’t show up to a job interview in your pajama pants, right? (Well, not unless you really didn’t want the job.) Same goes for your home.

Staging highlights the home’s best features, minimizes its flaws (because every home has them—yes, even your Pinterest-worthy kitchen), and helps buyers picture themselves living there. Not you. Them. Sorry, but your collection of spoons from 37 states? It’s not helping.

Now, let’s talk numbers, because stats don’t lie (unlike that Zillow Zestimate). According to the National Association of Realtors, staged homes sell 3 to 30 times faster than non-staged homes and can bring in up to 20% more in offers. Translation? That $600 Target haul you just wrote off as “props” might actually pay off.

Here’s the thing: buyers shop for homes based on logic, but they buy based on emotion. When they walk into a well-staged space, their brain goes, “Wow, this feels so open, fresh, and organized.” Even if their actual home is filled with laundry baskets and half-eaten Pop-Tarts.

Staging creates a lifestyle that people aspire to—not necessarily the one they currently live. That’s the sweet spot where emotion kicks in, and offers start flying.

This was one of my favorite homes: a 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom mid-century gem with good bones in a booming area of Southwest Atlanta. Most of the owners in this area have been here for +50 years and it’s in the middle of a gentrification. The challenge? The space was vacant because the real estate agent was also the investor. Vacant staging is a whole other category because when there’s no furniture it’s even more important to stage so people can see how they would arrange their furniture in each room.

I always use vintage furniture in most of my stages since I specialize in older/renovated homes. Vintage and antique furniture mixed with modern or transitional furniture creates an eclectic look and I think it shows potential homeowners that they can mix and match their furniture and it will work. I also tend to emphasize artwork in my staged homes to add “soul” to a  home. Another detail that people tend to overlook.

So after we assessed the property, we lightened it up with soft neutrals, emphasized the clean architectural lines, and added just enough vintage charm to keep it authentic without veering into museum exhibit territory. The result? Showings were booked out before the open house even hit the calendar, and it sold within two days after the MLS listing went live. Coincidence? Nope. That’s the power of thoughtful staging.

Curb Appeal

Never underestimate the power of curb appeal. It’s the first thing people see and a lot of homeowners don’t think it matters when putting their house on the market.

This red door was freshly painted and I thought it made enough of a statement that I didn’t need to do anything else.

Do not neglect the back of the house either. People looking for a house will try to imagine themselves barbecuing and their kids playing in the backyard so it’s important to spruce it up beyond just making the grass look good. The deck was a blank slate, so I put a plant and a dining set area to make it look cozy.

Another view of the yard and deck area.

Kitchen / Dining / Living Room

The front door led you right into the living room.

I could pretty much do anything with this floor plan but the first thing was to get rid of the outdated and oversized island stools.

New wooden industrial stools were a chic addition to this island.

I placed a pedestal table off to the side to let the potential buyers know that you could have dining for at least 4 people.

The next few pictures show how I broke up the room into sections and created an inviting living room with the fireplace as the focal point.

Office

The smallest bedroom I staged as an office. This is pretty standard in staging and even more important now that a lot of people are working from home at least a few days a week.

Guest Bathrooms

For bathrooms, I just place a few decorative items, usually some type of plant life, cotton balls, candles, pretty soaps etc…all  in unique containers or on vintage plates. Again, vintage stores are a great place to find these decorative pieces.

Primary Suite

This primary bedroom was long and skinny like a bowling alley, so I really had to decide how to fill in the space so it didn’t look empty. I started by placing the bed and then adding a couch at the end with a small side table. After that I added a plant with a side chair to take up even more space. You can’t see it in this picture, but I also placed a console on the opposite end to also show that there is plenty of space for a dresser, etc.

I made the artwork by stretching two canvases from the Habitat Restore on DIY wooden frames. Making art is one of my most favorite things to do and makes all the difference.

The primary bathroom was set up with just a few accessories, but the window was the main thing I had to address. The view was of a neighbor’s pile of trash so I put up soft window treatments.

Styling & Accessories

Now this is the fun part. When you get to style the rooms and make them sing. I always think of the people that I think would be living in the house and decorate accordingly. I thought of a young couple that are foodies and like to travel. So in the kitchen, I decorated with large wooden boards, cookbooks and fun artisan accessories.

Art is always a good idea, so I placed a picture of pears along with greenery and woven glasses.

Side tables can always be a moment with just a few items.

Adding a chair and a plant is a good way to add a spot to read or put your shoes on.

This dining table gives you a chance to add some pizzazz. A remnant piece of fabric, some wooden beads and vases are all you need.

I love styling coffee tables and my formula is usually some coffee table books, a tray, greenery and a candle.

Same thing for a console table. This table is by the front door and is not only the first thing you see, but it’s a good place to put your keys and mail down.

This is the small console I put in the primary bedroom to show that you had room for a dresser. I also made the art from woven stripe of magazine pages. It came out wonderful!

So Staging = Marketing, Not Decorating. If you’re selling your home, think of staging as your marketing strategy, not your personal taste. You’re no longer decorating for comfort—you’re setting the scene for a sale. It’s packaging. It’s branding. It’s making your home the “it girl” of the MLS.

The goal is to make buyers feel something—preferably, “I have to live here!”—not “I wonder what kind of person puts a recliner in the kitchen?”

Bottom line is that Staging isn’t about fluffing pillows (although yes, we absolutely fluff pillows). It’s about strategically positioning your home so it sells faster and for more money. And let’s be honest—who doesn’t want that?

So, if you’re thinking about listing your home, don’t just tidy up and hope for the best. Stage it like you mean it. Better yet, let me stage it like I mean it.

Because your home deserves more than a quick vacuum and a prayer.

See ya next time.