Staging a Home to Attract Mr. and Mrs. Buyer



10519 Kenwell Glen Court, Jacksonville, Florida 32256



I received a call from a new business acquaintance of mine to help her stage her mother’s home. Her mom had passed away  and she felt she was too close to the situation to stage it herself. Didn’t feel she could be objective enough. Many times the closer you are personally to the property for sale, the harder it is to emotionally disconnect from it. That’s why hiring a home stager makes “cents”!




Kitchen Breakfast Bar Before




Breakfast Bar After





A Closer Look  at the Breakfast Bar 



A Wine Vignette Above the Kitchen Cabinets

The property for sale was a 1900 square foot ranch situated nicely on a corner of a cul de sac with a beautiful water view in the back. Upon entering the vacant home, I could see the cozy potential it had. My goal was to create a setting that would help some eager buyer emotionally connect with  it. The owner and I discussed staging the kitchen, dining room, living room, master bedroom and bath, guest bath and another bedroom.

Living Room - Before







Living Room - After

 When staging, my mind is reviewing my existing inventory for pieces of furniture and accessories that would fit the color scheme, mood, and theme I’m trying to create. I decided on a red and gold color palette for most of this home. In the master bedroom and bath, I developed my color scheme and mood from two framed floral prints the seller had. This color scheme was cream, green and pink. In the guest bath, I did a beachy theme in aquas and tans.

Master Tub- Before





Master Tub - After



Master Bedroom - Before



Master Bedroom - After



Corner and Plant Shelf in Master Bedroom - Before



Highboy Fills the Corner and Greenery Brings the Eye Upward to Appreciate the Plant Shelf - Master Bedroom- After 



Reading Corner - Master Bedroom - Before



Reading Corner - Master Bedroom - After

Guest Bedroom/ Home Office Before

Ready for Business in the "After" Home Office



Another "After" View of the Home Office



Dining Room Before

Creating an Ambient Mood in the " After"  Dining Room

A Cake and Champagne for the New Buyers!

As I was staging, I had to be mindful of rhythming the accent colors throughout the adjoining rooms to unify the décor. If I used red on the fireplace mantel, I wanted to repeat that red throughout the room. Since the kitchen and living room were open to each other, I carried the red and gold into that area also. As you can tell, staging takes a lot of concentration – you have to remember a lot of little details that will make it all come together in the end.

Back Wall of the Living Room - Before

Back Wall of the Living Room - After

Another View of the Living Room - After

Every time I stage a property, I wrestle with the question, “How can I make the buyer remember this house? How can I distinguish it from its competition?” I went to the Dollar Store and purchased a wine glass and a glass plate for a grand total of $2. I then glued them together with a fantastic craft glue called E6000 to make a unique cake plate. After placing the cake plate in the center of the dining room table, I placed a white doily and my fake chocolate cake on top. To further enhance this celebrative mood, the homeowner contributed her champagne flutes along with a bottle of champagne, a cake server, two beautiful glass plates, and a greeting card made out to Mr. and Mrs. Buyer congratulating them on the purchase of their new home. Now how could a potential buyer forget that? We’ll have to wait and see how long it takes for Mr. and Mrs. Buyer to find this little dream home. If you live in Jacksonville or know someone moving here who is looking for a charming well-built home that is located near major stores, the library, medical facilities and has quick access to all major highways, this is the home for them.  For more information on this beautiful property, go here.