Dramatic Before and After | Real Estate | Business | Epoch Times

By Cathy Hobbs, ASID Created: April 10, 2012 Last Updated: April 10, 2012

A living room after staging (Courtesy of Cathy Hobbs Design Recipes)

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While it?s true that nearly every property can benefit from home staging, it especially holds true for those properties that simply don?t show to their fullest potential. The reality is, when it comes to real estate, buyers only know what they see?but not the space?s potential.

The same living room before staging (Courtesy of Cathy Hobbs Design Recipes)

Most buyers lack the vision to imagine what a space will look like uncluttered, de-neutralized, walls painted a different color ? you get the picture. Before a property falls into the category of ?unsellable,? savvy brokers and sellers often turn to home staging. Home staging is the process in which a property is staged and styled for presentation and marketing purposes.

As a professional home stager servicing brokers and home sellers in the New York City Tri-State area, Long Island, The Hamptons, Northern New Jersey, Hudson Valley, and The Berkshires, I can tell you that more than ever, home sellers and brokers are looking to professional home stagers in order to sell properties.

Recently I was asked by superstar broker Jill Sloane of Halstead Property to stage one of her listings. Like any broker, Sloane wanted the property to show its best and be able to sell for top dollar. Sloane is also an absolute expert in her field and knows and appreciates the value of home staging. When it comes to selling real estate, there simply is no other marketing tool that can help a seller secure their equity and showcase a property so that it sells for the most amount of money in the shortest amount of time.

As far as Sloane?s listing, as a home stager, I had my work cut out for me. Not only did I walk into a property that was full of furniture and clutter, the furniture arrangement was so poorly laid out that it would have been nearly impossible for a potential buyer to see the spaciousness of the property. Furthermore, the apartment was painted non-staging-friendly colors, such as green and pink, as opposed to neutral tones.

This apartment was indeed in need of a professional home stager, not to mention an expert painter. In approaching this home staging transformation, I followed the following Design Recipe that any homeowner can implement when it comes time to sell their own home:

? Paint the walls a neutral color
? De-clutter
? De-personalize
? Arrange furniture so that it maximizes space and circulation
? Use furniture that is appropriate in size and scale
? Add additional lighting and replace light bulbs with those that are higher wattage

Cathy Hobbs, ASID, LEED AP, CSP

(Cathy Hobbs)

Five-time Emmy award-winning television personality Cathy Hobbs is the founder of Cathy Hobbs Design Recipes?, a New York City-based firm specializing in interior design, home staging, and home staging training. Cathy is also the creator of design recipes?, easy-to-follow do-it-yourself design guides. A nationally known design expert, Cathy was a finalist on Season 6 of HGTV?s hit reality series ?Design Star.? Cathy?s interior design and home staging firm services the NYC Tri-State area, Long Island, The Hamptons, Northern New Jersey, Hudson Valley, and The Berkshires. Go to www.cathyhobbs.com to learn more about Cathy, or to ask her a home staging or design question, send a tweet to @cathyhobbs.

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