Your new car doesn’t perform better because of the pinstriping the dealer threw in. Your new socks don’t last longer because the manufacturer added an extra pair to the pack. And your ice cream probably doesn’t taste any better with free sprinkles.

Why is receiving a little extra something-something such a beloved tradition?

Because it makes us feel good, it makes us feel special.

We got more than the standard, more than the expected. And because the idea of something extra stays with us!  I still vividly recall being excited and impressed that a new refrigerator my parents were buying came with a free butter dish (I was age 8 or 9 at the time!)

A toothbrush that comes with the toothpaste, a rental car upgrade, or yes, free sprinkles: Providers know it’s the easiest and most cost-effective way for their product to stand out, for a consumer to notice and choose them.

We all know the part that nice kitchens and baths play in the interest and price of a property. But let’s all take it a step further: Buyers buy from the heart. In my experience, the buyers’ head kicks in after their hearts have fallen.

No matter the size or price point of a property, prop styling engages, touching buyers’ hearts and making them feel cared-for.

This is why kitchens and baths are always the starting point for every property The Refreshed Home prepares for sale. It’s the easiest, quickest, and BONUS least expensive way to make great listing photos. Doublely important for unfurnished properties.

And exponentially important if all the bathrooms are done in the same colors/styles/fashion. Because no matter how magnificent, who’ll remember how many empty all-beige (or all-white, or all-grey) bathrooms they saw?

Funky or unexpected floor plan? Prop-styling also adds huge value here. Years ago I worked on this property in northern Westchester. A private home was expanded and updated to be a small retreat, conference center of sorts. Private, woodsy, very zen. And a very unexpected floor plan.

SEVEN en suite full bathrooms in the main house, 2 more in the conference center. Each was done differently, and beautifully. Fixtures aside, no material was used twice.

Clearly a big part of the property’s vibe and value, so props were brought in to amplify the style of each bathroom. Among the props I remember I brought in were an architecturally standout tall plant for the white-on-white bathroom with a skylight, a meditating Buddha head for the sleek black marble and teak bathroom, and many MANY precisely folded white towels for the shelves above a then-new idea of a modern, floating vanity.

So bottom line, buyers have a lot on their minds!

Making similar (or far-flung) bathrooms memorable lets buyers know to look for them, remember them, and then better align their perceived value with your listing price.

And because we cannot not see color or light, this also works really well for unfurnished properties with important, singular architectural elements like bookcases, fireplaces, and mudrooms.

The Refreshed Home has a small warehouse of carefully curated rental props, and each room’s staging is hand-crafted. Nothing heirloom, but nothing that looks like someone loaded up at the nearest home store either.

They props are chosen to amuse and delight, to evoke buyer hopes and dreams: bits of personality that hint at the vibe they could experience for themselves when they buy this magic house.

Home staging is a lot more normal, practical and logical than HGTV lets on.  Vacant property, under-performing or listless listing?  Just start the conversation! Talk to me today about getting your listing noticed, and SOLD!!