31 Wyldwood Courtesy of Jane Weiss, Emma Kula Coldwell Banker

Does staging with rental furniture sound redundant?

Understandable. This is the 1.0 version that’s been clung to for the last 50 years. Yes, it serves some, but in my experience, it intimidates, alienates, and ultimately hurts more by this narrow definition.

Taking care to show a property in its best light (aka home staging) is not a new or unusual concept. Done properly, staging is a normal, practical, and logical process. Its flexibility addresses each property’s circumstances in a user-friendly mode that meets the needs of each seller.

I’ve been in the people-spaces-possessions business my entire career. First in corporate design and store management, and The Refreshed Home is now in its 18th year. With thousands of consults and over $1B worth of sold Westchester County properties in the books, I’m in a position to see and share a 360-degree view of the ‘to-rent-or-not-to-rent?’  question.

These posts were written to expand and validate staging options, and help agents and sellers make their own best decisions by considering more than the subjective metrics of cost and aesthetics.

I decided early on not to assume the financial or emotional overhead of inventorying my own furniture, and stopped facilitating corporate rentals a few years later.  Photos are all of my work, before then. So while staging with rental furniture isn’t part of either TRH’s or Orange Boom’s models , it’s still a valid and wise solution for some.  Here are five times you’d do well to consider staging with rental furniture, and why:

 1.  Empty Oversized Rooms

 Big empty rooms throw buyers.  ‘Where do things go?’, ‘Do we even need this much space?’ become the focus. Purpose and function equal value to buyers. 

The science: We are drawn to color and light. If there’s nothing to see, the eyes keep moving, and the empty spaces don’t register. Here, staging with rental furniture made the eyes slow down, linger, and really see the space. By defining the areas, it normalized the space, removed uncertainty, added purpose, and worth. 

This large area was off the kitchen. I used rental furniture to showcase the abundant natural light and define the elevated eating area in the rear. Generously scaled pieces, then supplemented with TRH’s oversized rental art and bright accents filled, warmed, and balanced the room.

49 Overlook Family Room Before, and After

Photo courtesy of Janet Brand of Houlihan Lawrence

2.  Niche Spaces

Buyers like the price per square foot metric; unused spaces seem a waste. After the basic/expected rooms were set, staging with rental furniture and props creates niche, or specialty spaces in other, less expected spaces.

Below, a reading nook in a dormer of an Ardsley Tudor, then the entry of a loft condo in Port Chester’s Landmark Building.

Niche spaces have heart! You can see it doesn’t take much, and they stand out against less imaginative listings, add charm, and expand function. They touch on buyers’ dreams, and are markers-that is, spaces agents and buyers will remember, and seek out.  Other ideas for staging other smaller empty spaces:

• A professional suite, a music room, or a library
• A craft room, meditation, workout, or other type of wellness space

3.  Normalizing Unusual Space/Unexpected Floor Plan

The most recent data shows the median build date of Westchester County homes as the late 1950s. That’s a lot of different styles that range from all sorts of altered or extended to totally untouched.   

Spaces that make buyers wonder where, what, how big, or why get in the way of YES. Staging with rental furniture and TRH’s distinctive props:

• Normalize spaces, aligns buyer expectations with what they see
• Identify what goes where, confirming why that space exists. 
• Create memorable photos, helping ensure buyers and agents find, and remember all the rooms

This was an expanded cape on the outside, not quite sure how to describe it on the inside. LR was long and narrow; who’d guess that space in the rear would be the DR? Simple pieces gave buyers a starting point, a floor plan they could mirror, while adding context to the photos.

                                                                       49 Overlook LR and DR Before and After

Photo courtesy of Janet Brand of Houlihan Lawrence

4.  Vanilla Box

Color is life, energy, and confidence. It’s science, we can’t not see it. If you want buyers to immediately see, get, and bond with space, they (and the camera!) need color, something cool to look at. Something that delights and engages, something to linger over. 

Empty properties with all the same one-size-fits-all gray (or white, or whatever) wall color might be easier for sellers and painters to implement. But empty, it’s boring/confusing to buyers.  Think like a buyer!  Different paint colors can help, but on a 3″ camera screen, without anything to tell the unfurnished rooms apart, they blur together. Is it 3 photos of 1 room, or 1 photo of 3 different rooms? 

Here, staging with rental furniture and TRH’s props brought the happy to this modest den. It added interest, depth, and context, drawing buyers in, online and in person. 

 1061 Washington TV Room Before and After

5.  Smaller or Choppy Space

Most folks aren’t spatially confident. And even those who can visualize don’t trust themselves in the very big business of buying real estate. By default, they go with what they see. 

Photos above and below are of the same home, a modest 1920’s Pelham Tudor. (Arch at right in photo below opens to den above). This sofa was left behind, and was the only thing in the room. Low and chunky, it abruptly broke up an already choppy space, giving the room a very bottom-heavy feel. 

Choppy spaces make actual square footage feel smaller. Doorways, closets, windows, fireplaces, and built-ins all disrupt the energy flow in a space. Here I brought the eye “up” via TRH’s rental art, lighting, and other props. They drew the eyes smoothly into, and through the room, adding balance and unity to this space. 

Surprised by so much info on when to do something we can’t help you with? 🙂  Empowerment and advocacy are what The Refreshed Home does best! Stay tuned for Part Two, how and why staging works without rental furniture! e