All your home's a stage

When it comes to staging a home to sell, "less is more" is much more than an axiom — it's essential.

So out go the old curtains, frayed rugs, family photos and clutter and, often, in comes the beautiful new furniture that a professional home-stager perfectly arranges as though the rooms were straight out of a Pottery Barn catalog.

The idea of home staging is to create neutral spaces to appeal to the broadest home-buying audience — ideally resulting in a faster sale and a higher selling price.

While home staging has been around for a few decades, it's only recently become more popular in the Northwest. In the Puget Sound area, it's estimated that 6 percent to 20 percent of homes on the market are professionally staged.

While the increase in equity as a result of staging can vary — depending on factors such as location, square footage and listing price — on average, staging can increase the value of a home by several thousand dollars, according to professional stager Barb Schwarz. Whether a home actually sells faster or garners a higher price when staged, however, is nearly impossible to measure.

Schwarz says she bases the numbers on her years of experience as a stager and data tracked through feedback from stagers in the professional home-staging association she founded. She is also CEO of StagedHomes.com and created courses for real-estate agents and do-it-yourselfers who want to become certified in the staging industry.

Professional home-stagers vary in their approach — some work with the homeowners' existing furniture and accessories, rearranging and de-cluttering, while others want homeowners to clear everything in favor of bringing in the homestagers' own new furniture they keep on hand.

"Home staging is like setting a scene, so I have the occupants move some things, take other things down," Schwarz said.

Many stagers have furniture and accessories in storage. Typically, the overall staging cost includes the furniture rental.

Staging on the rise

Homeowners and real-estate agents are increasingly turning to home staging to attract buyers.

Windermere associate broker Mike Knutsen has been selling homes for 20 years, most of that time without staging. But when a home in West Seattle sat on the market for longer than expected, he sought out the services of home-staging expert Janis Gaines in hopes of moving the property.

Within two weeks of the staging, the home sold, and Knutsen, a self-professed skeptic, was converted.

"Staging brings the home to life and makes it much warmer," said Knutsen. "It gives people the ability to see how they can use the space."

Investing in your investment

There are several ways to go about staging your home:

• Do it yourself (after taking a class or reading about it; see our accompanying "Stage it yourself" tips box on page 11).

• Hire a professional stager to give you a one-time consultation ($300-$500) and then do it yourself.

• Or hire a professional to stage your entire home (can start at $1,800 and up depending on how much is involved and whether the stager needs to bring in furniture).

If you hire a professional, home staging typically begins with a consultation, in which the stager meets with the client to agree on objectives for the space. After the consultation, homeowners can use the information to do the staging themselves, or hire the professional to execute the plan.

People can stage a home on their own, but Gaines said paying to have your home professionally staged is a marketing tool to showcase the best of what your home has to offer.

To prepare your home for staging, start by clearing out the space.

"Eliminate big pieces of furniture and personal items," Gaines said. "Before you go to a Realtor or begin the home-staging process, move stuff out."

Making a statement

At a recent staging of a newly built home near Seward Park in South Seattle, a listing of broker Knutsen, Gaines and her crew brought in key pieces of furniture and accessories, from lamps and rugs to art and plants, to enhance different parts of the house.

A love seat, matching ottoman, a few plants tucked in the corners and a dining table and chairs created a homey feel in a family room next to the kitchen.

The formal dining room was sparsely decorated, with a deep cherry-wood table and chairs as the main focal point — a strong contrast to the pale hardwood floors.

In the living room, books, decorative plates and other accessories lined shelves of built-in bookcases, drawing interest to the dramatic architectural feature surrounding the fireplace.

Gaines said the key to staging is clearing the clutter and creating warmth.

"Staging provides potential buyers with just enough things in the home to make it appealing and to see themselves living there."