A Melange of Staging Styles with a Common Theme: Warm it Up!

As we go through Fall into the cooler months, staging becomes more important to make a property inviting.  Especially here in Portland where the days are gray, empty properties seem cold and uninspiring  Add to that any challenges inherent in the property, a dicey market, and staging becomes imperative.  We have recently had some interesting challenges.  And the most fun part is the variety of styles we have been working with - from urban modern to updated vintage.  I love that about Portland and this business!

There are 3 approaches I use to brighten a property through staging: Color, Texture, and Lighting.  As you will see, we almost always use color to warm spaces, but we often use a combination of methods to make a space feel more comfortable to prospective buyers.

First, we staged a townhouse in Lair Hill with a unique feature: a fireplace just inside the front door!  OK we are stagers, we are used to making the best of what we have to work with, so we approached it with the attitude that we would make it look as natural as we could.  The advantage of putting the fireplace there was it maximized floor space in a narrow floor plan so we were able to utilize one of our favorite sectionals which wouldn't have fit if the fireplace were on the wall.  I get it. With so many hard surfaces and neutral colors, it needed some softness and sizzle to woo buyers.  This is what it looked like Before:

And this is what it looks like After:

We used golds and browns for Color warmth and a large comfy sectional and thick throw for a cushy softness (Texture). That property also had a dreary bonus room with linoleum flooring downstairs so we turned up the heat with gold and orange and it became a hangout with a modular sectional and pub table...

Before

 After

I just heard from the broker that everyone loves the staging and offers are coming in!

Next we staged a penthouse model condo in The Jefferson.  It has  fantastic views of Goose Hollow and was fun to stage...No real issues in this one.  Just help buyers fall in love... But we used Texture in shag rugs to keep it from feeling stark and punches of orange for drama (Color).

Then came a condo in The Cambridge.  The challenge here - and most properties have some kind of challenge - is that it's on a lower level so not much light comes into the unit.  Therefore, we put as many Light fixtures as we could get away with in and used a warm palette of gold, red and chocolate.  We also created more light by the introduction of reflective surfaces such as mirrors, silver and glass. We love how it turned out:

Before

After

And last for this post, we staged this historic home near the entrance of Washington Park.  Just a great property and all it needed was  - you guessed it! - warming up and some ideas of functionality of the spaces.  Color was key to showing the potential in this home.  Here are some photos...

 

Before - This is a huge room and feels cold from so much white...

  

After - Now buyers have an idea of how to use the space and it's warm and updated.  There is actually a third seating area behind this with an ornate game table and a huge floor vase in the corner.

Before: The colors need to be balanced to make sense.

After: Ready for a dinner party!

 

Master Bedroom Before: The green fireplace makes no sense against the white walls and carpet.

After: Color adds warmth and interest diluting the white.

Hope you found this information useful and of interest.  Please let us know if you have any questions or feedback. We would love to help warm up your space!

Thanks to the listing brokers who recommended our services listed in order of the properties shown above:

• Devin Benz, RE/MAX Equity Group
• Dianne Rodway, City Properties Group, Realty Trust
  
• Clint Currin, RE/MAX Equity Group
• Lisa Owens, Realty Trust 
  

 We appreciate your trust in us and being your partner!  To see any of these properties in person, please follow the link to contact these experienced professionals.