Affordable and elegant – it isn't often you see these two words together.  However, if you keep things simple you can accomplish that easily.  We staged a loft condo in Washington, DC and we wanted to create a spa feel in the bathroom.  However you don't have to make it complicated or expensive.  Below we created a simple scene with a footed basket we bought for $3, the lotion and shower gel cost $2 total and we added 2 different color wash closths.  Behind we added a simple vase from Ikea that cost .79 cents and added some leave floral picks.  Voila an instant spa feel.  Again you can create affordable elegance you just have to know how!  Happy Staging Everyone. 

I love creating scenes when staging and one of my favorite places to create scenes is in the kitchen. I usually try to create some sort of food prep scene to add interest and a sense of real living. In order to do that you sometimes need to add fruits and vegetables but you can't really add real ones as they may rot during the course of time the home is sitting on the market. So what do I use? I use faux fruit and vegetables that really add a pop of color and interest and look terrific in my staging scenes. I buy these faux fruit and vegetables at the thrift store. I find them in plastic bags hanging on racks for $1.90 to $2.90 a bag and they ususally contain anywhere from 6 to 8 fruits or vegetables. If you went to department store you may be paying that for one! so this is a steal and they look great. Here are some examples of staging with faux fruit and vegetables in kitchens. Enjoy! 

We would love to create scenes like this in your kitchen if you are selling your home.  We provide professional and affordable home staging and redesign services to clients in Northern VA, Washington, DC and parts of MD.  Call us on 703-269-8330 for a free estimate or visit us on the web @ www.TheStagingFashionista.com for more information.  We look forward to serving you!
 

We created a beautiful bedroom for under $100 for our staging project in Washington, DC.  We staged the other rooms with furniture but the investor wanted us to also stage the second bedroom but there was no room for furniture in the budget so we created a bedroom for under $100.  Here is how we did it.  We used an Aero bed that we had in our inventory as the bed.  We then bought a comforter/w shams that was on sale for $15, a queen size sheet set for $15, a side table for $12, a lamp for $10 and a rug for $10.  We added 3 throw pillows that we purchased at the thrift store for $2.90 each, and we bought 2 bed pillows and they cost only $6 total.  Finally we bought a mirrored starburst to go over the bed for $10.  So you might be wondering what does this bedroom look like.  Well see for yourself and you be the judge. For under $100 we staged a bedroom that looks chique and modern and FABULOUS!  Thirfty Staging Everyone!

Coordinating all the colors is what made all of these finds work and it created a very modern and inviting bedroom.  If you live in Northern VA, DC or MD and want us to stage your home please give us a call on 703-269-8330 so that we can help you get your home from for sale to sold in half the time.

I’m driving with style in Virginia.  As a small business I don’t have the luxury of hiring movers, trucks or a large crew. So what do I do? I drive with style! Let me explain, I basically load up my Toyota Highlander with all my staging supplies. That thing gets loaded to the gills. Thank goodness for my packer, my hubby, who knows how to fill every nook and crannie in that Highlander and we always get everthing in. My motto if it doesn’t fit then we will have to do without. So that means choosing my items wisely and then packing them all up in a way that will work.

So what is the point of this post? The point is that just because you are not a big staging company that doesn’t have movers and packers and trucks you can still make it work for you. Don’t let things like this discourage you from not getting out there and staging homes. If you dont have an SUV you can easily rent a truck or van for a day very inexpensively from U-Haul and then make that part of your staging costs – however for me this works great and my hubby knows how to pack an SUV. See for yourself! Happy Staging everyone and drive with style I will be!

As an APSD Property Scene designer we are taught to stage homes in scenes.  However, they just can’t be scenes that you just throw together but they have to mean something and catch a buyers attention, cause them to smile or trigger a memory or an emotion.  So when we create scenes they tell a story.  We created this scene in a kitchen.  The best part about this scene is that it was inexpensive to put together but still instills a feeling of a summer barbecue.  We also had a big barbecue apron hanging on the wall to create the overall effect.  Creating scenes that tell a story is part of my APSD training but it doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.  Enjoy!

A Barbecue Scene

Don’t knock the dollar store! I find some great finds in the dollar store for my home staging scenes. Here is one I found for yes just $1.00. I added this magnet board to the window in a room where I created a scene in front of it on the floor. It was effective, brought attention and made people smile. An effective marketing prop for $1.00 who woulda thought?

This $1 sign made the home memorable!

No home staging warehouse? Create one! That’s exactly what I did. When you first start your home staging business buying accessories will eventually become a must. But where do you put it after you buy it? You have to have somewhere to store it. So what if you don’t want to pay monthly storage fees? Then you do what I did if you have a room in your home or basement. I created my storage unit in one of my unused bedrooms. I bought some plastic shelves from K-Mart when they went on sale for $22 each that had 5 shelves on them. My hubby and I set them up all around the walls of the room and then filled them up with my staging accessories. I realize that I may eventually outgrow this room but for now it is perfect and everything fits in its place.  Above is a pic of me in my storage room it is a bit empty as it was taken during a time I had 6 houses staged on the market.  This was a great solution for me as it kept down on storage rental costs and it provides me a great place to store my items for no money and easy access!