Most everyone has heard of “staging” a home or apartment when it is put on the market for sale. The reason you’ve heard about it is because it really works! An empty space leaves a lot to the imagination and many people say they just can’t figure out how the furniture would lay out in the space. And an empty space often looks smaller than it actually is. Here’s an example.
GreenRose Fine Homes just placed a NYC condo on the market. Its a studio apartment in a prewar, doorman building in NYC with East River and UN views. It also has a full kitchen and a working fireplace (things not always found in NYC studio apartments). Even so, we decided to stage it to make it easy for a buyer to imagine themselves living there.
Here’s a “before” picture:
An empty space is forlorn and its difficult for a buyer to envision how to furnish the space.
Since this project was in NYC and would have been logistically challenging for us to “truck-in” furniture, etc., we turned to our very good friend, Sid Pinkerton, who d/b/a “MANHATTAN STAGING” is one of the most successful and sought-after “stagers” in the NYC real estate market. I sent Sid a floor plan so he could familiarize himself with the space and then he visited the apartment with us and to firm up his ideas. Then, Sid graciously reviewed his suggestions on staging and we placed the order with the furniture rental company. Sid, a man with amazing style & creative talent also has a wicked sense of humor and is a real professional to work with. He suggested that, in order to save a lot on staging expenses, we should bring in all the art work and “home furnishing & accessories” ourselves to complete the picture. We did so and our project was completed!
By staging the space we were able to create a comfortable living room space and a (queen sized) bedroom space in the large main studio, plus an eat-in kitchen and an office space in the entry alcove. Add the river views, the wood-burning fireplace in a prewar, doorman condo, and it was everything our buyer wanted for her perfect NYC home!
TO SEE ALL OF THE APARTMENT AND HOW WE STAGED IT….
Here’s a video clip link to the finished space:
P.S. The property sold within one week at the full asking price! You gotta know that the staging had a part to play in that success!