This weekend I went to a listing appointment with a very nice couple. They wanted me to give them pre-listing ideas before we put their house on the market in Feb. They walked me through the home and it was very decorated to their liking. THEN we walked into the spare bedroom and I felt like I walked into Hogwarts.
I have to admit it was REALLY cool how they had some very specific details from a motion picture frame moving in a loop, to floating candles, and of course a nimbus 2000 sat in the corner. Yeah I have a dork side….Don’t even get me started on Star Wars.
I asked them what they planned to do with the room and they said NOTHING. They proceeded to tell me about a show they saw on HGTV (nothing says expert like a cable show). According to the host having a room like this sets your property apart. While that premise I can agree with lets chat about why this is a bad idea.
TV’s goal is to entertain, so some wild ideas and shows make their way to our homes. Just the other night my wife showed me a show where Snoop Dog and Martha Stewart were having a fried chicken cook off. I looked at the ratings for the show and sure enough they were respectable. Does that mean it will work out here in the real world? Sure for Snoop and Martha, but for the rest of us lets take a step back.
1.) Do you want buyers to feel like they are walking through your home or walking through their home?
2.) Has everyone seen Harry Potter and can appreciate the details? Want those details in their home?
3.) Does this distract from the rest of the house? Yes it sets it apart but in a good way?
How about we step back out of the TV and look at how we should stage the property for maximum exposure to the marketplace? My second best Podcast ever was when I interviewed a professional Stager From Dallas Texas. She had a saying “Staging To Sell Is Different From Staging To Dwell.” She was also very adamant that “Staging is NOT Decorating”
Below is a clip from the show, and then underneath is the full episode.
TO Listen To The Entire Episode CLICK HERE