Many real estate professionals are reeling after the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) agreed to change several policies in a lawsuit settlement. As a home stager, you may wonder if there will be any effects on your own business. Stagers need to stay up-to-date on hot topics like this, so we can understand our clients' challenges. Important: Don’t Be Part of the Lower Commissions Narrative. Many headlines talk about "slashing agent commissions" or "the end of the 6% commission," but those are not an official part of the settlement – just some of the potential consequences. While commissi ..read more

Home staging can be a superpower for real estate agents who want to become top producers in their market. Beyond merely decorating a space, home staging creates an emotional connection that carries the target buyer to the closing table. Let's dive into why home staging is such a game-changer for agents. 1. First Impressions Matter In real estate, first impressions make or break a deal. When potential buyers step into a well-staged home, they enter a curated atmosphere that encourages them to imagine living in the space. On the other hand, if they have a bad impression within those crucial firs ..read more

  For Massachusetts home stager Jennifer Lemaire, psychology and home staging go hand-in-hand. To many people, going from pediatric occupational therapy to home design may not seem like a natural transition, but to Jenn, it made perfect sense. Master Home Stagers design listings with the psychology of the buyer in mind. In fact, at Staging Studio, we teach that home staging is part decorating, part marketing, and part psychology. “That’s something I really liked about the Staging Studio Design Professional® course," Jenn said. “They really do talk a lot about the psychology of the buyers ..read more

The 2024 Colors of the Year have been announced and while the new hues are not all the same, they are being described with the same phrases: “sanctuary, softness, healing, and calm.” While last years colors were all warmer, the 2024 colors are creating a bridge between warm and cool tones. As a Master Color Consultant®, it is important to stay up on paint trends so that you can suggest the freshest looks to your clients. Trends are important to all aspects of interior design. When purchasing inventory for your home staging business, you want to be careful to not buy foundational pieces&nb ..read more

Marketing to home sellers and their agents has long been the strategy for home stagers, but there is another group that needs staging services: home builders. Home stagers that expand their clientele to include home builders enjoy greater diversification and increased profit potential. From landing builder clients to the design process, model homes can feel like a different ball game from typical home staging. Although all of the skills and staging design principles that you've learned as a Staging Design Professional™ still apply to staging model homes, there are some key differences to keep ..read more

As a Short-Term Rental Stylist™, you may be concerned about the impact of new and proposed regulations on Airbnbs. We get it. We have witnessed it first hand in our own Airbnb design business. Some local municipalities that we serve have begun to place tighter restrictions on STR hosts. (Read on – we are sharing the disaster story of one of our clients that got caught not being aware of an HOA ban on Airbnbs.) Because of these local Airbnb laws, we have had to get creative about how we market our STR design services. In this blog, we will share what we have done to ensure that our design busin ..read more

As a real estate agent or homeowner, you may be tempted to overlook the home’s entry (entrance hall or foyer) and focus instead on staging larger spaces like the living room or primary suite. However, professionally trained home stagers understand that buyers form an opinion of the home in the first 15 seconds – and the entry is the first space they see. This initial assessment colors the buyer's opinion of the whole home and frames their interpretation of whatever comes next. The home's first impression is so strong that – good or bad – it is very difficult to change, even if the re ..read more

Your job as a home stager is to make every listing look updated and appealing to today's buyer. Sometimes that means you might need to suggest a fresh coat of paint. To confidently select updated paint colors, it's important to be aware of the latest paint trends. Your paint suggestions will elevate the listing’s perceived value and net the sellers the highest profit. The right color scheme can make a world of difference and set the tone for any room. Note: We use Sherwin-Williams colors in this blog and in our own color consulting business, but any color can be color matched with another ..read more

Home staging is the perfect career for someone who loves home decor and has an eye for design! And the best part is: you don’t have to invest in any furniture to be a successful stager! We hear from so many home decor lovers who really want to start making money doing what they are passionate about, but the idea of starting a staging business is daunting. Mostly because they are worried about: 1) how long it will take to get trained in design and the staging business and 2) how much money it will cost. If that sounds like you, we’ve got great news! First off, it only takes 15 hours to get your ..read more

RESACON is one of our favorite times of the year. It's a chance to connect with other leaders in the industry, share inspiration with one another, and celebrate our amazing staging students who win the Real Estate Staging Association's Home Staging Industry Awards™. Our students are known to make a name for themselves after they finish their training – and many are award winners each year. The RESA 2022 award finalists included a number of Staging Studio community members among the ranks. We're so proud of all of them! Here are the award finalists who are Staging Studio students ..read more