REAL ESTATE  - Staged to sell

House stuck on market gets rearranging, lots of props

By DEB ACORD THE GAZETTE



Let’s get this straight. Sherri Little’s home was not a decorating disaster before Lucy Butcher arrived.

An airy, sun-filled, two-story ranch, the house in the Jackson Creek neighborhood south of Monument was spotless and uncluttered, with ivory carpet, white walls and sand-colored tile countertops. In the three years Little lived here with her husband, Brian, and their two daughters, she decorated with restraint — a spray of silk flowers here, a much-loved painting there, greenery in the corners.

But the Littles have started building a new home in Black Forest, and their Jackson Creek house wasn’t selling as fast as they had hoped.

Enter Butcher. A veteran interior decorator and owner of Presentation Is Everything, she’s a master home stager — equal parts decorator, magician, set designer and organizer who works hand-in-hand with real estate agents and sellers to make sure a home looks its best.

The real estate market is increasingly competitive, and the growing home-staging profession is growing along with it. Stage your house, stagers say, and you’ll have an edge on the market.

Butcher lives the philosophy. She’s a bubbly woman who is excited about her job and the results she gets. When a real estate agent or homeowner hires Butcher, she sets up a consultation, tours the home and designs a plan. The house must be spotless and clutter-free before she starts, and once she works her magic, the homeowner has to agree to leave things exactly as Butcher has arranged them. If the homeowner can’t provide the necessary accoutrements, Butcher can: She’s amassed an inventory of furniture and accessories and will rent a homeowner anything she thinks will complete the transformation.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Moments after Butcher opens the door of the Little home to visitors, she begins describing her vision. The 3,900-square-foot house has an open floor plan with the living room just inside the front door. But the Littles have left this room nearly empty, with just a studio piano pushed against a wall and a table across from it.

“Home staging is all about first impressions,” Butcher says with a sweep of her arm. “This is the living room, and it should really be presented that way.”

So Butcher makes plans to bring in a sofa and some large, dramatic accessories, move the piano to a study, and brighten the carpet with an area rug.

The rest of the home also could use a good rearranging and redecorating, Butcher says. Some of the family’s things will remain. Others will be moved from one room to another. Still others will be packed up and taken to a storage facility.

The objective of staging a home is simple, Butcher says. “We try to maximize potential and minimize distraction.”

The results are wellmented, according to Barb Schwarz, founder and CEO of Stagedhomes.com and self-pro- claimed creator of the home staging concept.

Schwarz started the Accredited Home Staging Professionals program, which Butcher attended. More than 4,000 people throughout the world have been accredited through her program by attending classes or completing an online curriculum. Nearly 100 of them took the master class, including Butcher (who also studied with others.)

Schwarz had been an interior designer turned real estate agent in Bellevue, Wash., in the 1970s when she came up with the idea of a home for sale as theater. “I was the director, the homeowner was the producer,” she says. “We would go in and set the stage just like we would in the theater.”

The idea caught on and made Schwarz a success. Today, home staging is a popular tool for real estate agents; it’s even the subject of a show on HGTV called “Designed to Sell.”

“Today, 90 percent of the homes sold in the San Francisco area are staged,” says Schwarz, who has offices in Washington and the San Francisco area. “And homes staged sell for 25 percent more on average than those that aren’t.”

Schwarz says staging can make a big difference in the time a home is on the market.

“An average home in this country sells in 30 to 45 days. A staged home will sell in six to seven days.”

But staging doesn’t happen quickly. Butcher had already visited the Littles’ house three times with their real estate agent, taking pictures and talking with the homeowners about their role.

“The house must be spotlessly clean before we start,” she says. “And after we stage a home, it has to stay that way until it sells.”

That won’t be a problem at the Little house, Brian Little says.

“Without sounding overly dramatic, it’s a whole different house since Lucy was there. The living room, especially, took me by surprise.”

Little says he was impressed “by how much was gained just by adding accessories.”

Butcher says many homeowners react that way to her work. “After they see what I do and why I did it, they actually want to keep it that way.”

KEEP CLUTTER OUT

Butcher’s method is part organizing and part rearranging, but it all starts with cleaning up clutter.
“People have so much stuff. If you want your house to look its best, you have to get rid of the clutter,” she says.

Butcher thinks her method of creating a show-home feel works on an almost subliminal level.

“People form an impression of a home the moment they pull up in the driveway,” she says.

“And inside the house, things like lighting and clean walls and the way the rooms flow from one into another can also make a difference.”

So far, the Little home, priced at $375,000, hasn’t sold, but their real estate agent, Diane Forbes of The Platinum Group, points out that even the most attractive homes can be on the market for awhile.

And, she says, people who have seen the home since the staging all have had positive things to say.

Butcher’s work, she says, is “the icing on the cake.”

 “She gives a home a sense of style and a little pizazz,” Forbes says. “This home looks lovely now and that should make a difference.”

HOME STAGING 101

 Home stagers charge by the hour for their services; price varies. For more information on home staging, visit www.staged homes.com.   The Web site includes a searchable listing of accredited staging professionals (five are listed for Colorado Springs), home staging tips and before-and-after photographs.

Lucy Butcher’s Web site is www.presentationiseverything.net 

The 7 Cs of Staging, according to Barb Schwarz, president and CEO of www.stagedhomes.com  and creator of the home staging concept:

1. Clean. A home that’s for sale should be “Q-Tip clean. Every corner, every baseboard, every inch should be clean. You should be able to eat off the bathroom floor.”

2. Clutter-free. “America is cluttered to pieces, and clutter eats equity. Pack up your house so you can sell the space.”

3. Color. Go neutral on the walls and choose brighter accent colors on pillows and accessories.

4. Compromise. Decide what to fix and what to leave. “You may have a beat-up kitchen floor and a bathroom that’s done in pink tile. Take up the floor and put in a new one. But in the bathroom, leave the pink tile, add black towels and you’ve got a retro look.”

5. Creativity. Use what you have, and display big accessories instead of a bunch of little things.

6. Communication. “We teach Realtors and stagers to honor the owner’s possessions. We tell them that their home is where their heart is, but when the possessions are gone, it becomes a house, which becomes a product.”

7. Commitment. All parties in a home sale must be committed. “And they must work in the right order. Marketing can’t start until the house is ready.”

These tips for staging can help whip your home into shape, even if you aren’t planning on moving.

1. De-clutter. Keep decorative objects restricted to groups of 1, 3, or 5 items.

2. Clear off the kitchen countertop. If you haven’t used it for three months, put it away.

3. Take down the refrigerator door gallery.

4. Clear off the bathroom countertop, tub shelves and commode top. 5. Coordinate your towels and put out clean ones in just two colors. 6. Thin out some of your furniture. 7. Take down or rearrange pictures; patch and paint. 8. Repaint rooms that need it. 9. Clean carpets, drapes and windows. 10. Leave on lights and open windows.

Outside: 1. Pick up around your house — put away garbage cans and dispose of garbage, wood scraps, etc. 2. Clean gutters. 3. Prune your bushes and trees. 4. Cut your lawn. 5. Remove dead plants or shrubs. 6. Clear patios and decks of small items — planters, flower pots, charcoal, grills, toys. 7. Check paint on the exterior, especially the front door and trim.

    SOURCE: Stagedhomes.com 

    TIPS AND

    TRICKS

    Among Lucy Butcher’s homestaging tricks:

c Clear kitchen cabinets of all dishes except the ones you use regularly. “It makes it look like you have more storage space than you need,” Butcher says.

Likewise, clean out the closet, leaving it partially empty. Replace wire hangers with wood or cloth and organize your clothes according to length and color. -

Clear kitchen counters of appliances and knickknacks. You can leave a coffee maker, but everything else should be put away. - Clean your  refrigerator and stove. The more places prospective buyers can see that are clean, the more it will add to their impression that the house is well-kept. - Take down family pictures. “Otherwise, people will look at the pictures instead of the house.” - Angle furniture in a room. “You can create more interest that way than if you push everything against a wall. You want to create angles that will draw people through a room.” - Use area rugs to add color to rooms with carpet or large expanses of floor, but take away throw rugs in the kitchen and bath. - Make sure all the light bulbs are clean and in working order, then turn on all the lights and open the drapes or blinds. “The more light in a home, the bigger it appears,” Butcher says. - Take down random greenery or knickknacks and make a few arrangements in strategic places. - Clear off the tops of coffee tables and end tables. - Vacuum  and dust daily, and don’t forget to clean ceiling fans, blinds and tops of cabinets.


PHOTOS BY PRICE CHAMBERS, THE GAZETTE - After (above): Home stager Lucy Butcher rearranged the furniture, angling it toward the center of the room. She also took down greenery, rearranged accessories and added a bright area rug and table.



FAMILY ROOM Before (right): Furniture was placed randomly around the edges of Sherri Little’s family room.



Lucy Butcher has been staging homes for two and a half years, helping people to sell them.



After (above): Butcher moved the piano to a study, then brought in the sofa, accessories and area rug. She moved tables in from other rooms to create this cozy living room.



LIVING ROOM Before (left): The living room looked empty, with just a table and chairs and a piano on the other side.



After (above): Butcher rearranged the chairs, took down some wall decorations, turned on the lights and opened the shades to make the room seem larger.



DINING ROOM Before (right): The dining room was filled with large oak furniture.