By Lola Davis
Decorating is decorating no matter what you call it, right? Well…..not quite. There are many facets and levels of ‘decorating’. Today we’re going to talk about the ways that Home Staging is different than Interior Design. Mainly, it’s all about the purpose - and the purpose alters the structure of the design process. The key is always the client and their needs.
The Purpose of Interior Design, and it’s host of services, is to create a beautiful and harmonious environment that meets the needs of the person(s) using the space. Along with style and color preferences, those needs vary with every project to include things like comfort, function, and privacy issues. Also, the purpose and intent can vary.
In the home, the client is looking for attractive comfort, functionality, organization, and addressing special needs. Most want to reflect their collective and individual styles as well as impress visitors to some degree.
For a business, the reception area may need to impress and relax; conference rooms may need to be more energetic as well as impressive while still handling the occupancy and technology needs; individual offices would need to promote the brand as well as reflect the person that works in the space for appointments, plus meeting the needs of their work styles.
The Purpose of Home Staging is to merchandise a property for the express purpose of attracting qualified prospective buyers by enhancing the positive features and minimizing the deficits of the listing. There is also a dual focus to be considered: Online perception of photos and Physical Interaction when the property is actually visited by the potential buyer. Staging is equally important for all types of homes in order to sell quickly for a higher selling price. One of the many responsibilities of a professional stager is to ensure that the preparation investment of the homeowner and agent creates a return on that investment (ROI). In other words, they make sure the homeowner is not wasting time or money on things that will not benefit the sale.
Note that the staging/merchandising process can be adapted and used for commercial spaces like rentals and office spaces as well. A simple reevaluation of the needs of the business and clients, the purpose, and analysis of the demographic will produce a design plan to merchandise the commercial property accordingly.
What it boils down to is that Interior Designer, Stylist or decorator targets the projects dealing with highly personal preferences of the client(s) for in-home living. The Real Estate Merchandiser (or Home Stager) focuses on adapting properties to appeal to an unknown pool of potential buyers based on statistical demographics.
At Casual Elegance Home Styling™ we provide both Interior Styling and Real Estate Merchandising (Staging) as well as Color Perfect Color Consultations® for the Lubbock area. Let us know what your needs are so you can have the ideal environment for your needs.
Call or text 806-632-4721
CEStyling@CasualEleganceHomeStyling.com