Home staging has never been about placing furniture in a room. It is the art of crafting an irresistible experience that allows buyers to envision themselves living in a space. The more time they spend in the home, the more attached and connected they feel; subsequently, they are more likely to submit an offer.
It wasn’t always like this. Empty houses and cluttered spaces were the norm, and there was no fundamental understanding of the powerful impact of presentation alone. How did this industry evolve into what it is today? Let’s explore the origins of home staging — how it started, why it took off, and how it has transformed into an essential tool in selling homes for top dollar.
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The Status Quo Before Home Staging
Before home staging emerged, real estate marketing relied predominantly on simple listing photos and open houses, with little effort given to quality presentation to maximize the impact of buyer appointments. Most sellers would leave their homes as-is, expecting potential buyers to use their imagination and understand the potential. The general expectation was that your average, run-of-the-mill prospective buyer could moonlight as a contractor, interior designer and maybe even an architect.
Homes were typically sold in their current, lived-in state, even if cluttered, outdated, or with furniture and decor that didn’t appeal to a broad audience. The primary focus was often on the home’s location, square footage and other objective selling points. Creating an emotionally appealing atmosphere for buyers was not a key consideration.
History of Home Staging: Origins and Evolution
Home staging in the United States was popularized in 1972 by real estate agent and designer Barbara Schwarz. In its simplest form, staging was born to strategically enhance a home’s appearance to make it more attractive to potential buyers, resulting in faster sales for higher prices. In response to evolving buyer expectations, staging adapted home presentations and gained momentum as an essential part of the real estate sales and marketing process.
Schwarz was struggling to sell her listings. To improve the appeal of the homes she was trying to sell, she began using design techniques — such as decluttering, rearranging furniture, adding decorative elements and neutralizing overly personal or distinctive features — to make homes look more universally appealing to a broader audience. She found that this approach made homes sell faster and for higher prices, which led her to formalize and popularize the idea.
Schwarz started conducting workshops for real estate agents and home sellers to educate them about staging techniques. Her approach was based on the idea that most buyers need help to imagine the potential of a poorly presented home. To resolve this frequent roadblock, she often brought in professional furniture and accessories to transform a home’s appearance, aiming to highlight its best features while concealing the arguable drawbacks.
Home Staging Grows in Popularity
Schwarz’s success with staging led to increased interest in the practice among other real estate professionals, and by the mid-1980s, home staging had become more widely recognized. Real estate agents, designers and stagers began to adopt staging techniques, transforming homes for sale into appealing and, most commonly, neutral spaces that allowed buyers to imagine themselves living there.
With the rise of real estate portals and websites like Zillow and Realtor.com., staging became increasingly necessary for homes to feel special, with the help of high-quality photos, which further solidified the need for physical staging.
Changes and Evolution of Home Staging
1. Increased professionalism: Home staging became a professional service as it grew in popularity. Staging companies and certified home stagers emerged, and the industry began formalizing with training and certification programs. The Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) was founded in 2007 to provide guidelines and promote the profession.
2. Technology and virtual staging: With the advent of digital photography, the importance of high-quality listing photos became clear. Real estate agents and sellers began to rely more on professional photographers, and staging became more about creating visual impact for photos. Virtual staging — using software to enhance or stage homes digitally — emerged as a cost-effective option. Virtual staging allows homes to appear fully furnished or updated without the need to bring in physical furniture.
3. Shifting to minimalism and neutral designs: Early home staging often involved adding furniture and decor to fill a space. However, as the industry grew, there was a shift toward minimalism and neutral design. Today, the general focus is on creating clean, uncluttered spaces that allow potential buyers to see the home’s potential. Stagers are mindful of color schemes, lighting and space flow to create a calm, inviting atmosphere.
4. Focus on lifestyle: Modern home staging also creates an emotional connection between the buyer and the home. Stagers now incorporate lifestyle elements, such as setting a dining room table for a family meal or creating cozy reading nooks, to help buyers imagine themselves living in the space. Staging has evolved beyond just showcasing the physical space and now emphasizes the emotional experience of “home.”
5. Increased awareness: As the housing market became more competitive, sellers began to accept the need for staging as a more common practice. The 2000s saw a surge in television programs like “Selling New York” and “Property Brothers,” which popularized the idea of staging homes for sale. The media’s attention helped educate the general public about the value of staging in generating higher sale prices and quicker transactions.
How Has Home Staging Improved?
1. More accessible: What was once a niche service for high-end properties has become mainstream for homes at various price points. Virtual staging services make the digital version of this service accessible to a broader range of sellers, even those with limited budgets.
2. Design trends: Staging has evolved alongside evolving interior design trends. In the 1980s and ’90s, the focus might have been on traditional furniture and decor. Today, stagers work with contemporary styles, including minimalist, midcentury modern and industrial looks, to appeal to current tastes. Some even blend elements from various periods and trends to design incredibly unique but relatable rooms that appeal to those searching for something different or unexpected.
3. Room-by-room staging: Early staging might have involved a few key pieces of furniture in the living room, but now staging professionals carefully curate every room in a house, including bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms and even outdoor spaces. Talented home stagers complete projects that make it hard to discern whether the home is staged or possibly the owner’s design.
4. Technology-driven: Virtual tools and online listings have changed how stagers work. High-quality photos, virtual tours and even 3D walkthroughs are now integral parts of the staging process. Virtual staging, where furniture and decor are added digitally, has allowed sellers to present an idealized version of the home at a fraction of the cost of traditional staging.
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Staging as a High-Stakes Art Form
As the need for home staging continues to grow, it’s clear that its impact on real estate isn’t just about selling houses — it’s about transforming them into a representation of lifestyle. Creative designs and furniture configurations inspire the imagination of potential buyers and make them feel the pulse of possibility as they meander from one room to the next.
What began as a simple response to address the negative impact of sadly presented spaces has now become a high-stakes art form that can dictate the successful sale of a home. The tools may have changed, from virtual staging to minimalist or eclectic approaches, but the core of staging has remained the same: It’s about crafting an experience that buyers can’t ignore.
We’ve come a long way from empty rooms and scattered furniture, and with technology continuing to drive innovation, who knows what the next frontier of staging will look like? One thing’s certain: If you want to sell a home in today’s market, staging isn’t optional — it’s essential. And those who embrace it are already ahead of the game.
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The History of Home Staging originally appeared on usnews.com
