Sep 19, 2022

Home Staging to Reality: Design Tips For Show vs. Real Life

Home Design Tips for Staging vs. Real Life

We have to admit we're wowed when we see top tier home stagers create a magical home out of blank slate. They try to appeal to a broad style of tastes, but more importantly they try to make the house look as large, impresseive and luxurious as possible. While we all wish we could love in a model home sometimes life gets in the way of having our dream home vs. reality. Enter kids, family, entertaining guests, storage needs and more! We asked Sammy van Blommestein of Boxwood Home Staging, a mother daughter duo out of Washington D.C., to share some expert design advice and break down some key differeneces between tips that are appropriate for staging that may not be so practical when it comes to reality. Here is what she had to say!

"We sometimes call home staging a truly minimalistic form of interior design, where less is truly more!"

Many people strive for this fresh minimalistic look in their everyday real life design but can't always commit as it seems too daunting or too high maintenence to pull off on their own. That's where we come in! Showing them a realistic and livable design is key. A lot of the time buyers of our staged homes want to buy the staging furniture - while we may have a more minimalist style we don’t just place down essential furniture pieces but curate a look that evokes a lifestyle that is very attainable for everyday living. While some of our design tricks are to maximize the visual space of the home, here are our key tips and how you can make the livable for real life vs. staging.

NEUTRALS

Staging

Great for show and real life! You can never go wrong with sticking with neutral colored furniture - it is timeless.

Real Life

Where for show we may stick with an entire neutral palette, this could be the base for real life design but with color added in accessories. Think fun pillows, a throw, accessories. Adding in color makes a home feel more homey and lived in.

BONUS TIP: Buy Performance Fabrics when going all neutral if you have kids or dogs.

STAGING

REAL LIFE

DINING ROOM

Staging

99% of the time we DON'T use a rug in the dining room to makes the room look larger.

Real Life

Use a rug under your dining table to add warmth!

BONUS TIP: In an open floor plan a rug helps define a space for the dining area.

STAGING

REAL LIFE

VERSATILITY

Staging

When you’re staging a home you are presenting buyers with a idea of what their home could be - not necessarily how they might actually live. In this regard each room for staging is set up for one purpose.

Real Life

In real life you may use a secondary bedroom as a guest bedroom/office so finding pieces that are versatile like a sofa bed is a great idea!

STAGING

REAL LIFE

MIRRORS

Staging

We use a lot of mirrors in home staging to reflect light and add more depth to rooms. This is key to make a room feel larger, more open and expansive. They're also great to reflect a beautiful view.

Real Life

This concept can also be applied in real life but rather than focusing on adding light & depth, use mirrors as an art install and added interest vs. the main focal point of a room.

STAGING

REAL LIFE

BOOK SHELVES

Staging & Real Life

BIGGEST SHOW vs. Real Life - BOOK SHELVES— everyone loves a curated styled bookshelves but is that practical in real life? For this we believe there is a halfway meeting point - you can still style your 1,000’s of books in your library, just be creative on how they are displayed. Remove paper covers for a more cohesive look, sort by color, orient books in different directions, and add decorative accessories in-between to add dimension!

BONUT TIP: Remember you do NOT need to fill every-bookshelf with something! Leave some empty for a more designer look. Leaving negative space is key and is crucial to the overall design.