A common question I’m asked is “What if a client ignores my home staging advice?”
As a home stager, all you can do is give your clients your best advice and clearly explain the reasons behind your recommendations. After that, it’s really up to them to decide what they will take action on and what they will ignore.
I always make a point of prioritizing all my recommendations at the end of a home staging consultation because few clients will have time to get to everything. I’m very honest about what goes on the “must do,” “really should do,” and “nice to do if you still have time” lists!
After staging homes for close to 8 years, I’ve learned the hard way that it’s important not to take the end result too personally because it’s your client’s home and ultimately they will live with the consequences of their decisions.
One of the things I especially love about home staging is that because my clients don’t have to live with the changes I make for very long, they are far more likely to go along with my creative ideas than if I was their decorator trying to redesign the space they are living in.
This is especially true when it comes to choosing colors for home staging.
When I do a color consultation for a client who is not moving, it can easily take me two hours to come up with a palette for their home. First, I need to get a clear sense of what colors appeal to the key family members, the kind of mood they want in each room, any ideas they may already have, etc.
On the other hand, if I’m choosing paint colors as part of a home staging consultation, I generally spend about 20 to 30 minutes to complete a color palette for a three- or four-bedroom home, and perhaps an extra 15 minutes if I’m also picking colors for the exterior.
One of the reasons I can do it so quickly is that I already have a number of colors that I use repeatedly because I know how they work in different situations and I already know that they go together and create a pleasing flow from one room to the next. I’ve identified all 80 of these home staging colors in the Staging Diva Ultimate Color Guide: the easy way to pick colors for home staging projects.
But what do you do with a house-proud and color-crazy home seller when you know their bold choices will scare away home buyers?
After staging homes for close to 8 years, I’ve learned the hard way that it’s important not to take the end result too personally because it’s your client’s home and ultimately they will live with the consequences of their decisions.
One of the things I especially love about home staging is that because my clients don’t have to live with the changes I make for very long, they are far more likely to go along with my creative ideas than if I was their decorator trying to redesign the space they are living in.
This is especially true when it comes to choosing colors for home staging.
When I do a color consultation for a client who is not moving, it can easily take me two hours to come up with a palette for their home. First, I need to get a clear sense of what colors appeal to the key family members, the kind of mood they want in each room, any ideas they may already have, etc.
On the other hand, if I’m choosing paint colors as part of a home staging consultation, I generally spend about 20 to 30 minutes to complete a color palette for a three- or four-bedroom home, and perhaps an extra 15 minutes if I’m also picking colors for the exterior.
One of the reasons I can do it so quickly is that I already have a number of colors that I use repeatedly because I know how they work in different situations and I already know that they go together and create a pleasing flow from one room to the next. I’ve identified all 80 of these home staging colors in the Staging Diva Ultimate Color Guide: the easy way to pick colors for home staging projects.