I didn’t want a studio apartment. I wanted a one-bedroom, but I was in my 20s, and it was out of my price range.
“Come see the studio,” the agent said. “When you’re in it, you’ll see how the space can work for you.”
He was right. The staged studio showed me how the space could really work like a one-bedroom, with a sheer linen curtain hung from the ceiling to separate the sleeping area and a TV forming a right angle to suggest a second room. I got the studio, happily, and asked where the curtains and furniture came from so I could replicate it.
It was all the work of a professional stager, of course.
This is what professional stagers do: create a vision and lifestyle so the buyer can see themselves living in a home. Staging can make or break a home sale — and help it sell in less time and for more money. Staging tips can also be used as expert interior home design advice for the home you’re already living in.
We spoke to two top stagers in Seattle, each of whom has more than 20 years of expertise in the industry, about their best practices and the impact of staging on selling and designing a home.
Staging to tell a story
Shirin Sarikhani, founder and CEO of Seattle Staged To Sell & Design, says every home has its own voice. When she does a walk-through of a home, she zeros in on this voice quickly, to identify the targeted buyer and design a lifestyle for them. Staging tells the story of that lifestyle, she says.
“Staging for us is never about furniture or putting a sofa or chair here,” Sarikhani says. “Homes are not selling because of that … The biggest compliment that we get is when buyers and agents say they love the home and they don’t know why.”
Jon Rosichelli, owner and founder of RD Interiors in Seattle and a past president of the Real Estate Staging Association, always tells his clients that the only thing they can control as a seller is price and presentation. “After that, it is what the market will bear based on what efforts the sellers have done to prepare the home for market.”
The stager’s role is to merchandise the home for aspirational living. “If we do our job well, we make the home feel like it’s better than the one they’re looking to move out of,” Rosichelli says.
Stagers also look for hidden opportunities to market the home, such as re-envisioning unused spaces to add value. Rosichelli says homeowners can be emotionally attached to the way the house has always been, while stagers look at it as a marketing opportunity to show what it can be.
Twenty years ago, the idea may have been to make a home look generic to appeal to a mass market. But creating spaces people can visualize themselves in is key, and you can’t do that for mass market, Sarikhani says.
A luxury view home is different from a small condo or a Craftsman in Queen Anne, for example. “This is why we never believe in one look or one approach and stage every home uniquely from scratch,” she says.
Don’t overlook the basement
People don’t think about the basement beyond laundry or storing Christmas ornaments, Rosichelli says. He stages unfinished basements into children’s play spaces, creative artist’s studios, music rooms and workout spaces. He turned a basement into a full-blown two-bedroom apartment with a king-size bed and six-top table, adding nearly 900 square feet of living space. Re-imagined basements can have a huge impact on the perceived value of a home and its sale.
In 2023, Michele Conner was preparing her Green Lake home for sale and said Sarikhani didn’t need to see the basement. “It’s unfinished and doesn’t need staging,” Conner told her. Sarikhani asked to see it anyway and saw the potential. She asked Conner to spray paint everything white and add a sheer curtain to suggest a wall. She staged the basement into an entire separate living space with sleeping, dining and living areas.
Conner loved it. “The vibe she captured made the downstairs into this funky, fun space,” she says. “It was truly unexpected and delightful.”
The house sold for $100,000 more than the asking price, at a slow time in the market. The family that bought it was blown away by the basement because they could see the potential and understand what needed to be done. Conner’s neighbors saw it and hired Sarikhani to design their basement.
“Sometimes, people have a hard time visualizing what’s possible,” Conner says. “I would not hesitate to stage a home every time I sell one. You close a lot earlier.”
Staging tips for interior design
Pro staging tips can improve the design and livability of the home you’re already in. Sarikhani and Rosichelli shared some of their best practices.
Edit and eliminate clutter. People like staged homes because they are clutter-free. Make sure everything that’s there has a function and that you love it. And choose a focus. “If someone has a collection, such as art, then the rest of the home needs to be simple and quiet,” Sarikhani says, so the pieces can stand out.
Keep palettes simple and minimal. Start with black and white or cream and brown, then bring in texture and a little metallic shine.
Let it flow. You want a cohesive look, with one corner speaking to the next. Carry a color theme consistently through a home to create a unified aesthetic, such as a navy-blue accent wall and shades of blue throughout the home in a bathroom vase, bedroom pillows or an accent rug in the kids’ room. People respond to this kind of calming visualization.
Maximize the scale of furnishings. Rosichelli says there should be no small furniture in a small room. Larger-scale furniture is more impactful and maximizes the livability. He tries to get a three-seater sofa in the living room and a pair of side chairs and coffee table.
Be clever with storage. Utilize organizing alternatives, like a trunk coffee table that doubles as storage, to increase the volume of space that’s available.
Mix high- and low-end items, like a high-quality couch paired with an affordable rug. Spend money on the furniture you use and touch every day.
Buy secondhand. “Antique stores and consignment shops are a treasure trove of very affordable items,” Rosichelli says, where you can develop your own design point of view. He mixes vintage and found objects in his staging projects for a unique aesthetic.
Lighting is everything, says Sarikhani. Use mood lighting, up lights and accent lights. Avoid dark corners.
Hire an interior designer. You can save a lot of time and money, Rosichelli says, by hiring a designer — even for just an hour or two — to give you a road map. They can help you find your voice, coach you on where to spend the money and start building a foundation with your furnishings, even if you can’t yet afford all the things you want.
Keep up with home maintenance. Sellers usually go through a lot of expense to change carpets, re-sand floors, paint and spruce up the garden before putting a home on the market. They should do this for themselves, too, Sarikhani says. A can of paint will go a long way to freshen up spaces.