Staging Smart: Tips For Staging Large Pieces

Hi, guys! In case you are just tuning in, we are in the midst of a mini series on staging refinished furniture for the purpose of selling! The furniture refinishing community is growing by the day and our desire here at StyleMutt is to bring folks together to share helpful information! We began last week with talking about why staging is so necessary, then we followed up with some specifics. Here are our techniques for staging smaller pieces, and tips for staging in limited space. Moving right along, we're tackling the bigger beasts today - your china cabinets, dressers, buffets, credenzas - the pieces you're going to put a higher price tag on.

We actually LOVE to stage larger pieces! It's a lot of fun to settle big guys in and dress em' up. We'll use everything from plants, lamps, books and candles, to large over-sized pieces of art. While you don't want your piece to get lost in a mix of 'things', it's also okay to put your own twist on it! When you stage a piece with your own style and personality, that energy and enthusiasm translates. So try a few things, step back, and if you like it, snap away! If not, keep playing until you're satisfied. 

Here are a few examples of our own pieces staged and as-seen in our ads on Craigslist:

1. This mid-century modern cabinet was an experiment for me in a new painting technique - denim! While I was thrilled with the effect and end result, I thought it best to keep the staging relatively neutral. I didn't introduce any new colors or textures, but rather complimented the denim treatment with low-key, natural accents. 

2. This hollywood regency style dresser which Cate refinished was the perfect piece to glam up, and Cate totally ran with it! A piece with a lot of punch needs to be styled appropriately. Neutral accents would have been confusing with this high-style piece. The bold hues were on point and reflected Cate's style and intention for this piece exactly.

3. This herringbone dresser was well suited for my dining room accent wall. It's not always necessary to stage with a crisp white background, and I think neutral pieces allow for a bit of freedom with their surroundings.

4. This completely transformed cabinet that Cate did was a great example of adding a little architectural interest to an otherwise simply shaped piece. The mix of metallics and overlapping heights across the top surface all worked to boost the character and appeal of this beautiful piece. If you have open interior storage, show it off as she did here with the basket of blankets.

5. This mid-century modern china cabinet was a beautiful opportunity to show off the versatility of a piece. I staged it both as a traditional china cabinet, as well as a bookcase for a living room or study. China cabinets are hot commodities as they're being seen more and more outside of the formal dining room. They're showing up in bedrooms and hallways to store fresh linens, I've seen them converted to media cabinets with a TV stuck inside - there are so many more possibilities for these pieces now! Help potential buyers to see the versatility in a piece by staging it more than one way. 

As you can see, there's a huge variety to how we style, but there is consistency in that all pieces are brought to life. Don't be afraid to add some real life and energy to your staged pictures; seeing a piece in context just gives it that much more character.

It definitely takes effort and sometimes even help to stage these larger pieces, but remember, if you think your piece is worth $X, it's crucial to make it look worth $X with decent pictures. So much of selling refinished furniture happens online, so pictures are the first glimpse a potential buyer will see of your piece. Make them count!

I hope this information has been helpful for you! Are there any other topics regarding furniture refinishing that you'd like us to discuss? Any questions? We're here to help and encourage, so let us know!

Thank you all for stopping by!  Have a splendid weekend!

Staging Smart: Tips For Staging in Small Places

GORGEOUS Photo Cred: Jillian Michelle Photography

Caleb and I hit our first wedding anniversary this weekend!  Can I get a woot woot?!   I'd heard that the first year of marriage is supposed to be the hardest, but I think because I made Caleb patiently date me for so long {4 years to be exact} we covered a lot of the hard topics pre-rings.  This last year, I mainly just had to overcome adjusting to my first boy roommate and how to feed a man who's taste buds are more like an 8 year old boy's {love youeeee}.  Here's to year two!

Now that we're officially not newlyweds, Caleb and I are also approaching the anniversary of moving into our apartment.  This means that for a whole year Caleb and I have been carrying furniture up 3 flights of apartment stairs and rearranging our apartment like a sliding tile puzzle just to flip, stage, sell, and repeat again.

Last week Chelsea kicked off our series on staging.  I'm gonna go ahead and nick-name the series Staging Smart so if you are just checking in {why hello there and welcome!} be sure to check it out.  So in the hopes that I am not the only one in a tiny-apartment-furniture-flipping situation, I'm following Chelsea up with some tips about how I stage-to-sell in a small space.

Besides being only 863 sq.ft., our apartment comes with some additional challenges:

1} Our apartment doesn't get the best natural light for photos
2} Our open-concept with a loft means I do not have a lot of blank walls to stage/ play with
3} I am NOT a minimalist... I am a collectionist {ergo I have a lot of stuff to move and stage around}

Figuring out how to stage around these hurdles came through a lot of trial and error.  My staging journey began with my first piece for sale: the tufted mid-century modern bench.  I was so excited to show off my first piece, that I kicked Caleb out and hurried to clean the entire apartment before the tiny window of decent light hit our skylights like the fleeting sunbeam on treasure map in Raiders of the Lost Ark.  

©1981 Paramount Pictures. 

But when I staged it as the coffee table in our living room, the piece was definitely getting lost in the busy background of our apartment:

After moving it around multiple times, I began to get discouraged that none of pics were showcasing the piece.  I eventually gave up and I brought it over to Chelsea's to borrow her great staging wall:

After seeing how the bench popped against a plain background, I was determined to find an alternative way to photograph pieces without schlepping them to Chelsea's every time.  So next I tried staging outside:

But I was dealing with carrying pieces up-and-down 3 flights of stairs {more than I already am}, harsh direct sunlight, un-groomed grass {not to mention some rogue piles of dog poop...}, and quizzical looks from neighbors.  So I turned to our balcony in hopes of finding a relatively easy solution to a simple staging backdrop: curtains.

Utilizing our porch curtains was a HUGE step in the right direction.  The trick with staging on the porch was that sometimes the sunlight would back-light my pieces:

The good news is with a little a photo editing, you can actually use that to your advantage.  All I had to do was increase the brightness, mid-tone, and add a pinch of contrast:

If you have the momentum to wiggle a big piece into your staging-spot, then you better take advantage of the trouble you went through to set up.  Chelsea touched on staging multiple ways to show a piece's versatility, but I find it is also helpful to stage them to show a piece's personality:

Cool & Classy?

Or Colorful & Contemporary?

Both incorporate many of the same elements: geometric lamp, starburst mirror, moss ball, and books. But I chose to use the photo sesh I though brought more life to the piece to market to buyers.

With the smaller pieces, it is a little easier to find places for them inside.  But if you are going to stage a piece in a complete room and not with a blank backdrop, try to find a way to easily transform your space to best highlight it.  The trick is using what you have in new ways.  These tables were staged in the same spot but with subtle differences.  Can you spot them?  

Answer: curtain behind headboard, bedding, overall color schemes, rug, hat, and table top decor.

When staging these pieces, I tried to think like their potential buyers: the gold and mirrored accent table felt like it would attract a glamour-loving easy-breezy girl.  The x-base campaign table felt more masculine and classic.  Interestingly enough, the mirrored accent table sold to a cute twenty-something co-ed and the campaign table to a guy who's girlfriend was helping him style his first place.

Ok let's re-cap the takeaways for staging in small spaces:

1} If you don't have a simple backdrop that allows your piece to "pop," try making one
2} Take advantage of your piece once it's in place and style it for multiple photo shoots
3} Decorate around your piece to enhance it's unique personality 
4} Think about what kind of buyer(s) your piece might attract when styling your piece

Hope this helps all you small-space-stagers out there!  If you have any tips of your own, we'd love to hear them!

Staging Smart: Tips For Staging Small Pieces

Hello, friends! Following up my earlier post this week on the importance of staging refinished furniture, (for the purpose of selling), I thought it might be fun to talk about staging different pieces. Today I'll cover smaller pieces like end tables and accent chairs, and next week we'll discuss the larger beasts.

For whatever reason, I find it more difficult to stage a smaller piece. I love playing with the surface and surrounding of a large dresser or china cabinet, but when all I have is a small footprint to work with, I tend to scratch my head staring at it. I don't really have a specific 'formula' to share, but I've learned that it's okay to stage smaller pieces a bit 'abstractly'. It's not likely that anyone would place a little table floating rogue on the open floor, but it's okay to stage it that way!

It's also okay to settle these small pieces in and sprinkle a little 'life' around them. Some of my go-to accessories for small tables include an open book or neat stack of books, fresh flowers, succulents, and pretty candles. We don't use all of these at once, but it's fun to play with one or two, step back, and see what looks the most natural.

Accent chairs are also one of those pieces that can be a little tricky to stage photos. Accent chairs are just that - accents to a whole, finished room. Taking a picture of one by itself just feels a little bit awkward. Just like with small tables,  it's okay to keep it simple but still bring a bit of energy to your shots. Go ahead and get artistic with your shots. Play with angles, with lighting, with accessories. The top right photo below was a really different kind of shot for me. I had just refinished this antique chair that was passed down from my husbands grandparents. I refinished it in a soft color but wanted to stage it with a bit more life to show it's versatility - that even pale painted antiques can be edgy. :)

Do you have any small piece staging tips that you could share? If you've got photos we'd  love to see! Share either on our Facebook wall or Instagram, using the tag #stylemuttrefinishes. Next week we'll be back with more staging fun!

Have an awesome weekend and thank you for stopping by!