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: Why it's important ||Plus a fresh piece revealed||

Hi All! With each year that I've been refinishing furniture, I learn something big. Early on, it was basic refinishing techniques. Then I started to discover my own style, and began applying technique to a particular look. This past year what I learned had less to do with the process of refinishing a piece of furniture, and more to do with the community of those sharing the same passion. 

Cate and I are still in the process of building StyleMutt and are in no rush to achieve every last one of our hopes and dreams for this small business. It's a brick-by-brick process and we are OK with that. But, the first thing we wanted to accomplish together was defining what StyleMutt would be. We desire for StyleMutt to be a helpful resource to its readers; a welcoming place to find inspiration, tips & tricks, and enjoy being a part of a community with similar interest.

With the furniture refinishing boom growing more popular each year, we see even greater importance in pulling together to share helpful information. Rather than simply share the 'Before + After' photos of newly refinished pieces, we'd like to share new tips and techniques that we're learning as well. There is a lot of information for how to refinish furniture floating around the web, but we'd like to extend our focus to include how to refinish, market and sell your furniture, if that is what you desire to do. With so many talented creatives refinishing and selling furniture, it can be difficult to make your work stand out and move your inventory at a comfortable pace. We have by no means perfected how to market and sell our pieces, but together we have sold around 225 pieces over our combined 7 years of experience, and have learned a few significant things that we feel help our pieces move.

To begin, we'll be using a few posts to discuss staging, starting today!

One of the most important things you can do for a piece you've put time and work into is show. it. off. Bring it inside wherever you feel you have the best lighting, and create a beautiful scene around it. Careful not to let the piece get 'lost', but don't be afraid to add a lamp, a stack of books, a vase of pretty flowers - simple items that help show your piece in context. I specifically like to show versatility with pieces I refinish. A dresser can serve as an entryway catchall, or a dining room buffet. A console table can function as a desk. Try staging your piece a couple different ways to show potential buyers that your piece would be a multi-purpose investment for their home. 

Here is an example of a piece hot out of the garage and currently available for sale, that I staged two very different ways:

This mid-century modern china cabinet could serve as a library in a study or living room, or as a traditional dining room storage piece. Help potential buyers to see value in versatility. Don't you? I know for me personally, I'd rather put my money into something that I could move around and use differently someday, rather than something that's going to be a one-trick pony forever. Take photos in both settings and share both when you post your piece to sell! 

Here is the mid-century cabinet in my living room:

And in the dining room:

And don't forget the close-ups so folks can see the details that give your piece additional character!

It's can be difficult to imagine how a piece of furniture might look in your home or where you'd place it, especially if you're only looking at pictures of a piece in someone's garage or sitting on their driveway. Make it easy for people looking at pictures of your piece to really see its potential. Proper staging and a dash of versatility, (when possible), go a long way. It takes effort, yes, but if you feel your piece is worth $X, take the time to make it LOOK worth $X! If it doesn't look fantastic in your pictures, it will be hard to convince people to take the time to see it in person. Just my two cents. :)

Two-Tone Mid-Century China Cabinet
SOLD
Please contact chelsea@stylemutthome.com if interested in a something similar!

Thank you all so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!

Favorite Transformations of 2014!

Hi Friends and Happy 2015! This post has been particularly fun to put together as it's been a big year for us! It's been a year of dramatic DIYs and transformations, starting with this blog itself!

We said goodbye to Chelsea's Garage just a few short months ago to begin something fresh and new with StyleMutt. It's been an awesome beginning and we are really excited about what 2015 will hold!

We're ready to dive into 2015 and even have some spectacular projects already up our sleeve, but first, we're taking a day to reminisce  over our favorites from 2014:

No question, we share more than a few style loves - not the least of which is mid-century modern!`

And we discovered just how fun it is to work with bamboo!

But we are true StyleMutts, through and through, and enjoyed embracing the many styles that make us tick::

Of course, not all the transformations involved furniture:

In fact, some of the transformations were of entire spaces!

It's been a tremendous year, indeed, and we just want to say THANK YOU for hanging with us, for your encouragement, and for making this adventure completely worth it. Happy New Year, Friends!

Chelsea and Cate