Mtn, where I live houses are sold after the owners move out and he furnishings are 100 percent from the stagers. Would that be a simpler solution for you? That still leaves things like the kitchen refresh and shower doors, but the styling of mantles, sisal rugs and whatnot are then off he table.

PS Houses, in all segments, sell super fast in my market.

Does this stager have a particularly strong reputation?

One of my best friends listed her house for sale a year ago (they have since taken it off the market). At its bones, it is a simple two-story brick ranch-style home built in the 70s -and because this is the Houston climate (hard water, high humidity, etc.), homes show their age here more than in other areas of the country, IMO. Anyway, the stager convinced her to remove virtually everything personal from the home. Now my friend is particularly good at creating vignettes in her home, finding gorgeous little artistic furnishings, etc. EVERYBODY marvels at her house. But she did as the stager requested, and honed her home down to very spare rooms. And guess what? It instantly revealed the home to be a plain, two-story, brick ranch style home. Somehow, all the charm she had previously imbued just vanished. I don't know if I can ever feel the same way about her house, LOL! It's akin to seeing a woman whose beauty you have always admired, whose wig is suddenly wig ripped off. So I don't know. We used a stager to sell our California house, but that was similar to what Zalco described. The house was vacant and the stager came in and set up a new model home look. I think, based on your contributions here, Mtn, that you are not the average homeowner and you should trust your instincts. I would have been similarly disappointed in what you described as advice, but it was good that she found some resources to save you money at least.

Hi,

Interesting but not really, for two reasons. First, I am trying to identify things that will add to my enjoyment of the space and improve the positioning of the property, so these are things I am doing for me to enjoy for another 1,2, year or possibly more. Also, both professionals told me that my property should not be, as they called it, "dumbed down HGTV style." Buyers expect to be impressed in this market segment. You can get away with a few cheaper things like the way you can wear jeans and a Rolex, but they say a staged home top to bottom is not desirable.

If your enjoyment is the issue, then perhaps an interior designer is a better choice than a stager since you are trying not to make the house look staged anyway, IYKWIM.

Best, I chose her because she staged a home for one of my DD"s classmates, and it was a pretty nice house to begin with (I didn't see it staged). So since she knew the local market, and wasn't doing jobs like "clean out gramma's house," I thought she'd be good. A lot of stagers seem to do very basic stuff I don't need help with.

PS When we bought this house, it was filled with stuff. Tables covered in collections, artwork on most of the wall area, plants, etc etc. A baby grand with the dreaded melange of framed photos (albeit a lot of them celebrities). But it was all very nice stuff and very nicely curated. This was at a time when staging was in its heyday. Yet the realtor told me that would not have thought of having them change anything. Generic advice does not always apply; yet fresh,unbiased and blunt insight has value. Everything in moderation I suppose!

Zalco I thought a stager was better because I am not looking to buy a bunch of stuff, more like rearrange stuff, edit stuff, and make economically smart choices (not designers' forte).

Alas, I am just gonna have to put you guys to work!

I've yet to be impressed with stagers. Everything looks straight out of HGTV shows like "Fixer Upper" . Great for young people buying their first home, but rarely for high caliber homes. Your taste is elegant, as is your house. Follow your own instincts (and maybe look to "Town and Country" magazine interiors.)

This convo reminds me of when we were building. All the real estate agents said we had to have hardwood floors, stainless appliances and granite counters. We have none of those. It got to the point that with the architect, I banned the use of the "R" word: resale. We were building the house for us to enjoy. I wasn't going to invest good money into some fickle imaginary buyer who knows how many years in the future and try to predict what the desired trends or styles would be at that time and have to live with the consequences now. I still remember how in the 80s, the bathtub and the fireplace in the MBR were all the rage...and how many people are spending $$ to rip it all out. Who knows what people will be looking for even a few years from now.

Mtnrd, your house is unique and gorgeous as it is. I don't think it needs staging at all...other than what you already know to do to depersonalize and simplify...and that you do as you put it on the market. If you are just looking for fresh perspective and what you think might be worthwhile doing as an update to the place, then hire an interior decorator and pay him/her by the hour for their thoughts and advice...no need to use them to refurnish the place. The quality of their input would be far more interesting and helpful for your purposes, me thinks.

Annie, Have you hired an interior designer?

I hired an interior decorator who came for the first time last week. She knows that we might be moving in the next 2 - 5 years. Her charge was to make the house fresher for right now. I am willing to buy a few things but everything needs to be “portable,” which I define as something that I can take to and use at a new house. I also asked her to “shop the house” before buying anything new.

While she was here, she rearranged the mantle, moved and re-hung art work, and rearranged furniture. A few things needed me to hire out to be moved. I took copious notes on what to move and where. After the painting is finished, she’ll come back to do some finishing touches.

We are going to recover 5 chairs, buy new headboards for the guest room, repaint LR/DR/breakfast room, MBR, and 2 halls, and put a new rug in the MBR. Also, all new bedding for the MBR.

When she is finished, I hope I have a house that looks new and fresh, but my new investments can be moved to the next house. It isn’t staging per se, but when she is finished, I believe we will be able to sell easily.

The point is perhaps an ID will do more of what you are wanting done.

ETA: Speaking of depersonalizing and simplifying when moving, when DD put her house on the market, the real estate agent told her to take all of the books out of the bookcase and re-style them with a few pieces of pottery and a basket or two. She asked if she needed to take down the gallery wall of personal pictures in the bedroom and the agent said no, which was the opposite of everything we’ve ever heard. He, the agent, must have known his business. The house sold within less than 48 hours of going on the market.

I've not been impressed with the ID I've used in the past, frankly (ducking), but Annie is near me so thought she might know someone.

Your experience sounds super, BBSTX

We did a gut renovation on our house 10 years ago and wanted to refresh it so hired an interior designer 2 years ago. Her suggestions were very similar to those of bbstx - recover some chairs, rearrange art work, paint the trim of our house a different colour and replace an area rug. Very simple ideas but really made a difference.

It wouldn't dawn on me to hire a stager for that kind of facelift. I would only hire a stager if we knew for sure that we were selling within 6 months.

I've been househunting in a popular market for about a year, and while I'm not in your pricepoint, I can say I've not seen staging that greatly influences smart buyers. That's not to discredit stagers. But in my market right now, a staged house usually points to a flaw with the home (from structural issues to a pricing).

When the time comes to sell, and if you're working with a knowledgeable agent (a priority over a stager) who recommends staging, then do it then. The market could change in the next couple of years. A stager makes a house marketable, not livable. And if you've not found an ID you like in the meantime, then you probably don't need one.

I generally agree with Arapaho, though, that I prefer to see a house empty. It also means several other advantages to me as a buyer, as well. But in a house such as yours with an unconventional layout, having it furnished may help inspire buyers how they would live in it.

Before replacing your shower doors, are you willing to try a little cleaning on them? Try using liquid Bar Keeper’s Friend and the scrubby side of a Scotch Brite non-scratch blue scrubby sponge. If that doesn’t work, you may want to try gocleanco’s method...https://instagram.com/gocleanco?igshid=pzs3xrpm8yvl scroll over to the Shower Doors video.

FWIW, when I’m looking at a house and see things like soap scum on shower doors, I worry about deferred maintenance that I cannot see. I don’t know that one follows the other, but deferred maintenance is a big issue with me.

bbstx - Telling a tale on myself, I am not the greatest house keeper and yes there may be soap scum on the shower door sometimes. But maintenance gets hired out and is never deferred.

Note to self - hire a cleaning surface before putting house on sale with special attention to soap scum.

Yep, @blfenton, that soap scum will tag you as a “deferred maintenance” person every time! HA! If spider webs in the the corners indicate deferred maintenance, my house is on the verge of falling down around my ears!

Yes, at a bare minimum a house should be scrupulously clean, that to me is given. Paint touch ups throughout, too.

We have very hard water and even with an elaborate water filtration system, we don't have any scum but we do have spots. Depending on the light, you don't always even see them. My cleaning person, and I, have tried many things. Lots of youtube videos!

The stager suggested Magic Eraser and I think it is better. Still experimenting, IN any event, neither the stager nor realtor thought they were bad enough to replace. That was good to know.

The reason I thought of a stager is that so many people, once staged, say "why didn't i ever do this for me?"

No way my house will be empty. Our house is quite large and if we buy another home it will be an urban apt.

mtnrd: I have hard water, a water softening system and a glass shower door with "spots". We didn't put the system in until after the spots occurred. I've tried probably 10-15 different cleaners recommended for this issue to no avail. I believe, from what I have read, that the spots are actually etching, which isn't going away with any cleaner. I have not used Magic Eraser because I've read that it is abrasive and over time will scratch the glass.

I love your house and think you are getting great suggestions-hope you can find a good ID.

bbstx, can you summarize the shower door cleaning video? I went to the insta page you suggested, but as usual, I was unsuccessful in navigating the site and finding the video.

The reason I thought of a stager is that so many people, once staged, say "why didn't i ever do this for me?"

And I bet those people don't have your eye for style and design! You're your own best stager.

Sorry no, I've never hired an ID. I considered it over 10 years ago when we started building as I saw a room this gal had done in a show house and fell in love with it. But I never did contact her ... with building expenses, I didn't need to add to them, and my architect was also into interior design so he was a great sounding board for me. I don't even remember her name and have no idea if she's still in the area.

Ah....I think I found her, but I don't see that she's in business any more. All I find on the net is old. But here's a list of local interior designers who have all shown at Rooms with a View in Southport if that helps at all.

https://roomswithaview.org/history

@graywings123, Recap: fill a spray bottle with white vinegar and add 1 Tablespoon blue Dawn. Thoroughly wet the shower door with the mixture. Let set 10 minutes (“if your shower door hasn’t been cleaned in 3 years, let the mixture set overnight”). Scrub vigorously with the GREEN side of a Scotch-Brite Heavy Duty Scrub Sponge. Rinse thoroughly. The theory is that the vinegar dissolves the minerals causing the deposits on the glass while the Dawn creates viscosity that holds the vinegar in place long enough to do its job. The final step is to clean both sides of the glass with Windex.

Below are before and after pictures. She made the comment that the bathroom had taken them two hours to clean but that included the shower stall which was pretty gross.

After scrubbing, but before Windex:

The video also shows cleaning water spots off the fixtures in the shower using the same mixture, but cautions not to use the green side of the sponge on the fixtures because it will scratch them.

The women at gocleanco must eat their Wheaties every morning. They sure do attack the cleaning tasks with vigor!

DH and I are pretty consistent about squeegeeing and drying our shower doors. But occasionally life happens. We forget or something is so pressing that we cannot take the minute or so needed to squeegee. When that happens, I use liquid BKF and a blue scrubby sponge the next time I shower.

Your approach to this refresh is novel, mtnroad, not a surprise given the consistently bad experiences you have had with interior designers. If you are more than a year out from selling, IMO a stager will not be of much help because they not only respond to market conditions and trends, that is ALL they do.

Look at this situation like you are a person contemplating age.....unwilling to have drastic plastic surgery but more willing to try Botox or a targeted, smaller “refresh” like liposuction in a problem area, or a brow lift. That seems to be what you are looking for in your home. In your situation I might start by trying to imagine what might appeal to someone ten or fifteen years younger than you. Look at interiors by younger designers like Katie Ridley and Windsor Smith for inspiration. They are quirky but fresh. That sort of age correction thinking might lead to ideas on your own that “lift and separate,” iykwim.

And that’ll all I’ve got 😎

LOL, KSWL. I kind of do that by running things by my in-house counsel of 17 and 18 yo DD! Thanks for the ideas,

IMO a stager will not be of much help because they not only respond to market conditions and trends, that is ALL they do. I disagree on this; my market won't change over a year or two and I doubt many will.

Real estate markets in the Atlanta metro, exurbs and concentric rings up to two hours away have experienced huge shifts over the past 18 months in all price categories. And the shifts have been exaggerated at both ends. You may find that you don’t have to lift a finger to help resale, and can concentrate only on what appeals to you. There are obvious differences between northeastern, NYC exurbs, especially WRT unique and high end properties, but I would assume what happens here is a ripple effect from your area where it happens first.

If you have a 35 year old good friend s/he would probably be a perfect sounding board, especially if she has different tastes. Your DDs may share too much of your design DNA to be as helpful, lol!

I thought you were saying the decor trends would change that quickly ... yes of course prices/demand can but I don't think staging decor will be outdated in a year or 2.

As to my DDs' counsel, that's a fair point, KSWL. eg guess what they both hate red.

As far as what one "needs" to do to sell, the fact is we don't get a control house so we can never know. That is why I defer to those who do it all day, coupled with looking at the brochures and tours for the comparables they've given me.

Lizabeth, our water treatment filtration plant (seems like what it is to me!) predates us. I never listened or cared when people talked about water spots (yawn) but now I get it. Yes, the Magic in Magic Erasers is abrasive. I have heard a razor blade is another option?! Ours are not horrible, only visible in certain light.

Our former housekeeper used to use a product on shower doors called Glass Wax. It’s a petroleum product, I assume, so it would work differently from most cleaning products marketed for glass / spots.

No, I don’t think decor trends change that quickly but I will say that among buyers at the high end here there is a palpable sense of wanting something, if not cutting edge trendy, that at least looks current, as you noted in your original post. Even if they gut the place to redo for their own taste they want to buy something that doesn’t look like it’s ten years behind the times. You’d think they’d rather buy a time capsule :)

eta..... not at all surprised your dislike of red has been handed down. My DD first said the word “toile” at age twelve, I think. I was a proud mama!

Lizbeth, using magic eraser "over time" will probably/maybe scratch the glass, but that means using it more than once. Try a small spot that's not noticeable and use the magic eraser on it. If it looks fine, then do the whole door.

Oakley, my shower door is between two walls, so it's all frontal and I don't want to chance a scratch. The "spots" aren't that obvious, just bugs me when I'm in the shower. I'm convinced the spots are etching. I have even tried the vinegar, but not with the Dawn, so will try that next.

GoCleanCo, as of this morning, has posted a new shower door cleaning product, Dawn PowerWash. She squirts it on the shower door and then scrubs with some sort of scrubby sponge. She says it has something in it that dissolves the soap scum.

I can't imagine any stager or designer doing better than you have done!