Staging Solutions: Shop by Budget
Whether you’re looking for a tool to help you declutter and clean or lift furniture or a computer program to show you the possibilities with your listings, there are a variety of products for home stagers to choose from.–>Shop for staging solutions by:
>Computer/Web-based programs (Starting at $14.95 per month)
>Cleaning and on-site tools (Starting at $2.90)
Mobile Apps
Turn your smartphone into your best staging ally. A variety of mobile design apps —many geared to the iPhone — can help you do everything from hang a photo straight to find the perfect paint color for your listing.
iHandy Level
Free
Turn your iPhone or Android phone into a level so you can hang photos and artwork straight. This level has calibration capability for getting more accurate readings. You can also use the app for measuring angles or furniture.
Photo Measures
Free lite version; Pro version: $4.99
Keep track of all those dimensions in a room. To use this app, just take a picture of a room with your iPhone or iPad and use the app’s arrows to note the room’s dimensions on the photo. You can save dimensions and angles and jot notes. The app also has a magnifier feature so you can zoom in to look at any details in a photo, like getting a closer look at those faucets and sinks. You can export the dimensions and notes to your e-mail or photo library.
ColorChange
$2.99
Can’t decide the right paint color for the walls? Snap a photo of a room using your iPhone, and you’ll then be able to use this app to try out different paint colors on the wall. You can also import photos from your photo library. You just select the area in the photo where you want to paint and choose a color. Save your images and compare the different options so you can choose the perfect color.
RESA Home Staging Calculator
Real Estate Staging Association Inc.
$4.99
Justify to clients why staging is important and its value. Using this app, you’ll have access to a home staging calculator that shows clients how much they will likely spend and save by staging their home. The app uses statistics from the Real Estate Staging Association for its calculations, revealing the cost of listing the home unstaged versus staged. The app also includes the Consumer’s Guide to Real Estate Staging, which includes statistics, explains home staging, and why it works. Available for iPhone and iPad, and coming soon to Android and BlackBerry.
Computer/Web-based Programs
You can access several computer or Web-based programs aimed at helping you in your staging business, from virtual staging and space-planning programs to software that helps you keep track of your staging inventory.
Darby Inventory
Plans starting at $19.95 per month
Keep track of your staging inventory with this Web-based inventory software program. You can attach photos of up to 100,000 inventory pieces, manage your customer lists and vendor information, and run quick searches to locate where your inventory is — in a warehouse or one of your client’s homes. You also can track what you paid for each inventory item and when you bought it, which can come in handy for tax purposes. You can add barcode scanning to automate inventory and barcode printing to identify what’s yours with your own specially designed barcode and logo. The program works on Windows and Mac desktops, netbooks, and laptops and requires no installation.
Home Designer Interiors 2012
$79 to download
Try out different styles and furniture layouts with this 3-D home design software. You can also create a virtual tour using the program to show your clients the possibilities. Using the program, you’ll be able to select items to dress up the interior — from sofas and chairs to various fabrics and accessories. Change the paint color or the colors of the countertops and cabinets. You can use the program for space planning, and even pull from more than 1,000 sample floor plans for inspiration.
Obeo StyleDesigner
$14.95 per photo (must have Obeo HomeSite to use)
With this tool, your home buyers will be able to personalize your listings online by doing some of their own “virtual decorating,” swapping out wall colors, trim, and even changing out the flooring type in your property photos. The design power can allow potential buyers to take “psychological ownership” of the home, Obeo points out. Every detail of uploaded photos is mapped and programmed to allow users to interact and change floors, walls, counters, cabinets, and even elements of the exterior. The program is MLS compatible. It’s an add-on product to the Obeo HomeSite program. Obeo also offers a SpaceDesigner add-on (starting at $49 per listing) with that program, which allows buyers to drag furniture items around an interactive floor plan of the home.
Virtual Staging Solutions
Starting at $197
Show the possibilities with your vacant listings. Using this program, you’ll be able to virtually stage any of your empty listings. Just upload or e-mail your property photos to the company’s Web site. Select the furniture style that you would like to place in the photos. The company will virtually stage the listings and e-mail digital photos back to you.
Cleaning and On-site Tools
Sprucing up properties often requires some elbow grease in making sure they shine and smell inviting. Stagers often rely on several handy tools to help them hang photos and move furniture.
Krud Kutter
Starting at $2.90
This non-toxic, biodegradable cleaning product is a stager’s favorite for eliminating hard-to-remove stains. The all-purpose cleaner says it can remove grease, grime, oil, tar, pet stains, and crayon stains. It has an eco-friendly formula that claims to remove dried latex paint and also can be used as a tile and grout cleaner. Different formulas are also available for removing red clay stains, rust, and mold and mildew.
Heavy Duty Wall Hanger
Starting at $5.95
You won’t need any extra tools to hang artwork with these wall hangers. Using these hooks, you’ll be able to hang heavy pictures, artwork, mirrors, and wall decor anywhere. You don’t even need to search around for a wall stud to drive a nail into; it can be mounted directly into the wall panel. The hanger’s heavy gauge metal can hold up to 150 pounds, or as much as the wall will support.
Hang & Level
$15
Hang those photos straight the first time, without filling the walls up with extra holes from mistakes. This tool allows you to easily mark the exact location where the nail is supposed to go by just pushing a button, which will leave a small mark on the wall to show you exactly where to drive the nail. The tool also has a built-in level for hanging pictures straight. It works with all types of hanging hardware. The company says the tool can especially come in handy when hanging groups of photos or paintings on a wall.
EZ Moves Furniture Lifter
$19.99
Make moving and rearranging furniture easier on your back with this handy tool that allows you to lift furniture up to 10 times your natural strength. Use the furniture lifter to lift up the corners of the furniture and then place rubber-tipped furniture sliders at each of the corners. Then, you’ll be ready to glide the furniture easily across any surface, including hardwoods and carpet.
PureAyre
Starting at $19.99
The smell of the home can make a big impact on how buyers view a property. Several staging professionals say their go-to cleaning tool for eliminating strong home odors is PureAyre. The product claims to eliminate strong odors from pet urine, smoke, cooking smells, and more. The product is chemical-free and environmentally friendly too, and is made from plant-deprived enzymes, purified water, and essential oils.
NextStage Furniture
Starter kit starting at $599 or purchase pieces separately starting at $89
Create furniture out of cardboard to stage your listings. NextStage sells strong, durable cardboard pieces that can instantly become portable furniture for your listings. Have a cardboard sofa in the living room, instead of transporting a bulky, heavy sofa. The company sells upholstery slipcovers so no one will ever know it’s cardboard too. The cardboard pieces can support more than 1,000 pounds, so even if someone sits on it, they won’t fall. The furniture can be stored and transported flat for easy moving. You can purchase pieces individually or order a starter kit, which includes slipcovers and a sofa, oversized chair, ottoman, full/queen-sized bed, and more. The company also offers a slipcover rental program so you can constantly change out new patterns and colors.
North Salem NY Real Estate | Staging Solutions: Shop by Budget
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