Behind the Scenes: Farmhouse Project

When many think of the Washington DC area, rural areas do not come to mind. Surprisingly, country life is closer than you think. Just thirty minutes from the heart of DC lies many rural farms, most of which are rich with history. Recently, we had the privilege of staging a partially furnished home that happened to be a beautiful old farmhouse. The current homeowners had reached out to us to help them get the property ready for sale. These homeowners had lived here for 20 years and spent many of those years, refurbishing the history of the home and its outbuildings. She herself had renovated and sold many properties over the years, but found it impossible to make the decisions about everything from lighting to furnishings when it came to her OWN home. We were more than happy to help! This collaborative effort between our team and the owner proved to be one of the most interesting and fun projects to date. You can see all the pictures from our staging of the property on our portfolio page!

House Exterior

Barn with stables

Guest House

Dairy Shed

One of the key elements to this staging that made it unlike any other, was maintaining the integrity of the house with the furnishings. You can’t simply put modern traditional furniture and decor in a house of this nature. The space needed current elements to appeal to today’s buyers but still remain true to it’s past. We did this by using some of the owner’s fantastic antique pieces and blending them with carefully selected pieces of our inventory.

Living Room

Dining Room

Bedroom

We were also very careful in our selection of decorative accents. We used things you probably wouldn’t find in your typical Northern VA homes. All of our accents had to fit the style of this house. Details do truly matter. Notice below how we used vintage suitcases for a special touch in the hallway and old book sand metal keys as coffee table decor.

This property was beautiful and unique! We knew it would sell fast. We are happy to report it went under contract a little over a week after it hit the market with multiple competing offers. We love to see results like this for clients who have put in the hard work to make the necessary updates and changes to market their home to stand out among their competition. We would love to help you shine a light on your home too. Go online now to book your home staging consultation with us and get results!

Three Different Looks for one Space

Staging homes with the same floor plan can provide an opportunity to design and create different looks within one space. For the past few years, we have had the privilege of working with Sekas Homes staging three of their model homes with almost the same floor plan and creating three totally different looks. Sekas Homes brings understated elegance and craftsmanship to each of the homes they build. The attention to detail is evident and it's what makes a great partnership between our two companies.

Most recently, Sekas Homes developed Sunrise Square, a townhome community in Reston, VA. We were asked to stage the Model Home. Once that Model sold, we were asked to do the next. We have staged a total of 3 Model Homes so far - each with their own look and own personality. The floor plan remains basically the same - the design makes each one different. Scroll down to view how each room style evolved over time.

Living Room:

Kitchen area

Kitchen/Dining Area:

Master Bedroom:

Loft (two of the condos has a third level loft - here's our two takes for the space):

Isn't it interesting how style evolves over time? Each of these Reston town home models were staged from six months to a year. It demonstrates how you can create a totally different look with the same space just by using different furnishings and purposes for the space.

Which one is YOUR favorite? Give us a call at 703-552-4545 or schedule an appointment online for your next staging or redesign project. We would love to help!

Best of 2019

As we wrap up another year, we here at Staged By Design wanted to pay tribute to 2019 and spotlight some of our best stagings and memories throughout this year. It's been a privilege to work with our clients and help them sell their homes faster and for top dollar.

Statistics prove that staging sells. Of all our stagings this year, 80% of our homes sold within the year. The average day on the market for our homes was 21 days! We had MANY of our homes sell within one week of being on the market. The numbers don't lie - home staging is definitely an investment that gives a return!

We loved working with all of these amazing homes, but there were a few designs that stood out to us. Our team collectively picked our top 5 favorite stagings of the year. Here they are in no particular order:

• Dean Drive, McLean, VA

• Roland Clarke Place, Reston, VA

• Aldie Road, Aldie, VA

• Golden Arrow Street, Great Falls, VA

• Great Falls Street, McLean, VA

We had some great stagings but we can't forget about some VERY memorable animal antics of the year!

First up comes Champ, the pig who randomly walked by the office on a leash. We learned that day our warehouse neighbor is Bionic Pets, who creates custom pet prosthetics. An interesting day at the office for sure. Second isn't quite as cute and friendly. When on a destage, we discovered a little squirrel who had crawled under a bed pillow and died! Wendy about died too that day! LOL! And finally, hats off to all the cats who look totally annoyed by our visits and wonder why their cat condos can't stay in the room.

Despite all the animal craziness, we have received a lot of recognition this year. Our team has worked hard to improve our processes, style and inventory. We are excited to bring more of these improvements into the new decade.

We would love a chance to SHINE for you in 2020! Give us a call or go online to set up a consultation. It's worth the investment. Here's to a new decade!

The Making of a Model Home

When you walk into a model home, do you ever wonder how it gets decorated so beautifully?  We recently had the pleasure to work with Classic Homes in McLean, VA. We decided it might be fun to document the event to show the makings of a model home. Take a look at our video recap of this project:

https://youtu.be/ADh69CYhIyY

Here’s a few interesting stats involved with this design:

It takes time and thought to design a model home. We strive to make sure the details are perfect. Are you a builder or know one in the NoVA area?  Let us stage your next model home!  Give us a call at 703-552-4545 or visit us on Facebook or Instagram!