The Definitive Guide To Home Staging

Home staging is the process of furnishing a property for real estate to enhance the attractiveness of the home to potential buyers.

The Design District Limited provides Home Staging for the residential properties. Staging is a strategy, and the process is essential in order to showcase the home’s best features so that future buyers can envision themselves living there. The Design District Limited loves to incorporate warmth and life with the introduction of live plants and warm elements, which further enhances the perceived value of the property.

1.  Home Staging works because it considers the wants and needs of buyers and taps into their emotions when searching for a home. 
2. 81% of buyers say home staging makes it easier to visualize the property as their future home.
3. Once staged, home spends an average of 73% less time on the market.
4. Home Staging increases the perceived value! Buyers are willing to spend 1% to 5% more of the dollar value on a staged home than a non-staged home.
5. Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp did a survey and found that most staged homes sell for more than 6% of the asking price.
6. Staged homes sell faster! To sell your home faster, it must stand out from the competition and create a STRONG first impression. 
7. In 2018, 84% of the homes surveyed sold for 6-25% more than their un-staged neighbour.

Here are our top “Value Adding Tips” to ensure a successful home showing. 

1. First impressions are everything! Paint exterior trim, prune trees, remove weeds, power wash the walkway, clean windows and plant new flowers in your garden. 
2. Less is More! Decluttering and depersonalizing your clients’ homes will help buyers see the space and imagine themselves living in it. Keeping the rooms minimal, allows the space to appear larger. 
3. Colour Me Calm! Painting the walls a neutral color allows the buyer to envision the possibilities of what they can do with the space. Art also visually makes the room seem larger.
4. Out with the old and In with the New! Replace broken and outdated light fixtures, with more up to date options. No need to break the bank, $100 light fixture will do the trick. They bring more light into the house and will make a room more appealing to the eye.
5. Engage the Professionals! Hire a cleaning company and let them do the dirty work and take care of the deep cleaning. The benefit of a clean home could completely change a buyer’s perspective. 
6. Keep it Social. Create a conversation in your Living Room. Don’t focus on the TV. Simply relocating the TV, you create a much more intimate and cozy space.
7. Art is Essence!! Adding Art to walls will create a positive impact on the room. Art sets the mood. Accentuate the colors in the art with your throw pillows and accessories to keep a nice flow in the room.
8. Mirror Mirror on the Wall! Placing mirrors in small spaces creates dimension and makes the room appear larger. Mirrors can also act as a window. Mirrors placed near a window also reflect light into a dark room.
9. Keep it Real! Live Plants will automatically give buyers a sense of warmth and welcoming. Flowers also bring in a little color into the mix and masks odors to help the home smell fresh. 
10. Light and Airy Window Treatments. These treatments, especially place over oddly shaped or small windows, allow for the window to seem larger. Window treatments also need to be hung at the right height. Window treatments compliment all else.

Although very fun, our clients often tell us that preparing a home is too time-consuming or that they don’t have the pieces of decor or style of furniture they would like to add. This is our expertise!!  We at The Design District can step in to support the agent, or client if required, or take the lead and weight off of your shoulders, through the entire preparation process. Check out our website thedesigndistrict.ca for before and after photos which showcase the quality of our home stagings. Follow us on IG @thedesigndistrictyyz 

1. We begin with a complimentary consultation. One of our stagers completes a viewing of the property with the client in which suggestions are made to improve the property’s layout, functionality, and aesthetic appeal. 
2. Following the consultation, The Design District provides a detailed report and quotation based upon requests of the client and recommendations of the stager. A staging contract is also included for the client to review. Once approved by the client, the contract and 50% deposit is required to secure a staging date. 
3. The Design District team can also provide suggestions on paint colors, light fixtures, flooring, and tile. We source these options and send them via email. 
4. If elevators are required, the agent must reserve elevators for the staging date. Most condominiums require a $500 deposit from agent or client. 
5. On the staging date, The Design transforms the property using out high-quality furnishings and accessories to create a space that potential buyers can call home. Our experience in the industry is met with the passion to ‘wow’ prospective clients. 
6. We advise that photography is done the following day. This allows The Design District no time constraint. 
7. The Staging Contract is valid for 30 days. After 30 days, if the listing hasn’t sold, the client has a choice to either extend the rental biweekly or on a monthly basis. If the client chooses not to further extend the Staging Contract, The Design District will schedule a date to pick up furniture. 

1. We know what we’re doing!  So please remove all items provided in the detailed report. It makes all our lives easier, and we won’t have to play Tetris trying to fit items in closets.
2. Please ensure all renovation projects are completed before the staging date. We don’t want too many cooks in the kitchen now.
3. We highly recommend the place be cleaned prior to the staging date. It’s always nice walking into a clean work space.  And it’s more appealing to the eye of the buyers to walk into a clean looking property.
4. Ensure smooth access to property on staging day.  If there is a lockbox, let us know in advance, and the location of lockbox.  The smoother the process, the smoother things will go with the staging.
5. For condominiums, please ensure elevators are booked and a deposit is paid at concierge prior to staging date.  It’s always difficult getting a sofa up 10 flights of stairs, when elevators aren’t properly booked. 
6. As pet owner’s as well, let’s face it, they have a mind of their own, and we can’t always keep them off the furniture. Please have pets removed from home during the duration of the staging.  We do ask for a $500 damage deposit if pets will be staying at the staged property. It is fully refundable, once furniture and items are checked and come back in the same condition.  
7. To ensure a seamless staging we require that the only individuals in the home on staging date are the employees of The Design District.  It’s really hard to work our magic when we know someone is at the home watching our every move.  We want you guys to be knocked out of your shoes when you walk in and see the final “wow” factor.

The Design District has partnered with service providers to help the home staging process to be more seamless. 

Moving/Storage: Parkers Moving  [email protected] https://www.parkersmoving.ca

The team at The Design District exude innovative skill in transforming your space. We completely understand the requirement to surpass the clients expectations, at all times, and seamlessly showcase our artistic expression into a successful home staging. We are trendy, stylish and very competitive. CHALLENGE US!

The Design District Limited is a Home Staging and Interior Artistry Company based in Toronto. 

We consist of three stylists who are passionate, focused and driven. The mission is simple; to transform spaces into more beautiful, more functional places that you can call home.  Are warehouse is conveniently located in Etobicoke, between Islington and Kipling station.  It is close to major highways, and easy access to the GTA.  Where ever the staging may be, we can get there!!

We opened up our doors for business mid-April, 2019.  Since then we have done multiple stagings, and all have sold within the 30-day contract, some even within 1 day!  Don’t forget to view our before and after photos on our website thedesigndistrict.ca, as well as our Instagram account @thedesigndistrictyyz if you haven’t seen our work yet.  

Here at the Design District, we personally handpicked all our furniture, art and accessories.  We continuously add new styles to our inventory to keep up with the never-ending trends of the interior decorating world.

We have also extended our expertise to design clients, who were looking for help to make their new home their forever home.  We teamed up with our suppliers, and offer our design clients great competitive pricing.  So, if you love the furniture you see on our stagings, we can definitely help you pick out some great pieces to add to your home.  

“A team is not a group of people who work together. A team is a group of people who TRUST each other.” Simon Sinek.