Finding Furniture for Home Staging
Selling a vacant home is not as easy as selling one that is furnished nicely. Home staging solves that problem by filling rooms with attractive, appropriately sized furnishings that define room functions. So where does a homeowner find the right furniture to stage a home?
Homeowners who stage their own homes and want to buy furniture for staging can use these options to find furniture:
1. retail stores
2. furniture outlets
3. online
A homeowner who is interested in temporary furniture for staging can get furniture from:
1. furniture rental companies
2. renting from a retail store
3. borrowing
Budget and accessibility will be the determining factors in which option or options the homeowner chooses.
Buying Furniture for Staging
While not the least expensive option homeowners have for staging furniture, buying furniture does have its pluses.
Buying new furniture for staging ensures that the items selected will look new, fresh and on trend. One of the reasons you are staging your home is to make it more appealing to a younger demographic who might your most likely target buyers. Having furniture styles that match their taste will help them picture themselves in your spaces. And, when you move, you will have new furnishings that will give you a fresh start in your new home.
Buy from Retail Stores
Buying furniture is not inexpensive. However, if you want to furnish your new home with updated furnishings and you have the budget, then think about using those furnishings in your old home to stage it. You were going to buy the furniture anyway, so make your purchases do double duty.
Nothing makes a home look more tired and sad than worn upholstery or sunken cushions. You might have noticed that stagers use furniture that is crisp, tidy and without a lot of frills. They use very basic furniture profiles in solid colors that are what today’s buyer sees on television and in catalogs.
Copying the look you find in catalogs or online will keep your staged spaces looking fresh and current, a look buyers can identify with.
Furniture Outlets
We admit to trolling furniture outlets on a regular basis. Most larger retail stores have outlet stores where last year’s designs are heavily discounted to move the merchandise out of inventory. The prices are substantially lower. Outlet shopping takes a trained eye to separate the good stuff from the mistakes, but the bargains are worth the time and effort.
And, if you are a savvy negotiator, you can usually bargain for even better pricing if you are purchasing a lot of pieces.
Another outlet option is hotel furniture outlets. When hotels are sold or undergo a remodeling, the used furniture is consigned to a liquidator that gets what they can for each furniture item.
Taking the time to find the best, least worn pieces is the goal when liquidator shopping. If all you have to do is minor touch ups for some nice looking furniture items, it’s worth the effort because the price is so attractive.
We’ve found some very nice desks for staging a home office at these warehouses.
Online Furniture Shopping
All the furniture brands you used to only find in furniture stores are available online. Pricing is competitive because costs are easily compared between online vendors and most offer free shipping.
One thing to remember is that none of the mass furniture vendors actually hold inventory. When an item is sold, it is dropped shipped from the manufacturer. When you find a furniture item you want to buy, make sure that it is ‘in stock’ and available for immediate shipment or it might be months before the manufacturer will be producing that piece again. This is especially true for case goods (things like tables, chairs, buffets, chests).
When choosing upholstered furniture online for staging, also look for in stock items in neutral colors which manufacturers usually keep a good supply of on hand in their inventory. They know what sells well. This should be a tip to you that this piece of furniture will have broad appeal among the greatest number of buyers.
If you are buying online from a catalog or directly from a manufacturer take care to check on estimated delivery times and delivery charges. These will vary from vendor to vendor.
Rental Furniture
It is not necessary to buy furniture for staging if you can rent furniture for a fraction of the cost.
You can rent furniture from a furniture rental company, or from a professional home staging company.
Renting Furniture from a Furniture Rental Company
The least expensive option is to rent directly from a furniture rental business. They rent furniture for purposes other than home staging such as corporate relocation, students, and traveling temporary staffing. They also conveniently offer entire packages where the room suites are pre-packaged and all you need to do is pick the style you want.
This is an easy way to get your rooms furnished quickly and affordably with the added bonus that the company delivers and picks up the furniture after the rental period.
Renting Furniture From a Home Staging Company
When you rent furniture from a home stager, you are not only getting furnishings, but you are getting the home stagers expert opinion about furniture styles and placement. This option costs of the most of all home staging options but is also the most personalized for your home and your potential buyer.
This is the most hands-off solution of all the options discussed previously. Your stager can work with your real estate agents to stage your home and the pair can handle all the details of selection, style, moving in and out and accessories.
This is a great option if you are moving out of state and are not around to do the job by yourself. After the rental period, the staging company picks up their inventory and that is the end of the arrangement.
Borrowing Furniture
Getting your friends and family to lend you a few furniture pieces is the free option for furnishing an empty room. Perhaps they have extra furniture they are not using, or furniture in storage, that you can use for the cost of moving it in and out. Assuming it has the crisp, clean and fresh look you are after, this works very well for little cost.
Outdoor furniture, light fixtures and occasional pieces of furniture are usually easy to borrow.
We have also arranged to borrow furniture from furniture stores for temporary use. Technically, you are renting the furniture from the store and are responsible for returning it in the same condition as you received it in.
Working out a consignment deal from the store works best for you. Many times the buyer of the home wants to buy the furniture and you can recoup your rental cost if this happens. The buyer will work out a deal with the furniture store and you got the use of the furniture for little or no cost. Because the better furniture translates into an increase home value, it’s a win win situation for sellers.