Category: Uncategorized

In a recent interior decorating project in Upland, CA, we desperately needed to update the kitchen.  The cabinets were solid wood and in good condition and the homeowner didn’t want to replace them.  We were also working with a pretty tight budget, so a full kitchen remodel was out of the question.  The homeowner had (prior to hiring StageRight) looked into re-staining the cabinets a darker color, but the wood grain was not that attractive — so I recommended painting them white instead.  The cost to re-stain the cabinets was $5000, so I used that as my budget for the kitchen.

The existing cabinets were solid wood in good condition, but the hardware was outdated and wood grain was not attractive.  The countertops and backsplash were fairly new and worth keeping as was the built in oven and range hood.

We had the cabinets painted white (Behr Polar Bear) for a little more than 1/2 the cost of re-staining.  This savings allowed us to purchase a new stainless dishwasher as well as a new stainless side by side refrigerator (out of this shot).  We also purchased all new shelf paper and still had only spent $4974, so I bought the homeowner a new paper towel holder.

This should serve as a good home staging lesson.  If your kitchen and/or bathrooms are outdated, it may not be necessary to do an expensive remodel.  Look for the easier, less expensive ways you can make your house more appealing to buyers.  We achieved a dramatic improvement spending less than $5000 and finished in about a week.

Deciding to stage this investment property in South Pasadena was an excellent decision.  Furnishing a vacant house always helps buyers to envision themselves living there, but in this case, staging had a more important job to do.  This house was originally a duplex.  The renovation merged the two units into one home and did an excellent job.  Even so, the resulting floorplan was not the typical layout and could have caused some confusion for potential buyers if left vacant.

This room off the kitchen was staged as a dining room to show buyers that there was more room to entertain guests than the small breakfast nook in the kitchen.  Statistics show that although formal living rooms have become less popular with today’s families, they still want a dining room where they can entertain and having it open to the kitchen is an added bonus.

This room was originally the living room in the second unit, but we wanted to show that it could be used as a very nice bedroom.  If the buyer only needed 2 bedrooms they could easily use this space as a family room, but in staging a 3 bedroom house, it is always best to show 3 bedrooms.

To see more photos of this property click on the “Featured Staging” page of the Photo Gallery.

This home is currently on the market, listed with Re/Max Premier Properties in San Marino.   For more information, contact the listing agent, Clara Chan, at 626-660-1100. http://www.remax.com/property/128418463-60040573/1107-Maple-Street-South_Pasadena-CA-91030/