Home Project Summary

Staging a Home

Ideas, costs, tips and plans - the information you need for a successful Home Staging project

February 2011

Homeowners have many important questions about their Home Staging Project. How much will it cost? How long will it take? What problem areas do I need to watch out for? Can I recover my Home Staging investment when I sell? Can I do some of the work myself? What can I do to make sure that the work is done right?

Costs, materials and best practices for the example Home Staging project will help you answer these questions. Use this information to develop a budget, bid requirements, hiring contracts and a project plan.

Use the following information to understand your options, make good decisions and get quality work at a fair price.

Home Staging - Project Overview

The approximate costs and value of a typical Home Staging project are summarized below. Use higher estimates for larger metropolitan areas and the lower estimates where home prices are below the national average. Adjust costs for substitutions or refinements in the last section. For size differences of up to 25%, scale total costs in direct proportion to the size of your project. Use the adjusted costs as a basis for setting a material budget and for comparing contractor bids (if you choose to have a professional perform the work).

Project description	Decorate home for resale. Update entry components. Replace common area flooring, switchplates and decorative hardware. Install new window treatments.
Project size	1700 square foot home
Material and labor cost	$3,843 - $4,484
Material cost	$2,205 - $2,573
Do-it-yourself assessment	The typical Home Staging project can be completed by a moderately skilled do-it-yourselfer; as with any project, high quality Home Staging requires attention to detail and careful planning.
First year Return on Investment - ROI	Results vary widely and can be affected by the range of home prices in your neighborhood, the overall condition of your home and sensible design choices. A high quality Home Staging project in an appropriate neighborhood can return 93% or more of its initial cost.
Long term Return on Investment - ROI	Returns will be impacted by the range of home prices in your neighborhood, the overall condition of your home and sensible design choices. A high quality Home Staging project can return as much as 67% - 78% of its initial cost
Green rating	Home Staging projects can incorporate renewable or sustainable resources and environmentally friendly materials.

Home Staging - Proven Ideas and Project Tips

Review these tips, design suggestions, options and lessons learned before finalizing your Home Staging project plan.

To maximize return on the Home Staging project, limit cost to no more than 1.25% of home's total, post project value
For best home resale value, follow a consistent design and decorating theme throughout the home
For best resale value, select components, appliances, finishes and fixtures of comparable quality
For best resale value, select a taste neutral design for your Home Staging

Home Staging - Project Plan and Details

The following list includes major work tasks commonly performed during Home Staging. Use this list to understand the timing and sequence of different steps in the Home Staging project. Click any Task name for a complete written specifications, FAQs and quality checklist for the task - this essential information will help you control Home Staging project cost and quality.

Task

Service Provider

Duration

Do-it-yourself difficulty

Target cost

Create Interior Decorating Plan

Interior Designer

5 to 15 d

Level 3 - Complex, Difficult

$380 - $635

Specify Materials

Interior Designer