Many real estate agents who do home staging already know what it is and how it works. But for some who are quite skeptical, often confuse it with interior styling. They may often wonder: Is it really necessary? Does it even help? What’s the difference between home staging and interior styling? Are they not the same?
Home staging and interior styling are two entirely different things. Home staging refers to the process of staging a property for it to appeal to a wide range of potential buyers while interior styling is the art of styling the interior of a home according to the owner’s wants and design preferences.
Here are 5 more differences between home staging and interior styling.
1. Clients
Home staging is done primarily for the real estate agent representing the property or the homeowner. During the process, stagers will arrange and spruce up furniture and decorations in the unit to make it appeal to a wide variety of audience. Interior styling on the other hand caters to a more generalized audience. An interior stylist will take the homeowners preferences and style when decorating a home. After that, they usually will create their own concept according to the ideas gathered.
For example, a homeowner might want to create a traditional modern interior style in the space but a home stager won’t advise to do so especially if the house is for sale. A professional stager would suggest to decorate the house without personal preferences and stick to a neutral style and color scheme.
2. Process
The process of home staging is different from interior styling. In home staging, the real estate agent or homeowner should send photos and floorplans of the empty property to the stager. Next, the stager will craft a detailed proposal with an inventory list, pictures, and breakdown of costs. After confirming the logistics, the home staging team will then stage the property and take photos.
In interior styling, the homeowner will discuss design concepts, preferences, and other considerations to the stylist. There will be numerous meetings and discussions to finalize the project. To give the client a better idea of what the end result will look like, stylists would often create a 3d interior render. Next, the stylist will come up with specifications or a list of things to buy to complete the project. When everything is ready, arrangement and decorating will begin.
3. Decision Maker
Who determines the design decisions differs significantly between interior styling and professional home staging. An interior stylist adheres to the homeowner’s ultimate decisions, while a professional stager makes the final decision when it comes to home staging. Home stagers know exactly how to stage a particular property for it to sell. They are not merely decorating it. They are staging it with a certain strategy and purpose in mind.
4. Goal
Interior stylists and home stagers both work to improve a property’s appearance, but each has a distinct strategy and end result in mind. Home staging professionals treat real estate as if it were a product they were trying to sell. The competitive real estate market, current trends that appeal to the target buyer, and the science of design and layout must all be understood in order to accomplish this.
On the other hand, the goal of the interior stylist is to create an attractive living space that the homeowner will love. Interior stylist combines functionality and aesthetics to meet the demands and wants of the homeowner through proper interior styling.
5. Timeline
Interior styling takes more time to complete compared to home staging. In home staging, the stager already knows what to do when they come in to stage the unit since they have already gathered all information needed beforehand. Interior styling on the other hand entails a step-by-step decision-making procedure that frequently necessitates homeowner permission for each step along the way.
Home staging companies already have a full stock of furniture in their warehouse ready to be deployed to the house that is to be staged. Whereas interior stylist need to create a list of specifications and find certain furniture style and decoration according to the design they have created. This is not an easy process because it can take up months to finish.
To put things simply, if you want to beautify the interior of your property because you are thinking of selling it, then you need the help of a professional stager. But if you want to simply style your home so you can live comfortably and achieve the lifestyle and interior design style of your dreams, then engage with an interior stylist.
