Virtual staging - New Interior Solutions

Traditional staging versus virtual staging

Home staging is no longer a new term in the real estate field. Everyone knows what it is. Used for years now, traditional home staging still continues to help selling houses faster and for more money.

Traditional staging is the art of transforming a room (or an entire property) thanks to the use of furniture, color, accessories, etc. in order to increase the potential of a home. It applies to both vacant houses and occupied houses. In the first case the rooms are furnished with furniture and accessories brought in by the staging company, while in the second case the seller’s furniture and accessories are used. For this reason it is also known as redesign.

What is virtual staging?

Virtual staging has the same purpose as traditional staging but it uses new technology to highlight the potential of a property. To this end, it transforms the photographs of a listing by adding virtual furniture and accessories to help the buyer better understand the space and the interiors of a home.

The fundamental difference between the two is therefore in the fact that traditional staging shows a property as it is, while virtual staging shows a property as it could be. Also in terms of cost there is a big difference: traditional staging requires an average investment between $2000 and $5000 (for a medium-sized house), while virtual staging costs around $39 to $100 per image.

The two types of staging have in common the fact that they both offer web appeal and complete the presentation of a listing.

How can you avoid misrepresentation lawsuits related to virtual staging?

When it comes to virtual staging, it is crucial not to give the property a wrong representation. To overcome this problem it is absolutely essential to watermark the photos for transparency.

Here’s an example:

Personally, I always suggest my clients not only to put the disclaimer on the photos, but also to add it in the description of the property. Buyers must know that they will visit either an empty house or a house that is different from the one shown in the photos. What I mean is that sometimes virtual staging is used also to show a possible remodeling. In this case it is better known as virtual remodeling.

Another good idea is to show the original photo of the room and the virtual photo side by side. This video better illustrates the concept:

Absolutely no structural problems or physical damage should be hidden or disguised. This is actually a rule that applies to both traditional staging and real estate photography as well.

I think that in the end traditional staging and virtual staging are two sides of the same coin. Both are intended to show the potential of a property to help the seller understand if it is the right one. They are two different approaches to the same situation. One is more physical and expensive, while the other is more abstract and inexpensive. However, the purpose is the same: to sell a house faster and for more money.

Virtual staging beyond real estate

When you hear the word “staging” you immediately think of a house for sale and, in fact, this is not wrong. Home staging is the winning weapon for many real estate agents who want to sell their listings faster and for more money. I’m mainly talking about traditional staging that has existed for decades now. However, another powerful selling tool has recently come onto the market thanks to more advanced new technologies. That is virtual staging.

The main benefit of virtual staging is that it can replace traditional staging if the budget is tight. However, few people consider it for purposes other than selling a house. Virtual staging can be applied even when you simply want to explore different design alternatives.

In this case it can be called either virtual design or virtual furnishing, but in the end the concept is the same, because we still start from an empty room, or even a furnished one, and we change the arrangement of the furniture and of the accessories.

The photo above shows a classic open space, which is very popular today. The problem with open spaces is that it is often difficult to arrange the furniture in a way that is pleasing to the eye but also practical in terms of use.

Most of the time the dilemma concerns the position of the furniture. Where do I put the sofa? Against the wall or in front of the fireplace? And does the table look better this way or the other? How should I hang the paintings on the wall?

With virtual staging today it is possible to apply all these changes even before touching the furniture and moving it (your back will thank you!).

In the example above we started by placing the sofa along the wall between the two windows and the table in the same direction. We also tried to understand if it would have been nicer to add a chandelier over the living area.

When we realized that the chandelier didn’t make much sense, we decided to install it just above the table, that, in the meantime, had also been moved in the opposite direction. Even the rug was replaced with a more neutral one, while we added some paintings to the walls.

For the third and last option we added a floor plant in the corner of the window, two paintings above the fireplace to better balance the space, and a large painting behind the sofa for the same reason.

As you can see, virtual staging is not just for the home seller but also for the buyer or the home owner who needs to see an image to understand if their design concept is going to work or not.

Do you want to give it a try? If so, give me a call or send me an email. I promise, it’s a lot of fun!

Virtual staging of a bedroom in three different styles

In one of my previous articles, I talked about how virtual staging not only makes it possible to replace real furniture with virtual one but also how it can modify some structural features of an interior. In today’s article, I will talk about how virtual staging can be used to furnish a room using different styles.

In this case, we start with the photo of an empty room. The starting photo must have some specific characteristics. Ideally, it must be a professionally taken image, showing a good portion of the room (possibly two corners), with a balanced exposure and a high number of pixels.

This photo shows a rather neutral architectural structure: white walls, off-white floor, lack of curtains and the absence of chandeliers. In a nutshell, this is the perfect image to render in many different styles. These are the ones I picked:

The first style I chose is the traditional one: Persian carpet, dark wood furniture, and classic armchair.

The second style is the transitional one: softer colors, simple lines and a mix of different, unmatched furniture.

The third style is the industrial one: metal finishes, black accents, and rough wood furniture.

The presentation of three different styles is the ideal solution to capture the attention of a wider circle of customers. By offering different design concepts of the same room, you can easily satisfy the aesthetic taste of a lot of people, while maintaining the flexibility to apply fast and inexpensive changes. Besides, if you are a real estate agent or a designer, this becomes a powerful differentiator in terms of marketing and customer service.

Are you ready to give it a try? Visit my page or send me an email!