Changes are inevitable~ and I am learning that life lesson.... again...still~
I'd like to say I am learning it well, but it appears that my first response is one of resistance.
I like order and really, really hate surprises. Even the good ones. After the fact I adjust, but don't surprise me. It bugs me. I feel out of control and vulnerable. And who likes feeling vulnerable?
As I was working with a client this past week, I realized the vulnerability that moving from your home brings. It brings changes. Sometimes exciting, sometimes just not!
My recent client is from another country and just returned from purchasing a house overseas. Moving back home after 6 years in the States. Big change for their family. Vulnerable and overwhelming. Here I am a stranger, although a professional, giving advice on how to re-think their home's look. What will other people see when they walk in? Is it inviting and spacious? Such an important aspect when selling, but living in a home sometimes those highlights get lost in everyday life. It is summer and kids are in and out and schedules are broken up with events, leaving no time for the daily organizing. Mom is beat, dad is busy and the kids are willy~nilly!
My role in a consultation is to learn the family...access the situation and their life style while keeping my focus of the purpose of staging. The homeowners have to be somewhat vulnerable to the advice, without losing their comfort in their own home.
Balancing a 'staged' home with reality.
Prioritizing what is really important.
First, selling their home for top dollar is right up there on the list. But a professional stager must understand the stress of moving and balance that with caring advice; move out some personal items? Hard to do when those reflect a family experience or a memory. But a potential buyer is not there to see your own personality, but to zero in on the home itself.
How can the buyer picture their family in the home? We as stagers pride ourselves in finding that balance of giving the homeowner an achievable 'to-do' list, without harming opinions, and discerning what a potential buyer will see when they walk through the door. We ask our clients to be a little vulnerable for the sake of selling their home.
Being vulnerable is just a part of it~ ahh. And surprise! Most likely, it is all worth it!
