Occupied Home Staging: Creating Irresistible Appeal for Atlanta Home Sellers

Podcast Episode 3

Show Notes

Getting ready to sell your home while still living in it can feel overwhelming, but the right staging strategy makes a big difference. In this episode, top Atlanta REALTOR® Judy Jernigan sits down with staging expert Krisztina Bell to show how occupied home staging transforms a lived‑in house into a buyer magnet. They discuss how to declutter, pre‑pack, rearrange furniture and use your own décor to create warm, inviting spaces that photograph beautifully and command higher offers.

Why occupied staging matters

Living in a home while selling means every showing is a balancing act between comfort and presentation. Buyers need to visualize themselves living in the space without being distracted by personal clutter or busy décor. Smart staging makes your home feel spacious, organized and move‑in ready. In today’s Atlanta market, proper presentation is crucial — Judy points out that luxury buyers expect move‑in ready homes and that sellers must focus on staging, lighting, landscape and decluttering to appeal to the broadest buyer base. Case studies from Judy’s own listings show how staging pays off: she brought in light staging and professional photography for a Johns Creek property and received seven offers in 36 hours.

Episode highlights

  • Occupied staging basics – Judy and Krisztina explain how to start the staging process while still living in the home. Begin by pre‑packing and storing unused items, deep‑cleaning every room and removing overly personal décor. Rearrange existing furniture to improve flow and define each space; for example, pull sofas off the wall and use area rugs to frame conversation zones.

  • Decluttering & pre‑packing – According to Krisztina’s 20+ years of staging experience, the golden rule is to “keep it simple”; she favours classic styles and clean lines to make first impressions countnovacancy-atl.com. Box up seasonal clothing and knick‑knacks and clear off countertops so that buyers can imagine their own belongings in the space. Don’t forget closets and drawers – neat storage signals that the home has ample space.

  • Using what you have – Occupied staging doesn’t always require renting furniture. Krisztina suggests “shopping” in your own house: repurpose lamps and artwork from other rooms, slipcover bold furniture and swap in neutral bedding to freshen bedrooms. A few small accessories like greenery or throw pillows can polish the look without feeling contrived.

  • Family‑ and pet‑friendly tips – The episode offers specific advice for households with children or pets. Keep a basket handy for last‑minute toy or pet‑item pickup, use washable slipcovers, and create designated play zones to control clutter. Maintain daily cleaning routines to minimize pet odors and fur.

  • Lighting and curb appeal – Good lighting makes rooms feel larger and more inviting. Judy reminds sellers to open curtains, replace dim bulbs and add lamps. Outside, trim hedges, pressure‑wash walkways and add potted plants for a welcoming first impression. In her Brookhaven luxury market forecast, Judy notes that presentation counts more than ever.

  • Common mistakes to avoid – Overstaging with trendy décor, leaving personal photos on display or neglecting small repairs can deter buyers. Krisztina stresses that occupied staging is about enhancing livability and buyer appeal simultaneously — not creating a showroom.

About the guest – Krisztina Bell

Krisztina Bell is a nationally recognized home‑staging pioneer with more than two decades in real estate marketing. She founded No Vacancy Home Staging and Virtually Staging Properties, two Atlanta‑based companies that provide both traditional and patent‑pending virtual staging services. Her virtual staging process transforms photos of vacant homes into professionally staged images that drive buyer trafficnovacancy-atl.com. Her work has been featured on HGTV’s House Hunters and Property Brothers, and in Realtor Magazine, The New York Times and Dallas Morning Newsnovacancy-atl.com. Krisztina also co‑hosted the Atlanta radio show “At Home With Paisley Radio Show,” interviewing design and real‑estate expertsnovacancy-atl.com. She teaches real‑estate professionals nationwide and emphasizes that staging is about making first impressions count.

 

 

Connect with Judy

Ready to stage and sell your Atlanta home? Judy offers complimentary consultations and personalized strategies for sellers:

Related content and case studies

  • Case study: fast sale through strategic staging – Judy’s blog post “1 Year Without a Buyer … Judy Got It Sold in 1 Day, Full Price” details how she took over an expired Midtown listing and used updated staging, professional photography and a “coming soon” campaign to sell the condo within 24 hours. The client praised Judy as a “caring, hardworking and knowledgeable agent” who helped get the property ready and sold quickly. Her marketing plan included replacing virtual staging with real, comfortable furniture layouts and adjusting design elements like removing orange wallpaper.

  • Luxury market forecast – Judy’s Brookhaven forecast explains why luxury sellers must prioritize staging, lighting and decluttering to appeal to discerning buyers.

  • Listing agent guide – For a deeper understanding of an agent’s role, Judy’s article “What is a Listing Agent in Real Estate?” notes that top agents coordinate professional staging and photography to showcase homes and devise pricing strategies.

More episodes to check out

Interested in more home‑selling insights? Explore other episodes from Judy’s show:

Why this matters for home sellers

For Atlanta homeowners, effective staging isn’t just cosmetic — it directly influences sale price, time on market and buyer perceptions. By learning to stage an occupied home, you’ll maximize space, highlight your property’s strengths and reduce buyer objections. Judy’s proven strategies and Krisztina’s expert tips empower you to attract more buyers, negotiate from a position of strength and achieve a top‑dollar sale.

What one of her clients has to say:

“Judy is a caring, hardworking, and knowledgeable agent. She knows what she is doing and is willing to work hard to get your property sold. She has plenty of connections and doesn’t just tell you what to do — she helps you get things done to make the property ready to sell. With Judy’s guidance, I sold my condo within 24 hours of listing. I was amazed. She is the best agent – she will work hard to get your property sold. Thank you, Judy.”

 

About Contact

[Speaker 2]
Getting a home ready to sell is about more than cleaning and decluttering, it's about creating an environment that homebuyers can't resist. Whether you're thinking of selling soon or just want to be prepared for the future, understanding the value of occupied home staging is essential. It's a powerful way to showcase your home's best features, helping homebuyers picture themselves living there and ultimately sell faster and for top dollar.

Today we'll explore why staging matters and how homeowners can take advantage of this strategy to maximize their home's potential. Selling a home isn't just about putting up a for sale sign, it's about strategy, marketing and negotiation. But how do you know if you're making the right moves?

I'm Judy Jernigan, recognized among the top 5% by the Atlanta Realtors and your host of How to Sell Your Atlanta Home with Sage and Grace, smart homeowner strategies, successful real estate sales. With a background in broadcasting, negotiation and education, I bring a unique perspective to home sales, helping homeowners sell faster for top dollar and with less hassle while understanding not just the financial side, but also the logistical and emotional considerations of a move. This show helps you plan ahead, navigate the market and work more effectively with a realtor like me.

You'll get expert insights from my guests plus real actionable strategies to sell with confidence. Now here's the show moving you forward with Sage Advice and Grace. Welcome to How to Sell Your Atlanta Home with Sage and Grace, smart homeowner strategies for successful real estate sales.

I'm Judy Jernigan, founder and team lead of Sage and Grace Realty Group and a partner at Clerio Real Estate. As a licensed broker in Georgia and North Carolina, my team and I are passionate about helping homeowners achieve their goals with strategies that align with their timeline and deliver sage advice and gracious service. Today I'm excited to be joined by Christine Bell, a home staging expert with 20 years of experience helping homeowners showcase their properties in the best possible light.

Christina is the founder of No Vacancy Real Estate. Christina is the founder of No Vacancy Home Staging, an Atlanta-based company that's transformed countless homes into spaces that captivate buyers. Her work has been featured on HGTV and in the New York Times and Realtor Magazine.

With her simple yet impactful approach to staging, Christina specializes in helping home sellers take the next step toward a successful sale. Thanks for joining us today. Thank you for having me.

So many people understand home staging as something that we bring in furnishings when a home is vacant, but when someone is still living in their home, there are things they should keep in mind and ways that you can help them get their home staged with their perhaps their own furnishings, a mixture of both. Can we talk a little bit more about what are some of the considerations homeowners need to know when they're getting ready to sell their home?

[Speaker 1]
Well, it's kind of that time where they need to get the home ready to sell, but there are a lot of moving parts and when working with a real estate agent, the agent might overwhelm them a little bit with that, but hence we are professional home stagers and so this is the job and this is what that we do. And one thing that we don't want to do is make too stressful for them and there could be a lot of things going on. It could be at the end of a year, it could be at different times in their lives, and so we want to make sure that they stay focused and that they understand that the staging is only going to help them get that top dollar, as you mentioned, for the home.

And so it does involve a little bit of keeping an open mind and of course, you know, going room by room and explaining to the seller the fact that we need to do some depersonalization of the home, maybe some decluttering of the home and, you know, maybe taking that leaf out of the dining table and making it a little bit smaller just to show the potential of spaces and it just depends on that seller. It's going to be tough for them.

They've lived in the house maybe for quite some time or maybe not. Maybe they're like, no, I'd rather move out and maybe they've decided to just go ahead and move all their furniture out. But if the furniture remains, then it's just a matter of going in and again, focusing on those main rooms, a living room, a dining room, the kitchen, and then of course, the primary bedroom.

Kind of start there and then progress into the other additional rooms because bedrooms are bedrooms after that. Kids' bedrooms and things, they shouldn't really get too wrapped up in, is this bathroom okay or whatever? Yes.

And even though it's maybe not as updated. And so there's lots of different factors that come into play.

[Speaker 2]
So let's talk about specifically for people who are still living in the home, they're not able to move perhaps until they close and sell it. So they're still living in the home. They want to get it looking their best and list the home for sale.

What do you think of these? These are the four things that I tell my clients and I'd love your input on this. I say, first and most important thing is to clean, clean, clean.

Make sure the home is as spotless as you can get it. Second is to have a handyman come out, take care of any little maintenance issues. No squeaky doorknobs, no doorknobs rattling.

Make sure all the doors open and close. Make sure there's no drippy faucets, any little maintenance things we want to get taken care of. The third thing is to pre-pack, declutter, get your personal things out of the way.

And then the fourth thing is I lump in the rest as staging. But what does that mean and what do we do? So perhaps we back up to, I think everyone understands cleaning and how to do that and having the handyman fix any little things.

But to the third point, what is your take on them?

[Speaker 1]
Well, I kind of always...

[Speaker 2]
There was a pre-packing and the decluttering. What does that mean? What specific things do they need to be thinking about?

[Speaker 1]
It's the time to think about, do they need this and do they need it to move to the next house? If they don't, they might consider possibly donating. Hence, you know, we work with the local nonprofit and I always try to recommend if they have any pieces of furnishings that they wish to donate, I can make that recommendation or on consignment.

Or, you know, again, they want to consider, you know, maybe there's a few pieces that might have a little bit of an antique kind of feel or old kind of feel. And maybe we could remove those, even if it's just placing it maybe in the garage or something. You know, again, we're showing features.

[Speaker 2]
What do you think of a garage that's full of pre-packed boxes and things, but the home is cleaned out and decluttered?

[Speaker 1]
And that's where a pod could come into play, putting a pod out and having it carried off to storage. I mean, especially if it's a two-car, three-car or one of the features of a home. Again, you know, maybe it's a neighborhood where it's the only place with a two-car garage or a three-car or something.

I love the pods.

[Speaker 2]
In case people don't know what we're talking about, that's where someone will bring a storage unit, set it in your driveway, you can fill it up with the things you're pre-packing for your next home, and then they will take the pod into storage and move it then store it in the pod company's storage unit and then take it to your next home where you can unpack it. So it saves you from having to move things into a separate storage unit. I think it's a really good solution for a lot of people.

[Speaker 1]
Yes, you want to make it easy again for the seller. So, you know, having that being convenient for the seller, again, we don't want to make it stressful for them. And so we want to make it as easy as possible.

And one thing too is that, you know, we're focusing on the main rooms first and everybody's like, well, what about the closets don't worry about that yet. Let's just focus on the main rooms first and start to declutter, depersonalize a little bit there. And, you know, the more they pack away, the more they either donate or get rid of, the easier their move is going to be out of the home too.

They have to kind of look at it that way. You know, closets, I usually tell the sellers when I do, I haven't done a walkthrough in a long time because I have a team of stagers now, but back in the day, I used to explain to sellers, listen and give them like a to-do list, a homework to-do list to start out. And if it's a big house, sometimes I would have to come back a second or third time because we're going at the, maybe the main floor and then there's the upper level.

And then maybe you have a basement level too. So depends on the size of the home. And so again, the more they pack away, the more they get rid of, we want to make sure we still have an area rug and a dining table and chairs, and they still want to feel comfortable living there too, while it's listed for sale.

So sometimes we take the doggie toys or, you know, the kid's toys and maybe put it in a little basket or something and hide it behind the chair during the showing, but you can bring it back out when the showing is over. So making it still livable, but yet, you know, getting rid of things so that it's in that showable condition when they're ready to show, do a showing.

[Speaker 2]
So you mentioned starting in the primary area. So a great room or living room and a kitchen, maybe. So should we start in the kitchen?

What are some things you're going to suggest?

[Speaker 1]
In the kitchen areas, you want to, what I say, kind of clear off the countertop spaces.

[Speaker 2]
Definitely.

[Speaker 1]
And, you know, maybe it's just having maybe the coffee machine out and maybe a few things that they maybe use every day that they just don't have a space to put away.

[Speaker 2]
The balance of the things that they really need because they are living there.

[Speaker 1]
We get that and hopefully things that don't look okay too. Let's take it away for now, Mr. Seller, but then you can put it back out after because it's the photos.

[Speaker 2]
Of course it's the photos too. Things that are going to, this is, this is interesting. The other day I had a listing and we, I was sticking soap under the sink for the photos and then I had an open house where we were having a lot of people coming through visiting.

I was pulling the soap back out. I'm like, we're going to need this. Getting things photo ready is different than it needs to look when you actually have people visiting.

There's slight nuances.

[Speaker 1]
Yeah. With Occupy, there is a lot of steps and I call it like baby steps. You really have to take baby steps with the seller because it's a lot to process.

Even just what we talked about in vacant home staging. Now we're talking about Occupy. There's a lot of moving parts and, you know, they might have family and kids still living there or a dog or pet.

There's that too. So you have to kind of take all those things into factor there. But again, giving them a to-do list of items.

It's very simple. It's almost the same list that I give to agents in my home staging CE class that I teach as well. And it's, you know, you know, again, like you mentioned the cleaning and then decluttering, removing those personal photos, possibly maybe moving off the things off the countertops that you don't really use every day.

And then kind of simplifying things, maybe making donation of items if it's stuff that you're going to get rid of, or if you're going to, you know, leave a dining table or two. There are some instances too where sometimes the person, it still might be occupied, but they have a couple of rooms that might need some furnishings brought in. So there are some other staging companies.

I don't particularly bring in furnishings into occupied homes. I specifically do vacant, but there are staging companies in Atlanta that do bring in furnishings into occupied homes to help kind of fill in a little bit if some of the furnishings are not available.

[Speaker 2]
Maybe if they've got a beautiful mantle and it really needs that pop of art above it.

[Speaker 1]
Decor type packages too could also be another type of service that a staging company would offer as well.

[Speaker 2]
So you mentioned pets. What do you, what are some of the things you recommend for people who are trying to sell a home and there are pets, living cats, dogs, what can we do to help?

[Speaker 1]
It's kind of just getting that litter box out of the main areas and maybe putting it somewhere else possibly that might be not noticeable when they first walk in kind of thing. Again, it's kind of a case-by-case basis. I love cats and dogs.

[Speaker 2]
I love our fur babies. Not everyone coming through the home is going to appreciate that there are cats and dogs there. Everybody's different.

We want the home to appeal to as many buyers as possible. So try to just hide the litter box. What are some other tips you have?

[Speaker 1]
Yeah, trying to maybe transition that litter box to another area. Possibly have the pets. Sometimes people do have to take their dogs or a cat and maybe out into another room during a showing kind of thing.

Again, just seeing, you know, how much of their items are out in view. And so again, it's more, it's like the kids toys and the cat toys.

[Speaker 2]
So what do you recommend?

[Speaker 1]
Putting a little basket in a basket type thing that could be hidden away and kind of downplaying, you know, that there are animals in the home as well.

[Speaker 2]
If you're still living in the home and you have children living in the home, what tips similar to what tips do you have for?

[Speaker 1]
Well, I mean, it's similar with toys and things like that. I do know that in some instances there are sellers who are motivated to say, well, this was the kids playroom, but I know it really needs to show as the dining room, for example. And so we go, okay.

And so we kind of relocate again where the kids playroom might be. Maybe it goes down to the basement area. That's not going to be like a top, you know, main interest.

Or, you know, it goes in the kids' rooms. And when it comes to the kids' rooms and things too, even if it's a playroom or even if it's, you know, the kids' bedrooms and they're a different paint color or anything like that. And maybe there's a bed on the floor.

We try to get them to raise it up and put it on a bed frame, but not worry so much about painting the kids' rooms, kids' rooms or kids' rooms. I really want them to focus again on neutralizing and decluttering and organizing and really staging those main rooms that we talked about. That's the main focus there.

And then everything else is kind of, it's not so bad. You don't have to worry about that too much.

[Speaker 2]
If they're able to do some painting, would you, you do, you would recommend some fresh paint can go a long way, right?

[Speaker 1]
Yes. Yes, it does. Definitely.

Consistency is key with the painting too. You know, some people feel like, okay, well, the rest of the house is all neutral, but I still have this, you know, soft green or blue color in my dining room. Can I leave it?

It depends. You know, again too, another factor is, is that, you know, I like to look at what other homes are on the market that we're competing with too, because it could help with the decision of what, you know, we decide on as far as paint. And well, you really should do this room as this because guess what?

The neighbor down the street has theirs for sale. So there's sometimes other factors that come into play that you have to think about as well.

[Speaker 2]
Buyers are comparison shopping.

[Speaker 1]
They are. And so there's going to be a lot of properties coming on the market and in the new year. So the competition gets pretty, pretty fierce.

[Speaker 2]
Yes. Do you, what tips or advice do you have for people who are living in the home, keeping their home staged and looking good on a day-to-day basis, knowing that someone could come by for a showing just about anytime?

[Speaker 1]
Well, it was funny because like I mentioned, when I used to do the staging consultations myself, I would have the sellers, we would go room by room. They would take notes on what I mentioned. And then in some instances, when I started to prep the home and get it ready for the photos, some of them would go ahead and take their phone.

I can take pictures of how I made the bed and how I placed the pillows on the furnishings. Yeah. And so they kept it so that they know how to make the bed again.

And, you know, with the bedding and all, especially when I recommend bedding and neutralizing bedding is another big one. Some people have floral, colorful patterns on their beds. I usually recommend a very simple coverlet.

It's just easy. You can literally lay it over top of any type of other comforter and it would still look good if they need to do a quick, like making of the bed before a showing kind of thing. It's just an easy thing that you can just kind of roll all the way up.

So I try to suggest items that are quick, easy to do type stuff.

[Speaker 2]
What are some other changes? We talked about this and everyone should go and check out our episode on vacant home staging, because we talked about some things that apply to both use cases, if you will. But what are some things that homeowners can change quick and easy from paint to light fixtures to hardware?

[Speaker 1]
Yeah. So, you know, in a dining room, they could either cap if it's an old light fixture and they don't feel like making in the money on a new one, then they could cap it as long as there's enough lighting in there. And then, of course, if there's not much lighting, bringing some more lamps into the room on a console table in a dining area would be helpful.

[Speaker 2]
I have a listing right now where we're getting feedback that even though we have the curtain, there are no draperies, no window treatments, we're letting in all the sunlight we can. There's beautiful dark hardwood floors and some of the feedback that we're getting is it just feels dark. So we've taken lamps into the home.

I think it's going to help a lot.

[Speaker 1]
So, for example, the fifth wall, if somebody paints it a dark color or if it's a dark color in a room or even dark flooring, anything that's a dark is going to basically soak in all of that light, even natural light that you have. So that's what's happening in that situation. And again, that's just an artist telling you that's what it happens.

And from a marketing perspective too. And so those are also things to consider. Dark furnishings look really good on a white background, but when it's darker walls and dark furniture, it makes it look very drab and very dark, so to speak.

[Speaker 2]
And home buyers, when they're home shopping, like to see light, bright and airy spaces.

[Speaker 1]
Light, bright, airy spaces, warm and inviting. It doesn't feel claustrophobic almost to a point.

[Speaker 2]
Once people move in, they will put up their window treatments and create privacy and coziness, but they do not look for that when they're shopping for homes, interestingly.

[Speaker 1]
Yeah. And so that's something that we suggest quite a bit when we go into homes, the drapery, we might even suggest removing it. And then they worry about, well, what if the rod is still up there?

And I'm like, don't worry so much about the drapery rod. That's not going to make or break a sale of a house. Right.

Just taking that drapery, heavy drapery down will just make it more clean lines. And they're not going to focus on that. In the bathrooms, again, same thing as we do, even in our vacant homes, is we always suggest the hotel white bathroom dressings.

I know people, if we have Georgia lovers and Bulldog lovers with the red, but those red towels and red plates, things like that, we need to kind of maybe tone that down and go something more neutral. So we do recommend, if it's a shower curtain type shower setup, then doing a white curtain, white towels and things like that. And then if it's anything, draperies that are up, if they are a neutral color base, like a tan or beiges, those might be okay.

Just pull them apart, maybe open up the window blinds as well. Definitely. Especially when they're taking the photos.

And then again, making sure light bulbs that they're all working, because we see a lot of bathroom light bulbs that are not working or maybe different coloring. Be careful with your recess lights and things too, because they could be flood light versus a regular light. And so you want to make sure those are somewhat all matching as well.

And I think in our other episode, we talked about the warm light bulbs and things like that.

[Speaker 2]
So important to have warm light, not the blue cold light.

[Speaker 1]
Just the details to think about when getting a home ready. And it's not going to be perfect after that first showing and pictures and taking, and we get that. But at the same time, as long as sellers are focusing on making sure the bed's made, maybe fluff the pillows, throw those couple last minute toys in a basket, hide it behind a chair kind of thing.

Things like that, so that it looks presentable and not that you left all the dishes on the table kind of thing and left. Try to keep it clean, clean, clean, clean as you can.

[Speaker 2]
As much as possible. Yeah. One coffee mug in the sink is fine, but not all of the dirty dishes.

[Speaker 1]
Right.

[Speaker 2]
So what about kitchen knobs or bathroom knobs, hardware? Is that something where people can make a change that they should consider?

[Speaker 1]
Yes, they can. I mean, the brushed silver is always a safe bet, but yes, the metallics are in, people like black and the metals, the brushed brass, I think in the gold is really popular right now still, which is interesting. Usually brass comes in, goes right back out, but it's still hanging out.

And so everybody is really getting into, it's just making that right decision and hence why having a professional stager come out to make those recommendations. Because sometimes agents, they see a lot of houses, but they may not be up to date with what's current or just might not be like, well, no, no, no, don't look at me. I have nothing to do with this.

You're the professional, please make this right. Because we don't want you to make one suggestion and us to make a different suggestion, because what we've seen happen in the past is sometimes the agent recommended all these different things to do, and we came in and completely recommended the opposite. And it's not good because we've actually lost business on that.

So the agent actually hurt themselves by doing that. Bringing a professional home stager in to make the recommendations up front is definitely much better. And it just makes for a smoother process to not stress out the seller once again.

[Speaker 2]
What are some of the common mistakes you see homeowners make?

[Speaker 1]
I think they try to maybe overstage a little bit. I mean, we do a little bit of the towels and maybe a little bit of place settings and things, but you don't really have to go all out and set up the entire dining table. And what we call over stage.

And so again, I always just recommend to keep it very simple. I've even seen it down to like fake cheesecake on a plate thing. And it was kind of scary.

And they had all those. Yeah, I've seen all kinds of interesting things. Like, no, no, no, no, and Ivy is my big, oh gosh, Ivy is just like, oh my God, my eyes, you know, it's one of those episodes.

I'm like, get rid of the Ivy, please, please.

[Speaker 2]
What are some of the things you think about when you're advising, when you're walking through and making that checklist? What stays and what goes? How do you decide what stays and what goes?

[Speaker 1]
Again, it's creating the space. We want to show off as much space as possible. And so hence, you know, in a dining room, if it's a huge dining room, and it's got 10 chairs, how about we make it more eight, take out the, you know, the centerpiece and make it a little smaller, and then maybe move away those chairs on each side of a console table, just to create more of an open space and make the space look larger.

And then, you know, again, the decluttering, clearing off the countertops, and, you know, utilizing, you know, putting away books and games and loose things and maybe too much decor and artwork that might not be appropriate as well. That's another.

[Speaker 2]
What are your thoughts on people having family photos in their home or their various collections or religious objects?

[Speaker 1]
You know, china cabinets in the dining room can be overly stocked with too much. It might be best to take out majority, you know, stick with the basics of plates and cups and things and not so much. And then personal photos, usually we try to get them to remove at least the ones that are in picture frames near bedside tables and things that by the, if it's something that's on the wall in a major area in a room, that might be something that maybe relocate or maybe go ahead and pack away those valuables and maybe replace with a piece of artwork or something that's maybe brought in or purchased. I mean, again, there are some instances where the stager can go out and purchase a few things like a lamps or bathroom towels or a piece of art or decor to bring into the home as well. And the person can keep it or, you know, maybe the stager keeps it as well, but can purchase it for them.

Maybe they take it to the next house.

[Speaker 2]
I've heard one way of looking at it is we want other people to be able to envision themselves living here, not see you and your family.

[Speaker 1]
Exactly. Yes, that is the basic benefit of the staging process there. And you do, you want them to feel like they're living in your home, not paying so much attention to all your wedding photos that you have on display.

And so, yes, but, you know, letting them know in a manner that, you know, listen, this is just, you know, for temporary right now. And it's because we're selling at the home. We want to appeal to a broad range of potential buyers.

Exactly.

[Speaker 2]
Yeah. Right. So we've talked about first, you want to keep everything, make everything as clean as possible.

Definitely time to do that spring cleaning, getting a handyman out to take care of any little maintenance issues. We talked about the power of painting, what fresh paint can do.

[Speaker 1]
Yes.

[Speaker 2]
And then the staging with the pre-packing, the decluttering, removing personal things, opening windows, let in the light, make sure all your light fixtures and light bulbs have warm light. Exterior wise too.

[Speaker 1]
Oh, yes.

[Speaker 2]
What are we forgetting? Exterior.

[Speaker 1]
Exterior. Front door, you know, my big thing is can you find the street number? One time I literally was looking for the house, couldn't find.

I'm like, where is it? It's got to be here. And it's because there was no numbers on the mailbox.

And so I suggested to the seller, like, do you mind if I just go by like four little numbers and just like put them on your mailbox for you? Because I couldn't even find. And so make sure those street numbers are visible.

Front door is, you know, maybe freshly painted if it needs it, maybe it needs some hardware replacement. Even in my house, I've lived here in Brookhaven a long time, over 20 years. And my husband and I decided to change out our exterior light fixtures because they were dated.

And it was actually just some really pretty ones we found from a lighting venue here in Atlanta. And the rest on the back of the house came from Amazon. You can find anything on Amazon.

[Speaker 2]
Home buyers spend a long time at the front door waiting for their agent to get it.

[Speaker 1]
Very inexpensive. You don't need to spend a lot of money, just something that looks clean and maybe suitable to the style of the home. And again, that's another thing that when that's a home stager is there, you're paying them by the hour to be there.

So ask all the questions that you want to ask, exterior and interior and about paint and whatever else, because they are designers. So they can sit down with you and go online with you and make those suggestions of a light fixture or, you know, a fan, even fans too. We replaced all the fans in my house to something more modern.

And so freshly painted front door, a new welcome doormat sometimes is very pretty. You know, pot of flowers or greenery in each side of a front door just to bring in a little bit of color there and pop. And then making sure things are pressure washed and blowing the leaves, you know, after January, February, definitely want to do a blowing of the leaves, cleaning of the gutters as we head into spring, of course.

[Speaker 2]
So first impressions are really important. Definitely.

[Speaker 1]
So how did you get interested in home staging? Well, believe it or not, I actually had my real estate license in 2003 and sold a little bit. Just wasn't my thing.

I've always been a marketing person. And my friends were like, you just know how to make things look good. And they're like, you should try staging.

And I'm like, okay. And all of a sudden in 2005, I started out, we actually replacing home managers, kind of doing a show home type setup. But after a couple of years, I really just liked and preferred the staging us bringing in our own furnishings.

And my husband, it was in the corporate world and was wanting to change jobs. And so he's like, Hmm, this looks interesting. Looks like you're making decent money on this.

And so he joined me about 2006, seven, and we've been staging specifically vacant homes. Now there's lots of stagers in Atlanta. I'm friends with all of them, we collaborate, I'm big into collaboration marketing.

So I have relationships with Sherwood Williams, California closet. I do a lot of designer events, I do webinars, and just refresh my YouTube channel page. And I'm excited.

We've got lots of great things happening because 20 years in the business, but I specifically focus on vacant homes. I don't get into furniture selling, I don't get short term rental properties. We do help with occupied properties.

We do staging consultations as well. But it's the vacant properties are so much more fun because it's like a blank canvas you get to work with. And I enjoy working with builders, and with flippers and investors.

And you know, it's it's their hard earned money. And they really want to make it look nice. They want to show off the value of the home, they want to get top dollar for their home, but they want to  get excited cause they're like once they sell they wanna go down to the next one right um and so um working together with agents and clients it's been a lot of fun we get to know each other their friends we have literally agents that already give us so many houses a year they wanna use this all the time they wanna work together with us as a team um and so I like that it's all about the teamwork to get the job done do you have warehouse of furnishing yes we do have a warehouse of furnishings uh we are based in the shamely durable area which is a great location to get around Atlanta we go out 40 miles or so all around Atlanta and you have a team of movers I do have team of movers my husband and I run the business we have movers we have a crew of stagers who are also interior designers and so
it helps because they live in different parts of town that we can cover a good base and we built a lot of great clients over the years and have become actually friends as well so it's been very um
very nice we're very fortunate um again Atlanta being a top 10 city to move to um
I like to get back to the community
and so we also are going in our fifth year um
working with a local non profit in Atlanta to um
Atlanta gave a lot to me I'm not from here and so um
we basically you know
wanted to give back as well
so
we decorate homes for families coming out of homeless
shelter and the organizations called furnish with Love
their based indicator
and they work alongside of a lot of different
programs with families that come out of homelessness
one of them being the Atlanta City of refuge um
so it's been exciting um
and it's a lot of fun
we get to decorate a home for a mom and kids and
and they don't have anything
they just have a couple bags of clothes
and no furniture
so we bring in furniture to core and wow
yeah it's like
it's like an HGTV show really
because we started like in the morning
and we have to be done by 4 o'clock in the evening
and it's got to be ready to go like beds
and all and they must be so excited when they get there
there because they're just coming out
and the mom and the kids and we
I go overboard so we buy gifts and um
we get desks
and we buy all kinds of gift cards and things
and really just go all out um
in there and raise
we raise money every year for that as well
hence the CE classes that I teach um
I sell tickets for that where can people find you
so um we actually um are gonna
you're the first to know we have a new domain name
that we're going to be adding
in addition to No Vacancy ATL
com which is our website but if you can't remember that
just think of staging Atlanta
com that is a second domain name that we purchased
as we go into 20 years in business
and online is the best way to reach us
and our website is very informational
there's paint colors on their
benefits of staging on there there's even statistics
when Williams Benjamin Moore paint
paint charts are on there
we have an app you can download
we have a home staging app
that has all that information
before and after photos um
it's a very valuable and informational website
if people are wondering how the process works
and what paint colors to use and things like that yeah
yeah lots of good info on me yeah
thank you thanks so much
for having me I appreciate it
this was great fun yeah this is a lot of fun
thanks for joining us on how to sell your Atlanta home
with Sage and Grace I'm Judy Gernigan
and I love helping homeowners sell smarter
with less stress and better results
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