How do I stage an older home or dated property?
Older and dated homes are some of the most rewarding properties to stage because they have the most potential for transformation. At Flowers Team Real Estate, Tara Llewellyn describes these as her favorite staging projects for exactly that reason: the before-and-after impact is most dramatic when you start with a home that needs updating.
Here is how Flowers Team approaches staging an older or dated property:
Start with an honest assessment of what is making the home feel dated. In most cases, it is a combination of paint, light fixtures, hardware, and sometimes floor condition. Identifying which of these can be addressed within the seller's budget and timeline is the first step, because not everything needs to be done, only the things that will generate a return.
Paint is almost always the first recommendation. Non-neutral paint colors, wallpaper, and inconsistent paint from room to room immediately signal age to buyers. Repainting in a warm, current neutral is the single most cost-effective update an older home can receive.
Light fixtures are the next highest-impact change. Fixtures from the 1980s, 1990s, or early 2000s date a home instantly, even to buyers who cannot articulate exactly why the space feels old. Replacing them with clean, contemporary fixtures costs relatively little and has a disproportionately large visual effect.
Hardware on cabinets and doors is similarly impactful. Brass door hardware is a tell of age in established Milton subdivisions. Updating it is a straightforward, affordable change.
Once the home's bones are refreshed as much as the budget allows, Tara's staging inventory does the rest. She has a wide variety of furniture styles in the warehouse specifically to serve different home aesthetics, including transitional pieces that blend older architectural details with contemporary furnishings in a way that is commercially appealing to buyers.
Older homes often present beautifully in a transitional style, which is currently one of the most popular design aesthetics. In those cases, the architecture works for the staging rather than against it.
View our staging transformations across a range of property types in the Flowers Team Staging Gallery.
Contact Flowers Team Real Estate to talk through what your older home needs.
