Clean Vs. Staged – What’s the difference?

If you are a home seller or a realtor, maybe you are wondering why you would hire a stager when it’s easy to make sure the house is clean before a photographer comes. Well, there is a big difference between a clean house and a staged house.

This difference is what sets the good houses apart from the great houses. In the first picture you see a clean and tidy, but sterile looking kitchen. In the second picture you see a kitchen that is inviting and one could imagine entertaining guests here.

Anyone can clean off countertops or shove a mess into the closet, but a stager can make the house look much more appealing than just clean. And usually the changes that need to be made are free or very inexpensive.

A clean room usually means that all color, decor, and signs of life have been eliminated. A staged room means that it has been arranged and decorated in such a way that accentuates its strengths and minimizes any weaknesses it might have. This is done so that when a potential home buyer walks through a house they can envision themselves living there. There are splashes of color, signs of life, and emotional connections all throughout the house. So, of course the potential buyers want to make an offer on the house and they are willing to pay top dollar in order to get it!