HI there! Congratulations on your new coastal home. For the Victorian you are selling I would look at the WaterWorks and Restoration Hardware websites for good staging ideas...they have great photos, the style is right, and they show things that you could easily reuse in your new home. Forgo the raffia (it is a bit dated and too "stagey" a look) and just have lots of fluffy white towels - some rolled, some stacked - candles in either black or white, fresh white flowers with beautiful greens, and a silver frame with a black and white photo of something universally loved (like a golden retreiver...), etc. Good luck and send pictures!

can you provide photos of what has been done so far ?

C wright. Thanks for your ideas. I just bought alot of white waffle towels and white soaps. Didn't really mean to do raffia :). .....just thought of that trick used by a stager in a house years and years ago. Will submit pix next week after i finish packing up rooms. Keep looking back please!dyk...nothing has been staged yet. The contracter left this afternoon after replacing faucets and doorknobs etc The painters just finished painting after three weeks of oak trim( now painted white) and come back next week for touchups.

Just make sure everything is packed up (i.e. all your knick-knacks, pictures, personal belongings, etc.) and only have a minimal amount of furniture out. Make sure walls are neutral colors and clean of any marks, maybe just one picture on the wall over the fireplace or couch but everything else should be bare. Make sure kitchen and bathroom counters are cleaned off of appliances and other junk (except a vase of flowers). Move the furniture that remains into a position of not how you would use it, but in a way that makes the room more spacious, lets more light in, etc. Landscaping should be kept up with and everything neat and tidy. If nothing else, even if something needs maintenance or replacing, if it's clean it will go a long way towards someone being willing to take it on as a project vs. not. So make sure everything is always clean and full of light.

This is difficult if you're still living there because you basically have to be packed up and living out of just a few essentials, but when we were home searching it was obvious which homes were staged and it made a big difference in how fast those homes went and what the price was. Sad to say, most people can't really look beyond "stuff" to see how the house will look so you've got to make it pretty for them.

A quick trick is to keep your personal grooming aids in a basket so they can be whisked away and stored out of sight. Don't have waste containers in sight, or plungers etc. keep as many surfaces clean as possible. Keep lids down always. Botanical prints always look fresh on the walls.

Make sure the front entry is inviting... A freshly painted front door, updated light fixture at the entrance, a fresh new welcome mat, and everything around the entrance clean and manicured

An orchid plant in the bathroom connotes luxury.

Apple pie. Great minds think alike. Just bought a white one. :). I am grateful to all for suggestions. Have just empied out the house into a temporary spot and have already sent a van with my fav things (bad timing, i had not thought it through). I am considering hiring a stager w furniture even though it is repainted top to bottom w new carpet next week. Any thoughts as to trying it out the first three weeks of may empty or should I go with immediate staging. ( am in midwest w lots of flwer beds that will not start blooming until june due to weather. ). Am in the 300k price range, somewhat depressed area but have lots of amenities (cedar closet, dark room, gym, wine cellar) that other houses around don't. However, already closed on house 2. So two mortgages. Thoughts?

In our area, houses that are staged sell much, much faster. The cost of a stager can be less than the monthly cost of carrying mortgage and insurance and utilites for the house. I'd hire a stager if I were you. And take her advice about paint colors and new carpet!

A dark room is pretty unusual these days. Be sure to clear out all those chemicals (the smell returns to my mind immediately!). Maybe the stager can repurpose it as a small media room or office.

Any current photos to post?

Great job so far! Can't wait to see a few photos!

I'd market to photographers, wine enthusiasts etc. Try photography, wine, workout clubs, magazines, newsletters, websites, chat groups etc. Always much easier to sell something specific to a specific client.