Photo #1: completely empty Amusement Room.

Staging a home well invariably involves lots of fine-tuning and not a little trial-and-error.

So, sofas get moved around, art work get hung (then removed, then re-hung), Oriental rugs get deployed in various locations, etc.

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Photo #2: virtually staged, “take 1.”

Unbeknownst to home Buyers and Sellers, the same process applies to what’s called “virtual staging” ” that is, using software to show what an empty room would look like furnished and accessorized.

The key difference?

With virtual staging, that process happens completely online.

Virtual Staging, Virtual Editing

Exhibit A would be the lower level Amusement Room in a Plymouth home that I recently sold.

The top photo shows the room “as is”: completely empty (note:  the Seller had already moved out-of-state, and the entire house was bare).

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Photo #3: virtually staged, “take 2.”

Photo #2 shows the room virtually staged, but with a “hiccup”: the (virtual) TV on the back wall is off, and therefore black . . and therefore nearly invisible against the dark green wallpaper.

The solution?

Turn the TV on ” virtually, that is.

Which is exactly what the software folks did in the new-and-improved version (Photo #3) of the Amusement Room photo, above.

Pretty cool, huh??

See also, “Virtual Staging Success Story“; “Virtual Staging — Take 2“; “Virtual Staging — Take 3“;“Virtual Staging, Installment #4“; “Unmatched Potential“; and “Create Your Dream Home on Fern Hill’s Glenhurst Ave.”

P.S.:  Also note the exercise equipment in the adjoining room (center left of the last two photos).

About the author

Ross Kaplan has 19+ years experience selling real estate all over the Twin Cities. He is also a 12-time consecutive "Super Real Estate Agent," as determined by Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Ross was an attorney (corporate law), CPA, and entrepreneur. He holds an economics degree from Stanford.

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