VIRTUAL STAGING

Working in the apartment/real estate industry means there is a need for visual representation of your available properties. For some, well-photographed images are just what the prospect needs to take action, schedule a showing, or sign a lease. In some situations, though, that is simply not enough.

For example, an odd layout can make it challenging for some to imagine it as a home. Perhaps the bedroom looks tiny. Maybe you can’t envision what kind of dining table could fit in an area. What if this person is just left-brained and has a hard time envisioning things without physically seeing it? That’s where virtual staging comes in.

Virtual staging takes an image of a room and adds furniture and decor to allow the audience to envision the space as a home. For months, I would have professional photographers take pictures of available apartments, and then send those images to a third-party company to stage the image. After trying several different companies at varying price points, the images often came back underwhelming.

The rooms were lacking pizazz or felt empty. Sometimes, the images weren’t consistent. The picture that showed the living room and kitchen in the background would have a completely different decor package in the image of just the kitchen. Some would argue on the edits, some took forever, and some companies, unfortunately, would do both.

At this point, I got sick of the process. I rolled up my sleeves, put on my best design jams, and got to work staging units myself. I’m happy with the turnout.