Staging Helps to Sell a Home

By John Bruno Turiano

From Home to House: A Staging Tale

Katherine Stern of K+L Home Stagers (914-582-1920) admits her job can be difficult. “As a stager, my role is to turn a home into a house.” The problem? Some homeowners take it as a slight as she depersonalizes their living space so potential buyers can imagine themselves there. “They think they have terrible taste or they live like a slob.”

The owner of 144 Orchard Ridge Road in Chappaqua certainly wasn’t slighted after Stern, who previously worked as an interior designer before becoming stager last year, helped to sell the 3 BR Colonial. After languishing on the market for five months (and numerous price drops), Stern was hired—and the home sold in a little more than a month. Stern removed some furniture, rearranged other pieces, de-cluttered, painted, and re-hung artwork.

“I like the challenge of working with what people already have,” she says. “A house doesn’t have to look like Pottery Barn to sell.”

144 Orchard Ridge Road

Living Room Before

Living Room After

Bedroom Before

Bedroom After

Porch Before

Porch After

List Price: $659,000
Sale Price: $642,500
Price/Sq Ft: $306/sq ft
Address: 144 Orchard Ridge Rd, Chappaqua
Style: Colonial
Exterior: Vinyl Siding
3 BR
1 full bath and 1 half bath
Square footage: 2,100
Acres: .3
Year Built: 1918
Taxes: $16,000
School System: New Castle (Horace Greeley)
Listing Agent: Beth Hocherman of Prudential Holmes and Kennedy, Chappaqua (914) 238-3988; bethhocherman.pruholmes.com

PS: Staging may help you sell your house quickly and keep your selling price as high as possible…and you’ll need every last penny living in Westchester. A recent Tax Foundation survey (taxfoundation.org) determined that at $7,908 annually, Westchester County is numero uno for highest median real estate taxes in the country. Nassau County, NY ($7,726), Hunterdon County, NJ ($7,708), Bergen County, NJ ($7,370), and Somerset County, NJ ($7,201) rounded out the top five.