HILUXURY – Hawaii Luxury Magazine

Photo By Ryan Ohara

Meticulous attention to detail is paid in home staging - down to the last bits of decor - to ensure a personal touch

Photo By Ryan Ohara

A model unit at Capitol Place staged by Jamie Jackson and Jenn Johnson of Pacific Home

Photo courtesy mesh

The key to home staging is to make a space feel "lived in," with just the right dishes and fixtures in kitchens and living spaces

Properties get a dose of “fluffing” through the creative art of home staging

There are many ways to sell a home, from the old trick of filling the air with the aroma of baking bread to the newer and more sophisticated art of staging.

As its theatrical name suggests, staging involves the creation of an imaginary setting – a setting that is perfectly posed and rehearsed. The home’s best foot is put forward, from the inviting sofas to the luxe bath towels to the champagne bottle and glasses poised suggestively in the bedroom.

“When people walk in, you want them to say, ‘Wow!’” says Realtor Mary LaVoie, who stages many of the high-end homes that she lists with Choi International.

Staging is gaining popularity in the Islands. Realtors have always done what they call “fluffing,” says Charene Davis of Aloha Staged Homes. Staging kicks the fluffing up a notch. Davis started her own staging company four years ago. There were maybe four other people in the business then, she says. Now there are around 20.

It’s popular because it works – both Davis and LaVoie have seen homes stagnate on the market, then sell like hotcakes after they’ve been staged. Staged homes usually sell faster and for more. Ninety-five percent of homes staged by an accredited professional sell on average in one month or less, according to StagedHome.com.

Staging is not interior design, where there is more heed given to functionality. Here, the main aim is to create a space that is warm and inviting, where a potential buyer immediately imagines herself cooking a great meal in the kitchen or entertaining on the lanai.

The creative minds at Shari Saiki Design Studio make it real by holding brainstorming sessions where they create the identity – down to the ages and hobbies – of the fictional family who will live in the space.

“We do everything, right down to the toothbrushes,” says Bryan Kitashima, who co-owns the company along with his wife, Shari Saiki.

The design studio stages model homes for developers, as well as working with Realtors and homeowners who come into their store, mesh, to do their own staging.

The real sleight of hand comes in making the home look lived in, but not so personal that it feels like it belongs to someone else – and all their clutter.

“You want to give it a personal touch so it doesn’t feel staged,” says Aubrey Yee at Pacific Home. “But there’s a fine line. You don’t want junk. You want just enough accessories to make it feel full without being cluttered.”

So out with the chotskies and mantle-full of family portraits. In with the throw pillows, rugs, accent lights and stuffed animals in the kid’s room.

Pacific Home concentrates its staging on model homes, but the design team also gets to dabble in the real theatrical world, staging scenes for productions like Lost. (Remember Penny’s London loft? That all came from Pacific Home.)

Stagers might not use the smell of baking bread, but theirs is an art that draws on all the senses to elicit the emotions. Aromatherapy and music are often part of the mix. It’s also important, LaVoie says, to be fashion-forward.

“I try to stay with what’s hip, what’s hot,” she says.

LaVoie is so sold on staging that she’s invested in her own moving van and half-a-million dollars worth of props, from furniture to bedding. And she’s got it down to such an art that buyers have been known to ask if they can purchase everything in the home … right down to the bath towels.