Because the concept of home staging - preparing a home for sale in a specific way to appeal to the maximum number of buyers - people are always asking me what it is.

Is it purely marketing? I know that the presumption there would be : if home staging is marketing then why can't my realtor just do it as part of their marketing scheme?

Alright then, you hear people talking about the art of staging.... so then, is it an art-form? i.e. Do I need a real designer, with years of interior design training and an ASID certification? After all, this is my biggest asset, with a lot of money on the line.

Or is it a game? In which case, don't I need a coach, a playbook and a set of rules to follow? Are there boundaries? Who refs the thing?

Here's my answer:

For sure, it's a game. There's competition, a race against time, and the perception that if one side wins the other has lost. There's a better way to play, but I do define staging as a game. A game where when everyone wins the game has been played correctly.

Certainly it's an art-form, it's all about design. But it's a general form of design, so that the house appeals to the maximum number of people. Interior design is all about using the vast array of options to create the perfect space for one person/family.

Absolutely it's marketing, because it's all about presenting a property in its best light. Maybe you could even see it as "spin"... identifying every possible asset and putting it forward... and presenting every negative in a way that doesn't cover it up but shows you the "up" side.

So, what is home staging? It's a form of marketing that incorporates elements of design into a game where everyone wins. That game? The Home Appreciation Game - adding value to a cherished property now being offered for sale.