There are two different types of home staging, one is for viewings and the other is for the photographs for your property particulars and it is the latter I am looking at today.A friend of mine has just put their property on the market with an estate agent and asked me to check through their property brochure, I avoided all the wording and went straight to the photographs – “Not impressed” was my response (well don’t ask me if you want it sugar coated!), the photos quite clearly showed that the home was lived in but didn’t show off the rooms as they all seemed a bit cluttered and busy.

As I explained how home staging the photos would help to put his home in the minds of potential buyers, I was stopped in my tracks with “Simon, I can’t afford to do it, nor do I have the time” – “Poppycock” was my retort (well that’s the PG version anyway), “Do it for free by using what you have and it can be done in 15 minutes” – which is when the challenge came “Go on then, show me!”, not one to shirk a challenge we set up the camera and set the timer for 15 minutes …… GO!

T – Minus 15 Minutes and Counting……

As you can see, it looks like a normal lived in home where every surface becomes a dumping ground. Time to declutter, depersonalize and turn on the lights.

T – Minus 13 Minutes and Counting ……

A blank canvass is the best place to start, time to add a few basics.

T – Minus 12 Minutes and Counting ……

The basics are a little too .. errr… basic for me, time to move it to the next level.

T – Minus 5 Minutes and Counting …..

Ok, decluttered, table set, 5 minutes left and now it’s time to add the finishing touches.

T – Minus 46 Seconds and Counting ……

Stop the Clock ! ….. 14 minutes and 14 seconds and at a cost of Zero !

Whilst not entirely happy with the final result (I felt it needed a bit more colour and I didn’t have two vases of flowers for the window to hand), it did show my friend that it could be done and he had fun arranging his home for his property photos