See How a Stager Gave a 100-Year-Old Home a “Fresh, Crisp” Makeover (It Sold in One Day!)

The goal of any home staging project is to make a property more appealing to potential buyers. But not all home staging strategies are the same. For some properties, staging a few key rooms like the living room, primary bedroom, and kitchen is enough to woo potential buyers, resulting in a quicker sale and/or a higher offer. However, in the luxury market buyers want — and expect — to see more when touring a home. 

That’s why when the owners of this four-bedroom, 3,200-square-foot home in a prestigious neighborhood in Pasadena, California, were ready to sell, they invested not only in some remodeling projects, but also a full-property staging. 

They tapped Pantea Bionki of Bionki Interiors to do the honors for the latter.

Bionki’s goal was to bring classic, luxurious style to the home that complemented the 1930s aesthetic. It was essential to preserve the older charm of the house without giving buyers the impression that they were touring a nearly century-old home, she explains.

The home was listed in the $3 million range, so it called for a luxury staging. Bionki’s team pulled items from the firm’s 5,000-square-foot warehouse, which contains 1,500 pieces of furniture, rugs, and accessories. (The inventory is refreshed every six months to stay current with the latest interior design trends.)

Bionki described the home as having a “fresh, crisp look” so she maintained a neutral color palette with pops of color throughout. 

The team was particularly pleased with the staging of the two children’s bedrooms, which were decorated with neutral colors with mustard and black accents and share a connected bathroom. Bionki says they also overcame a challenging window placement in the rooms with a creative furniture layout.

For the home’s gray-and-white kitchen, Bionki sought simple enhancements. She added accents of greenery, along with some flowers and cookbooks, just to set the scene. 

“Putting too much doesn’t mean it’s better,” she says, noting that the goal here was for buyers to simply say, “Okay, I can picture myself in this kitchen.”

Even with square footage to spare, Bionki was strategic about furniture placement in the rooms. For example, even though there was just enough room in the primary bedroom to fit a king bed, they kept the queen-size mattress but added a king-size headboard.

It was a clever move that didn’t crowd the room’s length but still showed potential buyers that the room could indeed accommodate a larger mattress.

Other rooms of note were an office located off the entrance, styled as a space suitable for an executive working from home. Bionki’s team also furnished the accessory dwelling unit (ADU) for valuable additional living space.

Having a large staging budget also allowed Bionki to make some edits to the outdoor space. She and her team created not one but three distinct outdoor areas, including “a very cute” entrance porch flanked by matching benches with pillows. 

The primary bedroom had a door that opened up to a lovely private outdoor spot, where they placed a hammock and a café table. A door in the family room led to an outdoor area, where they arranged additional seating. 

Would this beautiful home have attracted buyers if only a few rooms were staged? Yes, although not with the same results, says Bionki. When potential buyers toured the home, she said each room’s thoughtful staging made them more excited to see the next room. It made one buyer so excited that they made an offer — in cash — for $530,000 over asking on the very first day it went on the market.