Styled to Sell: Interiors by Laura

INTERVIEW WITH

LAURA CREDICO 

These days, selling your home involves more than getting people in the front door to look around. You also need to convince prospective buyers searching for homes online to stop their scrolling and add your property to their “must-see” list. This is where Laura Credico, owner of Interiors by Laura, can help. With almost 500 home-staging and interior design projects under her belt, Credico works to showcase your home’s strong points and help potential buyers envision their new lives there.

What are some benefits of staging a home? 

Staging your home protects one of your largest investments. A professional can bring a fresh eye and offer proven feedback on how your home presents itself. Furniture placement, ensuring all bedrooms have a bed, freshening paint—these are all ways to stand out from the competition online. Typically, prospective buyers decide whether a home is right for them within the first 10 seconds of walking in the door. Home staging gives buyers that feeling of “I can see our family living here” or “This is our new home.” Staged homes also sell for nine to 13% above asking price.

How do you decide what each home needs in terms of staging? 

We always work closely with real estate agents to determine who the prospective buyer is likely to be for each home we stage. Is it a family or a single young professional? The furniture we bring in highlights each home’s unique features without taking away from them. We want prospective buyers to look at what the home has to offer and what is special about it, and not just the nice couch we selected.

What are the rooms you stage most often? 

We always stage the heart of the home—the living room, dining room, kitchen, family room, and primary bedroom. These are the rooms people spend the most time in, and we want them to look as warm and welcoming as possible. We stage secondary bedrooms on occasion, especially if they are small and we need to show that beds can fit in them comfortably. And we never forget bathrooms! We want them to photograph nicely, so we bring in fluffy white towels and a few small decorative items to highlight functionality and style.

Are you able to use the homeowner’s furniture and belongings when you stage their home to sell? 

If we can work them into the design plan, yes. If homeowners are living in the home, we try to use their sofas and area rugs and will provide accessories, artwork, and some

smaller pieces of furniture if needed. We want to create a cohesive space that feels put together and functional.

How do you assess a home’s strengths or weaknesses when staging? 

When we stage, we strategically bring in pieces of furniture that show where buyers can put their own pieces. It is critical that we show how traffic should flow in and out of the room, but we don’t want to block entrances or put too many pieces of furniture in, which can make the room feel smaller. We also want to show potential buyers how smaller rooms could be used and set up. Stagers should not be disguising any issues in the home, since these will ultimately come up on inspection. Staging is only meant to detract from issues, not hide them.

Why is staging important? 

When buyers tour a vacant home, they tend to walk through it faster than when it’s staged. When furniture is brought into vacant homes, people will spend more time in the home. They might pause to sit on the sofa or on a dining chair so they can decide if this is the home for them. 

Do you talk with homeowners about things they could improve in spaces you aren’t fully staging? 

I always recommend that real estate agents bring us in for just a “walk and talk” consultation.

This is when we go room by room with the homeowner and make specific

suggestions for things they can do themselves, whether it be to remove or edit down some

pieces of furniture or decor, add neutral bedding, paint certain rooms to make them feel brighter, or remove dated window treatments. Again, it is about getting a fresh eye to look at their home through the eyes of a prospective buyer.

Have you received any specific training to be a home stager?

For many years, I have been a member of the Real Estate Staging Association, which provides training, industry experts, and region-specific information for stagers throughout the country, along with regular housing market updates so we can continue to stay informed on how to best serve our clients and realtors.

You also provide interior design services. How does interior design differ from home staging? 

The main difference between home staging and interior design is that the inventory and style in a staged home should appeal to a broad range of buyers. The style should not follow a particular taste and tends to be more neutral in color palettes. Interior design is much more taste specific, and we can involve personal items, personal photos, and colors the homeowner would like to see throughout the home. Many people who purchased homes we staged ask us to come back and help them with the design of their new home. Moving can be overwhelming, and decorating can be overwhelming, and people appreciate having our guidance when it comes to selecting paint colors, planning furniture placement, and bringing their overall look together. We’re always happy to help! You can learn more on our website, iblstaginganddesign.com.