When you enter the Home Staging business, one of the first questions you’ll have to answer for yourself is deciding whether to own your Staging inventory or to rent it. Sometimes in the beginning, your budget will determine this for you until you can get enough money to purchase and store your own inventory. But once you can decide for yourself, there are serious benefits to owning your Home Staging inventory.
When you own your inventory, time on the market doesn’t cost you. But if you rent it, the longer a home is on the market, the more you’ll end up paying. Though there is a cost to purchasing the pieces, you control the costs by deciding how much you’re willing to pay. When you get enough inventory, you may have to take out a storage unit, but the cost is usually minimal and you can easily fold that into your business expenses. When you own your inventory, you can easily picture it inside people’s homes instead of hoping that you can find something you imagine might look good in a specific home.
When you choose to buy your own Home Staging inventory, part of the fun is buying the pieces. But where do you buy them? Take a look at the list below for ideas on finding great furniture and decorative items for your Home Staging inventory.
1. Budget-Friendly Stores. It’s Home Staging, not the place where you’re going to live for the foreseeable future – there’s no need to buy designer couches or expensive tables. You can find accent pieces and even some larger furniture at Big Box or warehouse style stores, such as Big Lots, Kmart, Target, Costco and the like. After all, no one will be asking about the couch’s brand or designer: if you did your Staging right, the home will be the true center of attention.
2. Shop Online. You don’t necessarily have to go anywhere to get furniture. Online shopping websites such as Overstock.com sell furniture at low prices and it’s delivered wherever you would like it. Many such websites even offer free shipping on orders over $50 or $100.
3. Watch for Sales. Keep your eyes open for opportunities to purchase inexpensive furniture in good condition. This includes what you see in shopping flyers, as well as garage sales, estate sales and liquidation sales. As long as the furniture is clean and looks good, there’s no reason why you can’t buy secondhand.
4. Scour the Classifieds. You’ll be able to find more of the estate and garage sales in the classified ads. That goes for the newspaper and the online versions of the classified ads, too, such as Craigslist. Sometimes you even find ads from people who are just trying to unload their old furniture after having just bought new.
5. Auctions. There are a variety of places where one can bid on furniture and come away with cheap Home Staging inventory. Auctions are often held by city and county governments, and sometimes law enforcement. EBay is a popular auction site where one can purchase furniture. Finally, there are auction houses to be found in many communities, you’re sure to find one near you.
6. Fake It. Is it really necessary to have fully functioning beds throughout a four bedroom home? Grab a couple of double-high air mattresses, add bedding, night stands and lamps and voilà!
Deciding whether or not to build your own Home Staging inventory is the easy part. Deciding which furniture to buy and from where is the difficult task. There are so many options available in so many places, you may end up with option overload (but that’s not a bad problem to have). This list of places to find Home Staging inventory is by no means exhaustive, and there are plenty of other locations you may find unique furniture and decor. Here’s hoping you find the decorative treasures you seek!
Kurt Jacobson is a surfing enthusiast with a background in real estate. Having moved 10 times in the past 7 years, he thrives on helping others learn from his experiences. When he’s not out shredding waves he writes about Indiana houses for rent for RentFinder.com.
Downsizing a home and need to find a place for our furniture.
Is it possible(as a homeowner) to sell our furniture to a staging company?
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