How to Stage a Closet (at least, in a vacant home)

The King Staged Closet Has No Clothes

Conventional staging wisdom when it comes to closets (yes, there is such a thing, at least for a walk-in master closet in a more expensive home) is that two-thirds full is optimal.

Less than that, and the closet looks too empty; more than that, and it looks too full.

I mostly go along with that, with the caveat that leaving an (almost) closet-full of clothes can draw Buyers’ eyes away from the space and towards the owner’s wardrobe, and taste in same (similar to the staging knock on too many family photos adorning the walls).

Of course, a closet mostly full of clothes can also look smaller.

Spare > Cluttered

Which is why I very much like the spare, clean look of the staged closet (above), which is empty save for a well-placed dress form (Note: Sellers of occupied rather than vacant homes don’t usually have this option).

P.S.: The staged fridge?!? I wouldn’t have believed it, but a Buyer client on a showing with me last year called my attention to a fridge full of neatly organized food. Too neatly organized: on closer examination, we discovered the contents were all non-perishables, or empty cardboard containers of milk, juice, etc.

Why would a seller (smartly) go to the trouble of staging a fridge? Because an empty fridge is a dead giveaway that the home is vacant, which directly bears on seller motivation (usually, higher).

See also, “Home Seller (and Staging Client):  ‘It Looks So Good, Now I Don’t Want to Move!“; “Savvy Staging Strategy #7”; “How Home Sellers Can Tell If They Need Staging Advice”; and “Staging Secret #18.”



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