How to Use Rental Furniture for Home Staging

Staging a property means placing well-picked furniture and accessories strategically, so that the space looks more appealing to prospective home buyers. Any real-estate expert would agree that a well-done staged property leads to a quicker sale and a better price.

Staging helps buyers imagine your listing as a space they’d live in. An unfurnished apartment might look bigger, but an apartment filled with just the right furniture looks a lot more welcoming and alluring. It can make the difference between a potential buyer saying “This is a nice place” and them saying “I want to live here; I want this place to be the home I come back to.”

Not only does staging make your property look more vibrant and dynamic in person, but it also makes a better impression when listing online. It makes your property stand out more memorably to people who’re looking at a huge number of options.

So, how do you go about renting furniture for home staging? Here’s a handy guide with all the major home staging tips you need.

1. Have a good look at the property

Observe the empty space carefully: What do the walls and the floor look like? How many rooms would you want to properly stage? What furniture items do you absolutely want, so that you show your place off well?

Having a good sense of the space you’re filling up will give you a sense of perspective when going about acquiring furniture.

2. Get a sense of the furniture rental companies that function in your area

You could check out local furniture rental stores close to where you live. You could also opt for a larger furniture rental company like Inhabitr – we function in a large number of locations in the US, we often have much more affordable pricing than our competitors’, and we provide rental with a lease period as short as one month.

Do your research, and go through the information on companies’ websites. Get a sense of the delivery and pickup durations that they offer, and assess whether they work for your requirements. For instance, going through Inhabitr’s FAQ page will provide the details to make an observed decision.

You could also consider Inhabitr’s Staging Service to make an informed decision. We provide a wide range of staging options both for physical and virtual staging services. We also provide designer-curated furniture sets and convenient setting-up options designed for furniture rental for staging.

It might be a good idea to call up the furniture company you’re considering. When directly communicating with a company representative, you might get a better idea of what’s on the plate. At Inhabitr, for example, you can call or email on the details mentioned on this home page here, and discuss your budget and style preferences with our agents!

You could also get help from a staging professional, someone who’d take care of the entire staging process for you for a small fee.

3. Explore the furniture options in front of you

Go through furniture options and catalogues. Have a look at the pieces available to you, and you’ll get a sense of what you like and don’t like. You will also get a better sense of what goes with the floors and walls of your property. You will start to develop a bigger picture of what you want your property to look like.

You can look at the available curated affordable furniture sets like these living room sets or dining sets, to find furniture options that already go conveniently well together. On the other hand, you can also take a look at individual accessories like these table lamps and artificial plants, which’ll add small embellishments to your bigger furniture.

4. Budget it out!

Now that you have an idea of the range of options available out there, it might be a good idea to sit down and get a sense of how much you’re willing to spend per month. Take delivery costs and service charges into account, and take into consideration how long the property might need to be staged for before it’s sold.

Even though staging will almost certainly be an investment that pays off well, you could set a limit on how much you want to shell out for it. You could also specifically look for cheap furniture options for your purposes.

5. Pick your furniture pieces – carefully

The trick behind staging is to remember that you’re selling an empty physical space and the idea of a home to your customers. The home furniture is just an embellishment, something you’re utilizing to get their imaginations going on their own.

The furniture shouldn’t overwhelm your place. Ideally, you should opt for furniture that is pretty but also impersonal, neutral, and non-obtrusive. Pick color palettes that aren’t too vibrant or distinct: blues, browns, greys, and whites are overall good colors to opt for.

Pick items that complement each other along with the walls and floors of the house. Good lighting is always a pleasant addition. Make your space prettier with your interior design, but also know when to stop.

6. Schedule your set-up!

Place your orders taking into account the amount of time it’ll take for the furniture to come. It’d also help to know your lease well, and to be informed about the company’s policy of shortened or lengthened lease. 

It’d also help to be aware of how long it’d take the company to take its furniture back, since you’d have to count for that period between when the sale is made and when new owners come about.

That preparation aside, once you set your furniture pieces up, you’re good to go!