Home Staging with FakeFurniture.com - Just Don’t Sit On It!
By: Sara Bonert, Director of Broker Relations | August 21, 2007
The U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reports that staged homes sell an average of 17% higher than the listing price, which is why the home staging business is booming. But what if you don’t have a lot of cash to have the home properly staged, yet you want to help buyers visualize the living space? Or maybe you’ve already moved your stuff to a new home and you need to fill the home you’re selling so it doesn’t look empty and lifeless.
Enter FakeFurniture.com, which sells white, cardboard-shaped furniture such as beds, couches, chairs, and dressers to fill the empty space of a vacant home. You can even buy enough “furniture” for a three-bedroom house! Obviously, you don’t want any of your guests crawling onto the cardboard bed to take a nap, but you could throw an old comforter over the cardboard object and you can help create the feel of a bedroom. Or, take the white cardboard couch, ottoman and chairs, add some throw pillows for pizzaz and you have an instant living room arrangement. 
Once the house is sold, simply remove the furniture and fold it back up and store it until needed again. It takes up just a fraction of the space that actual furniture would occupy. Or, sell it through the Bulletin Board section of your local neighborhood page on Zillow. Realtors could use FakeFurniture as an inexpensive fix for their clients who have vacated homes for sale.
- Stumble it!
- Categories: Real Estate, Real Estate Industry, Zillow
Comments
19 Comments so far
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cindy@staged4more on August 21, 2007 8:51 pm
interesting… I guess if the seller is really short on cash they have to make it work. But frankly if I do this for my listings, my clients will fire me!
Cheers,
Cindy
Drew Meyers on August 21, 2007 10:24 pm
Awesome post Sara!
Cindy - I agree it’s not for everyone, but I think this option is better than no staging (if someone can’t afford a professional staging professional)
HomeInput on August 22, 2007 5:05 am
I have to agree with Cindy on this one. Speaking from a buyer’s perspective, I think the word “cheap” is subconsciously in my mind if I see this furniture in a home (no offense to anyone). I think I would rather see an empty room so I could mentally start putting MY furniture in it as opposed to mentally removing this cardboard furniture. Of course the best scenario would be real furniture.
erin on August 22, 2007 7:13 am
wow i never would of thought to have fake furniture. Its a great way to save money while still making a house look like it could be lived in. The way a house is staged makes it or breaks it.
Great Post
Dan on August 22, 2007 9:23 am
What a great idea. I agree, not for everyone but better than no furniture at all. This seems like it would be great for rentals where you may not have a lot of money for staging.
Spencer on August 22, 2007 9:28 am
what a clever business idea
Sara Bonert on August 22, 2007 9:40 am
When I first stumbled across the site, the first thing that went through my mind from a business perspective was: why didn’t I think of that! As with anything, in this case ’staging’, it is always great when the consumer has choices.
Rebecca Levinson on August 22, 2007 10:37 am
I think that is a great idea, especially for a seller who is relocating out of state and doesn’t want to make 2 furniture moves (and eat the cost involved). Most people cannot visualize the potential of a home without having a picture painted for them (staging). I have a friend who is relocating out of state and has her home currently on the market. I am going to recommend the site to her. Thanks for making me aware.
Rebecca D. Levinson- http://www.connect2agent.com
All about presentation... on August 23, 2007 6:55 am
My gut reaction is, “Wow! How tacky!”
In viewing a home, I would have to use my good taste to look beyond the tackiness and utter cheapness of this approach!
I’d rather see an empty home and use my imagination — than to have to work my head around this extreme tacky factor.
And for a sophisticated buyer, this look screams, “These people can’t afford to hang on to this house another second, so I’ll lowball my initial offer!”
This is a red flag to offer at least 40% below the asking price — because this presentation signals desparation with a capital D!
Fake Furniture for Home Staging » The Deets - Ed Kohler's Blog on August 24, 2007 6:34 am
[...] I have a hard time believing that this helps sell homes. [...]
EAC on August 25, 2007 12:03 am
What would be cool would be if the furniture were adjustable for length - say, you could “slide out” the cardboard sample sofa or table to see if your own sofa would fit in a space.
Runners-Up for the 56th Carnival of Real Estate ~ (Kapowich happy to be included in the 56th!) on September 3, 2007 12:27 pm
[...] Bonert posts Home Staging with FakeFurniture.com - Just Don’t Sit On It! at Zillow [...]
Marco on September 19, 2007 7:20 am
Anyway whats wrong with fake furniture. The important thing is it helps sell the house faster. =)
LP on September 21, 2007 4:26 am
I prefer to see homes empty cause you never know what is hidden behind the furniture. But I have no doubt it is true that homes sell better when staged. It can draw attention to the furniture and away from flaws in the home.
home staging in minneapolis on October 6, 2007 9:58 am
[...] Zillow Blog. Here’s how to stage your home by using fake furniture. [...]
kelleyfurniture on February 6, 2008 5:10 am
I think its great idea and cindy good comments.
Thanks!!
Rachel - www.stagedmakeovers.com on February 7, 2008 9:39 pm
I think that the fake furniture is a bit distracting and might receive more attention than the architecture itself.
Laura on July 31, 2008 7:51 am
If you like the idea of the cardboard furniture but think it looks too fake. Check out this website - http://www.nextstagefurniture.com for more believable cardboard furniture.
Martha on July 18, 2009 5:21 am
Well http://www.fakefurniture.com is now a FAKE site so I guess it didn’t really go over too well.
There is some at http://www.nextstagefurniture.com that looks better because it has cloth slipcovers. Still, it could use a little extra padding. At least in their gallery they show it enhanced with cushions, throws and other accessories. On the issue of sitting on it, they claim it will support 1000 lbs.
As a home stager, IF a product like this could look good enough to pass, then the advantage of easy transport and less storage space plus lower initial costs would enable me to give clients a lower rental cost — which seems to be what they want here.
I don’t like the idea of homeowners d.i.y. on home showcasing because most of them will put in too much stuff, in the wrong position. Might as well let the movers/delivery people plop furniture down where they see fit as they have seen more homes than most people. Plus most homeowners will not accessorize effectively to draw the eye where it is supposed to go and set the right mood. There’s a balance to be achieved before the accessories start to take over.