Learn Seven Secrets of Home Staging
A visit with Jon Rosichelli of Rosichelli Design
True Confession: I’m intimidated by interior designers. They actually know stuff about furniture and decor that I should know after 25 years in the furniture business, but that somehow I have failed to absorb.
So it was with a bit of trepidation that I cruised over to Jon Rosichelli’s huge warehouse/office space to interview him about the principles of home staging. But……..Jon is so engaging, and so articulate about interiors and design that I felt comfortable right away.
Jon boasts a long background in retail cafe management and in the antique business. He had been a collector since early years, and he transitioned into selling antiques in mall spaces both in Portland and Seattle 23 years ago. And I love shopping at antique mall spaces so we had a lot in common!
I heard how Jon got started in the home staging business with Jan Sewell, some 20 years ago. Jan was the first person to do retail staging in the Seattle area. They would empty her house and fill it up again to practice. Jon explained, “there is great design everywhere you look—it wasn’t hard to find great elements to use.” They shopped at Goowill, but also raided TJ Maxx and Target. “They knock off from the best people.”
We talked about Jon’s preferences when dealing in vintage home decor elements. “I love being able to find humble items and elevating them. There is a certain beauty in simple things. I love patina and I love wear and tear.” Well, Jon, let me tell you—you’d LOVE my house. It’s a shrine to wear and tear after my three boys and their friends have occupied it for nearly three decades.
Here is Jon with a collection of vintage bronzed baby shoes, which illustrate this concept. “A pair of baby shoes is cute, but 40 of them displayed together are an art installation.”
Jon also likes to mix old and new, and a textured element with a smooth one. “Wherever you have something vintage, have something contemporary, and I always like to add something organic, like bones, plants, leather or fur. Modern plus modern plus modern is not nearly as interesting.”
News to me, Jon clarified that if you are a collector, you don’t have to display all 257 items in your collection. “It’s all about editing,” he explained, as I was thinking about the huge assortment of tiny chairs I have at home, each and every one of them on display. Oops. An obvious decorating faux pas.
Jon keeps a huge warehouse of elements to use for staging homes. Some of his favorite items include:
Original art
Found objects
Antique furniture
Vintage accessories
Industrial items
Here is a selection of just a few of his table linens.
We walked through his enormous collection of furniture and accessories. Hundreds of pillows! Sheets in every size and color! Tables! Sofas! Antiques! Bathroom accessories! I felt I needed a shopping cart but remembered that none of this is for sale. Why the vast assortment? At any one time, Jon is staging 50-80 homes. And they all have specific requirements. “If you’re marketing a 3.5 million dollar waterfront home you can’t use an Ikea print.”
I asked if Jon ever uses sleeper sofas. He said they weigh too much. I gave my extra special secret tip of removing the mattress and tying down the mechanism when moving a sleeper. I learned that from our delivery team. I hope Jon was impressed.
“I really believe in supporting the local art community and I feel really lucky to do so,” Jon told me. He is a sponsor of the Seattle International Film Festival and 3 Dollar Bill’s TWIST. He also supports many local artists, who create work that Jon uses in his business.
When Jon stages a home, his aim is to create an emotional response in potential buyers, which leads to quicker offers and higher sales. Here are some of Jon’s secrets for staging a residence, which can also be used when thinking about optimal home decor:
- Make sure space is clean and fresh. No popcorn ceilings. No dirty carpet.
- Give the home some soul by layering in a few vintage pieces.
- Create memorable interiors by incorporating authentic and original elements.
- Breaking some design rules makes rooms more interesting.
- Avoid the catalogue look. Don’t furnish an interior from just one source.
- Show creative use of spaces. Perhaps a dining room used as an art studio.
- Tap into emotional connections, and create aspirational living inspiration.
Wow. Those are great suggestions. Let’s apply them to our own homes.
So in my home, I don’t have popcorn ceilings or dirty carpets. I have some vintage pieces. Well, ok, they are old, rather than vintage, but whatever. I’m on a roll.
Authentic and original elements? My kids’ art counts, right?
I must be breaking some design rules, as I don’t know too many of them. And my dining room does double as an art studio. Or, rather, I have bits of art projects on and around the table, so we’ll call it good.
Aspirational living? My home aspires to the level of multi-million dollar waterfront chateau with picturesque gardens and a huge staff. I try to humor it.
Another great blog!! Your pictures are wonderful, too! Keep it up!
Awwww….Thanks, Hanna Esther! I am having the best time writing it, so I think I’ll keep going. All the positive feedback sure helps. I love having your support! See you back here for another installment soon–Meryl
This blog is a find! Thank you for sharing Secrets of Staging. I love the idea of mixing in humble items when decorating… and that patina and wear and tear is a good thing in decorating. Additionally, thanks for sharing Your tip of removing the Mattress from a sleeper sofa before moving it. So obvious, yet not obvious to me til today!
Gail–I’m so glad you found my blog! Sleeper sofas are SO heavy, it’s one of the first things people mention when shopping for them. Having a trick to move them without giving everyone involved a hernia is something most people are thrilled to learn, as they are so convenient to have for guests! I feel I learned a lot about staging and about interior design this time, too–maybe I can implement some of these concepts, too. Stay tuned! Thanks for visiting, Meryl
Delightful article Meryl! Who doesn’t love secrets revealed!
I love secrets, too! If you know any, please share. That’s the best part of writing this blog–I’m accumulating lots of new ideas. Executing them is something else, entirely. So glad you are reading and commenting–thanks, Leslie! Cheers, Meryl
Yes, very creative and nicely done.Good information and suggestions to get the creative juices flowing.
Thanks for checking in, Al. I’m so pleased you are reading the blog. I hope there is some inspiration in there! Best, Meryl
Another great post Meryl. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your entire chair collection and how creatively you have displayed it! I hope you will feature it in one of your blog posts. I love your decorating sense. The last time I was at your house, I took photos of every room, by the way– even the bathroom.
What? You took photos of my house? Ack–I hope you didn’t photograph my stray piles. They are all projects in progress, obviously. Now that I’ve learned that I don’t need to display all of the little chairs, I’m not sure what I should do–but whatever it is, I’m sure it involves a lot of work so it’s not happening. I’m so pleased you are reading the blog! Thanks for commenting! Cheers, Meryl
Love reading your blogs! Entertaining AND useful! Plus, I wish I had known that trick about moving sleeper sofas before I made Jeff move ours up from the basement. I am not sure I even want to tell him now…
Haha! I know, sleeper sofas are so heavy! But when you take the mattress out, they weigh just a bit more than a regular couch. I guess I learned something in my years in the furniture biz! Did you ever see that episode of Friends where they are trying to get a sofa up a staircase? That’s kind of what Sleepers In Seattle deals with every day. I am so grateful I am not a furniture delivery person. Thanks so much for checking in, Cynthia! Best, Meryl
Excellent post. Meryl, I love how much of YOU there is in it. As I read I could totally picture myself there with you. I liked the tip from Jon about mixing modern with vintage; it is so easy to get stuck matching like items. I do have a question for you: After soaking up all of Jon’s wisdom, what will become of you tiny chair collection?! Will you continue to display them all? Pick your favorites? Rotate?
Hey Alexandra–thanks for commenting. Yes, my chair collection–I’m just not sure what to do. I think my house would look empty without them. But then, I have a high tolerance for clutter. Don’t they say something like clutter is the sign of a genius? Or an artist? Or something like that? I could be mistaken…… Thanks for reading! Cheers, Meryl
Another great blog! Know how intimidating designers can be…my niece works for a major design firm downtown…her apartment, put together over the last 5-6 months is always so interesting, clever, etc. I come home and do the same thing and it looks like even Goodwill wouldn’t like it! LOL.
Thanks, Kathy! I know…….what IS it they teach in interior design classes? I don’t know that a civilian can do it even with the help of the decorating magazines out there. Martha! Where are you? I’m still feeling a bit neurotic about displaying each and every one of my collection items. Curate them? Who knew? Best, Meryl