Table of Contents
- What Is Staging in Real Estate?
- Staging a Kitchen for a Photoshoot (6 Actionable Tips)
- Virtual Staging – A Fast and Affordable Alternative
- Virtually Staging a Kitchen With PhotoUp
Sellers and real estate agents often overlook the kitchen when staging a house for a photoshoot.
Yet buyers are heavily influenced by a home’s kitchen when thinking about making an offer on a home. Staging makes every room in the house look it’s absolute best — so don’t forget the kitchen!
So, in this article, we’re going to show you how to stage a kitchen for a photoshoot, sharing 6 actionable tips to help it look stunning.
What Is Staging in Real Estate?
Staging a home means preparing it to go on the market for sale by making it look as close to perfect as possible.
Listing photography must be high-quality and when potential buyers come to see the home, it must look its best. Home staging is one way to do this. There are significant benefits to staging, including:
- Enhanced curb appeal. Staged homes tend to look more inviting, encouraging more buyers to consider viewing your property
- Staging helps buyers see the property’s potential. It’s not always easy to see the full potential of empty or cluttered rooms
- Increase the selling price. Staging helps sell properties faster, and often for higher selling prices
Staging typically involves cleaning, decluttering, rearranging, removing, or even adding furnishings and decor — and sometimes, renovating rooms to make the property as attractive as possible.
The kitchen is one of the most essential rooms potential buyers consider when deciding whether to view or make an offer on a house. Therefore, the kitchen should be staged to help it look amazing.
So, with that in mind, let’s share 6 tips for staging a kitchen for a photoshoot.
Staging a Kitchen for a Photoshoot (6 Actionable Tips)
Before the photographer comes with their camera, prepare the kitchen for staging using these 6 tips.
1. Depersonalize the Kitchen
Potential buyers need to be able to see themselves living in a new home, and in this case, cooking in a new kitchen. In other words, they need to be able to see this kitchen as their own.
Therefore, all personal items of the seller should be removed. These include:
- Family photos
- Vacation memorabilia
- Children’s art and school work on the refrigerator
- Personal mail
You want buyers to focus on the features of the kitchen, not the photos from your recent vacation magnetically hung on your refrigerator.
2. A Clean Kitchen Is Essential
An absolutely clean kitchen is essential for real estate photography.
Preparing the kitchen for staging will ensure that every surface and item is as clean as possible. This includes:
- Appliances – remove fingerprints and smudges
- Countertops – store away any unnecessary items
- Cabinets – dust or polish the surfaces
- Flooring – wash the floors and pick up any items
- Windows – ensure the window treatments are even and consider washing the windows
- Even the kitchen sink should shine and sparkle
When staging the kitchen for a photoshoot, no detail, no matter how small, should be overlooked.
3. Kitchens Make People Think About Entertaining
Obviously, buyers will associate the kitchen with cooking — but they will also be thinking about entertaining — the kitchen is often the room where family and friends gather to talk, eat, and socialize.
Therefore, make the kitchen look as inviting as possible by placing:
- Stools for seating in front of kitchen counter overhangs and islands
- Placemats and table settings on tables and eating areas
- Have fresh fruit out in a decorative bowl
- Flowers are always a warm and cheerful addition
- Place a bottle of wine with some wine glasses on the counter
Take the time to make the kitchen look like a welcoming place where people want to relax and unwind.
Fast & Affordable
Virtual Staging Service
Interiors. Landscapes. Commercial. Virtually transform any space.
4. Update the Hardware
If the kitchen’s current hardware is outdated or dull, consider replacing it. Silver and brushed metals are still popular options, while gold and brass fixtures tend to look dated.
With this in mind, don’t forget:
- Draw pulls
- Door handles
- The faucet
- Hinges
- And even the light switches
Hardware changes need not be overly expensive. Also, make sure these all match and reflect contemporary styles and tastes.
5. A Staged Kitchen Should Look Inviting, but Generic
While you want the kitchen to look warm and inviting, it should also have a clean, sophisticated, and even generic look to it. Consider these tips:
- Less is more — don’t have too many items on counters or tabletops
- If possible, make sure all the appliances match — think about adding matching panels to the appliances if necessary
- Avoid garish colors — stick with white and neutral shades, bright paint colors, and busy wallpaper can be distracting
Of all the design themes that tend to work best in kitchens— modern, neutral design styles will stay fresh and be most powerfully appealing.
When staging a kitchen for a photoshoot, everything should match and be soothing, nothing too eccentric or unusual.
6. Add Interest With Simple Decor Pieces
If after staging, the kitchen looks a bit bland and even sterile, add a few interesting decor pieces, but do so sparingly. For example:
- A glass or ceramic fruit bowl can add a burst of color
- Whimsical kitchen towels can be a charming extra
- Even a single flower in a vase can make the kitchen look sophisticated, without overdoing it
Remember, buyers tend to be looking for modern, up-to-date, conveniences in the kitchen — so stage the photoshoot accordingly.
Now that we’ve shared 6 tips for staging a kitchen for a photoshoot, let’s share one more piece of advice — consider virtual staging.
Virtual Staging – A Fast and Affordable Alternative
There’s an affordable and easy alternative to staging a kitchen for a photoshoot – virtually stage it!
Virtual staging is a technology that allows photo editors and designers to digitally furnish and decorate a photograph of a room.
Using the photo(s), virtual stagers can:
- Add or remove items from any kitchen
- Update appliances, countertops, and cabinets
- Virtually remodel or repair any area
- Make color changes to walls or backsplashes
Virtual staging can do almost anything you can imagine, giving the kitchen the desired look and style to help sell the home.
Here are some other benefits of virtual staging:
- On average, virtual staging will cost you much less than actual staging. (At PhotoUp, you can virtually stage an image at the low cost of $20)
- The staging is done digitally and therefore, isn’t labor-intensive. It’s less disruptive to the seller
- It’s fast — most virtual staging companies need only 24-48 hours for turnaround
The bottom line? Yes, traditional home staging, including the kitchen, can help sell a home at a higher price. But it takes time and quite a bit of money.
Virtual staging is faster and less expensive. Plus, it offers greater variety and flexibility.
After all, the point of staging in real estate is about showing the buyer the room’s potential to entice them further.
Fast & Affordable
Virtual Staging Service
Interiors. Landscapes. Commercial. Virtually transform any space.
Virtually Staging a Kitchen With PhotoUp
Now that you understand the value of virtual staging — including for the kitchen — let PhotoUp help make it easy.
PhotoUp has more than 10 years in the business and works with several hundred skilled virtual stagers and photo editors. It’s hard to surpass PhotoUp’s solid quality, outstanding service, and excellent pricing.
Additionally, PhotoUp’s virtual staging is simple and easy to use, taking just a few quick steps.
In 24 hours or less, we’ll send you proofs of your virtually staged kitchen for you to review, approve, and download.
PhotoUp Virtual Staging Uploader Tutorial
Want to see how easy it is to get started? Then check out our virtual staging uploader video tutorial:
It’s that easy!
Sign up for a free PhotoUp account today and get started now!
We hope this blog post helped you learn how to stage a kitchen for a photoshoot including 6 actionable tips. If you enjoyed this post, make sure to check out the following valuable resources as well:
