Home Staging: Before and Afters

So you’re thinking about selling your house. You may be wondering if home staging actually matters, right? Below you’ll find some real-life examples and photos of homes we’ve staged and listed for sale. The difference is staggering. If you saw these photos side by side, which home would you want to make an appointment to see? Which one would you skip? Exactly.

Staging creates an inviting atmosphere where home buyers want to linger. — Home staging allows a space to show off its best attributes.

In fact, according to National Association of Realtors, 83% of buyer’s agents said that home staging helps buyers see a house as a future home.

Not only that, but if the home is being purchased by someone who needs a loan, then it’s likely that an appraiser will also be visiting the home. Yes, the appraiser is a professional, but they are also human. And a staged home looks better to that human too. You want the appraiser to have the best first-impression also.

Staged living room of a midcentury split level home on Tucson's east side. — Staging shows off the features of the home for a positive first impression both online and when they visit the home.

Why aren’t all homes staged?

Because hiring a full-service staging company can be expensive. But you have options.

Home Staging Can Be Very Affordable!

Did you know that we offer light staging to our seller clients for a small fee? If this sounds interesting to you, contact us. We’re happy to meet with you at your property to give you guidance on what may work for your home.

Light staging may not work for every client or every home. But it does look great in the majority of Tucson homes, townhomes, and condos. Be sure to scroll down to see some photos of some of our light staging examples.

And if full staging works better for you, we’ll refer you to a staging company so they can give you a cost estimate tailored to your needs.

Primary bedroom after staging with a bed, curtains, nightstands, lamps, and art makes this bedroom much more iniviting. — Light staging helps buyers imagine themselves living in a home.

We loved working with Nick and Kim! They did a great job staging our house. On top of staging the house, they also had the house professionally cleaned at their expense, which was a great touch. They walked us through all the details and kept us up to date the whole process. Would highly recommend working with Nick and Kim.
-Gerda C.

Why is staging a home better than an empty, vacant home?

There’s lots of reasons…

How do most buyers look for homes now? On a computer screen or an app on their phone, of course. Looking at photo after photo of empty rooms without furnishings is soooo boring. And the potential buyer will probably not even finish looking at all of them before going on to the next home in their feed. So you need to grab their attention so they’ll schedule a showing appointment.

“In fact, one in three buyer’s agents reported that clients were more likely to schedule a showing after seeing a staged home online.”
– According to a report from the National Association of Realtors

When looking at photos of vacant homes, it can be confusing to know what the purpose of each room is when all you see are two walls, a floor, and a window, right?

Did you know that people spend more time at a staged home than a vacant home. Odds are that someone who speeds through the home isn’t going to put an offer on it, right?

Not only that, but when a home is vacant and empty, it’s a lot easier to notice each and every flaw. The home could be in great condition, but a buyer may notice every small ding, nail hole, or mar on the wall. They’re much more likely to notice the wear in the floor. Once the eye has something else to look at, it is distracted from seeing each and every small detail. And the funny thing is, once they move their own furniture in and put their own art on the wall, they wouldn’t notice it anymore either.

Weirdly enough, vacant rooms can actually look and feel smaller than when it’s staged with furniture. I don’t know why it works like that, but it does. (See example #3 below for a great illustration of this).

A modest 2 bed, 1 bath home is staged with living room furnishings. — Staging helps all sizes of homes. This home is under 900 square feet so staging it helps a buyer see how spacious it actually feels. Plus, very few homes of this size are staged, which gives this home an advantage.

But what about virtual staging? Isn’t that just as good?

Virtual staging can be helpful, but physically staging a home with tasteful furnishings is a lot better. Here’s a few reasons why:

Once you’re not looking at the photos, you forget what the virtual staging looked like. No one is looking at photos of the home while they are touring it.
Virtual staging can be misleading because the scale of the furnishings may not be correct. It could make the room look a lot larger or a lot smaller.
Virtual staging can be distracting to the viewer who may try to figure out what’s real and what’s not, rather than deciding if they like the home.

This spare bedroom in a historic mud adobe home was staged as an office space.

Home Staging: Compare the Before and After Photos

Example #1

This is a home we staged near downtown Tucson, Arizona. It was built in 2020 and listed for over $700,000 in June 2025. The sellers and their neighbors all commented on how well the staging turned out. It sold after only 20 days on market, while the average days on market in that zip code was 99 days.

Open concept great room that has been staged with contemporary stylish furniture and accessories.

Empty great room with white walls and concrete floors that has not been staged

The living room of a home that's been staged featuring 2 wood chairs with a brass coffee table on a area rug in the foreground. The kitche and dining room are in the background.

Before photo of a vacant great room looking onto the kitchen.

A staged child's bedroom with a pink bed, play tent in the corner, and kid-sized table and chairs under a window.

Without home staging, this is just an empty room.

A primary bedroom staged with an area rug, a bed, nightstands, art on the walls, table lamps, and a plant.

A guest bedroom has been minimally staged to help a buyer visualize the space.

Before staging the room on a home for sale

A loft that has been staged as a spot to listen to vinyl records.

Without staging, a buyer may not have thought of what purpose this room would be used for.

Example #2

Here is a home we staged on the east side of Tucson. It is a single level ranch style home built in 1979. It was listed at $335,000 and it sold for full price after 4 days on market in April 2025. The sellers were thrilled with the results!

After photo of a staged living room on a median priced home in Tucson.

Before and after of a staged home in Tucson

After staging a sunken formal living room in a median priced home in Tucson.

Without staging, this room's purpose may have been ambiguous. Staging helps a home buyer visualize how a room could be used.

Staging this primary bedroom shows off the spaciousness of the bedroom.

Before staging, this room didn't look very large and the green wall paint was overwhelming.

This guest bedroom looks inviting after staging it with neutral bedding and furniture.

Before staging, this guest bedroom looked dated with the wallpaper. But staging neutralized the wallpaper and pulled the room together.

Everyone appreciated a dedicated work-from-home space these days.

Are you looking to sell your home soon? We’d love to meet and go over what services we can offer you.
Real estate agents are not all the same. Who you hire matters!

Example #3

This home is a modest-sized 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom masonry home located near Davis Monthan Air Force Base. Homes in this price band are rarely staged, so staging went above and beyond the competing homes on the market. At under 900 square feet in size, this is an example of how a staged home can look larger than a vacant one. This home closed in August 2025 after 34 days on market when the average days on market in this zip code was closer to 69 days.