How a stager made an old farmhouse look like a trendy boutique hotel

Neighbourhood: Stouffville Listed for: $2,975,000

The property

A sprawling farmhouse in Stouffville that’s over 40 years old. The current owners are a pair of realtors. They spent months renovating and restoring the home, and just put it back on the market a few weeks ago. The property has a ton of beautifully rustic features, like wide-plank wooden flooring, a massive stone fireplace and vaulted ceilings.

The stager

Lori Pedersen spent 18 years working in accounting and finance for a large industrial company before deciding to pursue a career in design. In 2012, she took her staging certification course, and she launched her own company shortly after.

The strategy

Pedersen wanted to attract a young professional couple, which meant sprucing the place up without erasing its country charm. “I wanted it to feel farmhouse-chic,” she says. “And to appeal to someone with style, who loves to entertain. I didn’t want it to feel like granny’s farmhouse.” Pedersen’s company has a warehouse in Aurora stocked with artwork, greenery, lamps and other accessories. For bigger pieces of furniture, they use Executive Furniture Rentals. This project required two massive moving trucks full of stuff.

In the living room, Pedersen was aiming for an informal vibe. “I wanted it to show as being approachable, bright and open,” she says. The space has an unusual shape, so she decided to draw attention to the windows. She chose a low sofa that wouldn’t block the view.

The dining room is large, so Pedersen added a giant harvest table to show off its seating capacity. The artwork has a woodsy theme. “I wanted to remind buyers that they’re in this natural paradise,” Pedersen says.

In the sunroom, Pedersen loved the idea of having two sectionals in a horseshoe-like arrangement. “There’s a barn on the property, so we added some subtle countryside hints,” she says. A variety of textured fabrics, like the silky cushions and fuzzy sheepskin throws, make the space feel warm and inviting.

The master suite is on the second floor. Pedersen tried to make a large sitting area appear multi-functional: there’s a desk vanity by a window with a view of a pond, there are two chairs that face a console with a TV, and there’s a lounge for when downstairs is overrun by kids and their friends. “It’s a more elegant space, where the owners can get away from it all,” Pedersen says.

The light fixture in the bedroom was already there, so Pedersen incorporated other pieces in similar tones. She used a king-sized bed to showcase the size of the room.

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