How a stager brightened up an east-end home that sold for $200,000 over asking

How a stager brightened up an east-end home that sold for $200,000 over asking

wolverleigh-staging-exterior

Address: 275 Wolverleigh Boulevard
Listed for: $749,000
Sold for: $936,000

The property

This three-bedroom, 1,400-square-foot semi is on a tree-lined street in Danforth Village, not far from Woodbine station. The seller, a woman who lived alone in the 90-year-old home, was looking to downsize. Realtor William Wallace enlisted the help of stager Sophie Drury to help get his client a hefty sale price.

The stager

Drury began staging full time in 2005, after 15 years in banking and project management. She set up shop after going back to school to study interior design. “Sometimes it’s hard to take that leap from one industry to another,” Drury said. “But if you enjoy what you’re doing, and it comes naturally to you, everything falls into place.” Her company, The Great Room Home Staging and Design, is now a team of four. Most of their jobs are downtown.

The strategy

This house needed to be brought into the 21st century. Drury’s first goal was to brighten up the interior, so she painted all of the walls in shades of grey and white, and allowed in natural light wherever possible. Rather than remove all the mid-century furniture, she decided to complement it with contemporary pieces with cleaner lines, for a transitional look that preserved the house’s character.

The refresh started in the living room. Drury replaced the large furniture and heavy drapes with sleek pieces, including a Noguchi coffee table and a Gus couch. She added light, sheer window coverings to draw in more natural light.

wolverleigh-staging-living-room-before
wolverleigh-staging-living-room-after

Drury left the dining room almost untouched. By painting the walls in lighter tones, though, she brightened the room and highlighted its size. The abstract art piece is from Renwil, a design studio and furniture store. “It gives you a big pop of colour,” she said. “It becomes the focus of the room.”

wolverleigh-staging-dining-room-before
wolverleigh-staging-dining-room-after

The goal in the kitchen was to brighten and declutter. Drury replaced the heavy wood table with a sleek glass bistro table with transparent chairs, transforming a space that was being used for little more than storage into a breakfast area.

wolverleigh-staging-kitchen-before
wolverleigh-staging-kitchen-after

“The bedroom was a little bit flat,” Drury said, “and we wanted to give it a more luxurious, polished feel.” She did so by adding mirrored nightstands to contrast the dark bed frame, a soft shag carpet, and a faux-fur throw. Giving the walls one consistent colour created the illusion of slightly higher ceilings.

wolverleigh-staging-bedroom-before
wolverleigh-staging-bedroom-after

This space was being used as a mudroom, but Drury saw potential for more. The glass writing table and EQ3 chair make for a small but usable office. As in previous rooms, she brightened up the colour scheme, let in natural light and added artwork for colour.

wolverleigh-staging-office-before
wolverleigh-staging-office-after

(“After” photography by Samantha Keay.)

The Hunt

Correction

February 24, 2017

This post originally referred to 275 Wolverleigh's previous owner as "elderly." She is not.