Summit Entrepreneur Shares Secrets of Home Staging Success

Natalya Price may not have realized it at the time, but she began her career as a home stager and interior designer at the age of 5. 

The Summit resident, who was raised in Kazakhstan, recalls walking into the homes of friends as a child  and immediately rearranging the family's belongings.

"I was five years old and my mother would say, 'You cannot touch people’s things!' but I couldn't help myself," Price said. 

After attending college in Russia, the economics major moved to California where she began what she described as an interesting and challenging career working for a company that prosecuted those who committed mortgage fraud. On weekends, Price enjoyed assisting friends with their interior design projects and remodeling her home with her husband. 

"While other people went on dates to dinner or the movies, we went to Home Depot to pick out tile," she said. 

Because the couple was unable to afford their "dream home," they bought houses they knew they could improve and flipped them. 

Within five years, the couple had moved 10 times. When the finishing touches on their "forever home" were nearly complete, Price's husband was transferred to the East Coast. 

"He said, 'You're going to kill me but we're moving across the country,'" said Price, who added that her husband purchased a fixer-upper in Summit without her even seeing it.

Simultaneously, the mom of two received another surprise. 

"I found out I was pregnant with my third child. I had a child in fourth grade, an 18-month old and we had a huge project on our hands," she recalled. 

With her characteristic enthusiasm, the design devotee took up the challenge, but as her Summit home makeover neared completion she said she began to feel depressed that her decorating days were soon to be behind her. At her husband's suggestion, Price went to see a farmhouse in Chester with the intent to possibly purchase and renovate it. 

While others touring the home thought it needed to be razed, Price said she saw great potential for restoration. A builder, overhearing her suggestions, immediately offered her a part-time job, which she happily accepted. 

As Price began working with the builder, she pursued certification and training as a home stager. Before she knew it, realtors were calling and asking for her assistance.

"I got so busy; it just sucked me in. For the longest time, I still believed I'd go back to mortgage fraud," said Price, who went on to start her own business, NJ Staged2Sell, offering home staging and redesign. "I love this and every home presents new challenges." 

Setting the stage for a successful sale

Price offered her top tips for those considering listing their home:

• Declutter, declutter, declutter. While it might sound redundant, Price said she cannot stress enough how important it is to get rid of extraneous items that crowd a room.
• Clean every nook and cranny. The home stager recommends sellers scour the home from top to bottom. "Clean, not the way you typically clean, but deep clean," Price said. "When you live in the house, you can no longer see the dirt. Bring in a fresh pair of eyes, someone who will see things you, as the homeowner, no longer see." 
• Eliminate eye-catching decor. While most people think home stagers come in and decorate, Price's philosophy is to remove any decor that would distract buyers from noticing "the bones of the house." Rather than being fixated on an item the owner has on display which will be packed up in the move, Price said she wants buyers to remember the hardwood floors or the crown molding.
• Curb appeal. Never underestimate the power of a first impression. As soon as the potential buyers get out of their car, they're forming opinions about a home, the home stager noted.