See How a Stager Transformed This Blank Space into a Stunning Modern Farmhouse Oasis
When a buyer first walks into a home that they’re interested in, there should be one key goal: to help them envision themselves actually living there — how they’d decorate it and the way that they’d lay out furniture. This is where stagers come in, the pros who know exactly how to style a home so it looks more appealing and sells.
In the case of Mayker Interiors, the interior design and home staging studio based in Nashville, they know not only how to level up a home through decor but they also do it in a way that’s fresh and on-trend.
Recently, they received a call to beautify a home in Nashville’s Georgetown neighborhood before it went to market. And since it was already “stunning,” according to Megan Proby, founder and creative director at Mayker Interiors, no major structural changes needed to be made. However, the space definitely required the right decor, furnishings, and flow to match its caliber.
The Stager Created “Zones” in the Great Room
Unlike some home staging projects that require fresh coats of paint or even some remodeling, the Georgetown home was in great shape already — but it did need some assistance when it came to highlighting the features that made it special.
Proby says that the great room was a good example of this. “Left unfurnished, buyers look at its vastness and struggle to picture actually living there. Suddenly, they’re doing mental gymnastics, trying to decide how much seating they’ll need to fill a space that large. Furnish it poorly, and they see a crowded showroom with zero function, not the potential for a beautiful life,” Proby reflects.
That’s why Proby and her team set out to furnish the home in a way that tells a story. “The buyer is our main character, and the different zones are the chapters of her life — morning coffee at the kitchen island, homework at the dining room table, quiet evenings by the fire,” she says. “Furnishings are the details that give dimension to the plot points: barstools comfortable enough for her to actually sit on. A dining table so large that her kids can sprawl out and think. A couch she’ll accidentally fall asleep on instead of heading to bed.”
Decor Choices Gave the Home “Soul”
In addition to furniture, Proby filled in the rest of the home with spot-on decor and styling touches, something that she calls “the emotional subtext that makes her feel like this life should be hers,” as she refers to a prospective homeowner.
That’s why Proby included things like an antique vase filled with dried florals, textured throw pillows, abstract artwork, coffee-table books, and kitchen canisters packed with ingredients.
She wanted to give the home soul and predict what life would be like there, resulting in a modern farmhouse look that would make Joanna Gaines proud.
The Outcome of Staging
Proby shares that according to Redfin, the home was listed on February 2, 2024, at $5,200,000. It sold for $4,750,000 on February 23, 2024. Although it sold for less than asking, it did sell relatively quickly and allowed homebuyers to make an emotional connection with the home.
“The magic of staging, and the reason Georgetown worked, is a balancing act,” Proby says.
“It should be versatile enough to appeal to the largest possible buyer base but memorable enough to distinguish one house from another. The result is something we like to call generic wonder — the sense of a beautiful future.”