What Is Virtual Staging?
Technology has advanced enough to automate and optimize many tasks for us. So why wouldn’t we use it to furnish and decorate properties? We could stop renting furniture, wasting money on decorations, and hiring help to clean, paint, and stage properties. A computer program and a few mouse clicks would take care of everything.
It sounds too good to be true, but it’s not. Someone has already thought of this idea and made it possible. They’ve developed virtual staging, a technique that uses 3D software to digitally add decor and furniture to a property photo. As a result, you get a highly-realistic image of a house, apartment, or building that showcases its full potential.
Virtual staging promotes experimentation and creativity. It allows prospective buyers to tour properties from the comfort of their homes and become involved in their construction or remodeling. Plus, it’s faster and less expensive than traditional staging.
If these benefits pique your interest, you’ll be happy to know they’re just the tip of the iceberg. Continue reading and find out how virtual staging works, how it differs from its traditional counterpart, and why you should try it.
Virtual Staging Process
To understand what virtual home staging is, it is important to consider the steps it entails. For your convenience, we’ve outlined them below. Have a look.
- Preparing the Space
Virtual staging begins with a clean-up. It doesn’t matter whether you’re working with an empty space or a partly-furnished room that needs renovation. The emptier or tidier the space is, the easier it’ll be to scan and stage.
Removing personal items is also a good tip. Hide, cover, or take away documents, photos, clothes, jewelry, objects of religious or cultural significance, and other similar items. You’ll reduce clutter and give the property a neutral look, making it appealing to a broader range of customers. On top of that, your items will be more secure.
- Taking Care of Small Reparations
Remodeling and reparation go hand in hand with cleaning. You don’t have to take on huge painting, landscaping, or carpeting jobs. Polishing floors, retouching chipped paint, cutting overgrown grass, and similar chores should do the trick. They’ll:
- Make the property look younger and nicer in photos.
- Reduce the workload your virtual staging company has to handle
- Ensure digitally rendered photos of the property are as close as possible to the reality
- Increase the property’s value by as much as 20%
- Capturing the Property
Once the house, apartment, or building is clean and tidy, it’s time to photograph it. You can do this part yourself or hire professional 3D virtual staging agencies. The latter might be a better option if you’ve no experience or the equipment to capture professional photos. You’d have to invest time and energy into learning about the process and spend money on expensive cameras, lighting, and other gadgets. Even so, the results won’t be as impressive as they would be with professional help.
If you hire an agency, specialists will visit the property with all the necessary equipment. They’ll place lighting sources to create enough visibility within a space according to its natural light and the time of the day. Moreover, they’ll set their cameras around the property or make a shoot plan so as to cover the entire space.
When everything is ready, the cameras will start shooting. Depending on the type of virtual staging you’ve chosen, the professionals might let them scan the room by themselves or use them to take photos in the traditional way. The former involves laser-scanning cameras that rotate to capture their surroundings and create 360-degree panoramas of the space. The virtual staging agency’s employees will then check the photos for accuracy, make any necessary corrections, and take the pictures to the agency.
- 3D Modeling and Staging
This is where artists who specialize in 3D rendering load the photos into their computers and start transforming them. According to your requests and desires, they’ll dress the walls with art, fill the room with furniture, and add decorations like pillows, carpets, curtains, and so on.
The pieces used in the room might be part of the agency’s 3D modeling library, meaning they would only need to pick, insert, and adjust them. However, they can also create pieces from scratch if the furniture and decoration in their library don’t match the client’s vision.
Finally, the artists will arrange all the elements, make sure there are no mistakes, and fine-tune the lighting. They might consult with you to get some feedback on their work and make necessary changes before the photos enter their final editing stages.
- Post-Production
The last step in 3D virtual staging is post-production. Your agency’s editing team will retouch the photos to make the details sharper, the lighting cohesive, the style consistent, and the overall photo more realistic. They might also crop the images for social media, collage them for real estate brochures, or convert them into video bites for your website. It all depends on your wishes and needs.
Virtual Staging vs. Traditional Staging
If this is your first time learning about virtual staging, the process might seem overwhelming. You might wonder, wouldn’t it be better to simply go with traditional staging instead? To answer this question, we’ve explored the advantages and limitations of virtual staging compared to its physical counterpart.
Virtual Staging Advantages
- Expenses — Traditional home staging isn’t cheap. Renovations, consultations, furniture renting, decoration purchases, upkeep, and more can reach up to $2,400. Virtual staging eliminates most of these costs without compromising on quality. Clients typically pay a one-time fee per rendered photo, which averages around $100.
- Flexibility — You can’t do much with unfinished houses or apartments with tenants. Users enjoy a great deal more flexibility with virtual staging. 3D software allows for structure building, painting, furniture and decoration modeling, and more. Buyers will see the listing in its best light, no matter its current state.
- Freedom of expression — Virtual house staging gives you more freedom to be creative. You can stage a single room in multiple ways to show its potential. There’s no limit to the styles, colors, and textures you can include. It is even possible to change the time of day, the weather, and the season to make the space pop. Traditional staging offers none of these options.
Virtual Staging Limitations
- Misleading photos — The freedom of expression virtual staging allows is generally a positive feature. However, it might be a drawback for some buyers since it does not accurately reflect the current state of the property. They might feel misled when they visit their purchased home in person.
- In-person tours — Virtual staging doesn’t always allow in-person tours, which might deter or disappoint some prospective buyers. The property you’ve digitally rendered:
- Might still be under construction or renovation, so they won’t be able to see it until a few months into the future.
- Might be occupied by tenants and their furniture and belongings.
- Poor execution — Many virtual staging agencies offer services at a significantly lower rate than most of their competitors. These prices might be enticing, but don’t let them persuade you. They’re usually a cover for lack of skills and experience or amateurish equipment. Choose them, and you’ll end up with poorly executed and unrealistic photos, which can scare off your clients.
Software and Tools for Virtual Staging
Now that you’re familiar with the basics of virtual staging, it’s time to think about the tools involved in this practice. You can find detailed descriptions of each in the sections below.
Professional Virtual Staging Software
Professional virtual staging solutions are programs designed to help professional designers create virtually staged photos. They provide a vast set of tools and features for every component of the photo, from basic corrections to furnishing and lighting changes.
These programs often come with extensive libraries of pre-made 3D models of furniture and decor in different styles, colors, and textures. They allow designers to adjust these pieces to the room they’re staging or create entirely new elements specifically for their clients.
To use professional virtual staging software, one must have a device that can support such a powerful tool, interior design knowledge, experience with virtual staging, and attention to detail.
DIY Virtual Staging Tools
Do-it-yourself virtual staging tools are solutions that provide their services online. Some offer only desktop software, while others are also available through mobile apps. On the surface, these programs resemble the ones described above. They allow users to create an account, insert their property photos, and use available tools to virtually stage the property themselves. However, they offer limited services and are generally less advanced than their professional counterparts.
Professional vs. Do-It-Yourself Virtual Staging
The previous two sections might’ve given you an inkling of how professional compares to DIY virtual staging. Still, additional information may help you gain a better understanding of both.
- Costs — The first step in tackling a DIY virtual staging project is finding the necessary tools. Before you look for software and computers, you’ll need high-resolution cameras and lighting equipment. These gadgets are a costly investment, especially if you don’t plan to reuse them.
- Staging options — As mentioned above, DIY virtual staging programs lag behind their professional versions by a long shot. They feature fewer staging options and have smaller furniture and decor libraries. Images they produce will clearly reflect these flaws.
- Time and energy — DIY virtual staging projects take more time and energy to create. You must find a decent virtual staging tool, create an account or download it, and learn how it works. Then, you’ll need to explore its capabilities and practice virtual staging on various photos. Still, the results won’t be as realistic and well-produced as those rendered by professionals.
- Expertise — Virtual staging companies employ individuals with knowledge, skills, and experience in the field. When equipped with professional gear, they have all it takes to create realistic, three-dimensional virtually-staged photos. No amount of time spent studying the industry, equipment, and programs will help you climb to their level of expertise.
Conclusion
Virtual staging is one of the most popular methods real estate businesses utilize to showcase properties. It rose to popularity during the pandemic and will likely remain prevalent for a long time, thanks to its many benefits. The practice is flexible, sustainable, and efficient. It also has a better reach and higher ROI than many alternatives. If you’d like to take advantage of it, please don’t hesitate. Visit our website, check out our services, and book a demo today.
Examples of Virtual Staging (Before and After)
Living room Virtual Staging Example:
Living room Virtual Staging Example 2:
Bedroom Virtual Staging Example:
Kitchen Virtual Staging Example:
How much does virtual staging cost?
Virtual staging costs depend on the property size, client requests, image quality, and your virtual staging provider. Still, its price is considerably lower than traditional staging. It usually incurs a one-time fee and doesn’t involve consultation, upkeep, or emergency costs.
How long does it take to virtually stage a property?
A virtual staging process can take anywhere from two days to several weeks. Your exact pending time will depend on the real estate’s size, the number of photos, and amount of details and customization you require.
Can I make changes to the virtual staging after it’s done?
You can. One of the primary benefits of working with professional virtual staging companies like ours is flexibility. We’re open to hearing your remarks and will do our best to cater to your needs.
What are the best practices for using virtual staging in marketing?
Marketing is one of the main applications for virtually staged photos. Real estate businesses use them to enrich their listings, improve their reach on social media, drive more traffic to their website, and enhance their marketing brochures. Some realtors even use them in online virtual property tours.
Can virtual staging be used for commercial properties?
Definitely. Virtual staging can be used for interior and exterior commercial real estate and curated according to buyer preferences. It can help sellers and realtors showcase properties under construction or renovation and highlight their versatility.
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