Apartment Staging: The Mid-Century-Modern Way
Posted on July 20, 2016
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Designer Spotlight, Inspirations
We sat down with Rich Fostek of Edge Mid-Century Designs to discuss his luxury apartment staging business in Manhattan. He shared some great insights into the art of staging as well as some personal wisdom on the topics of vintage furniture and interior design!
First of all, you are an authority on mid century furniture and design as well as one of Manhattan’s premiere apartment stagers, how did the two meet?
It was actually a serendipitous problem that launched the staging as a spin off venture from our mid-century modern design gallery. About 5 years ago my partner David left a long career in the fashion industry to pursue selling luxury real estate in NYC. His first exclusive listing was a huge apartment in a grand mid century building on Madison and 68th. It was a great space but lacked personality so the reception by potential buyers was indifferent. We noticed that other listings that were successfully selling in the area were staged or furnished with primarily mid century styled pieces like the ones we were selling in the gallery. We decided to bring in a truck full of MCM furnishings plus a little design savvy to give the place a fresh look. Once we did that, the apartment immediately went into a bidding war and sold over asking price. Impressed with this, some of the other brokers at his firm asked if we could help them by staging a few of their “problem” listings, and we were launched into the staging business.
Is apartment staging worthwhile? How does it make a difference in the sale of an apartment?
Apartment staging has become almost a necessity in most cases. The NYC luxury market has become very competitive in recent years and the internet has been a game changer in how properties are marketed. Most customers initial contact with the home is through listing photographs. If these photos don’t connect with the potential buyers in some way, they will generally click on to the next listing. On many occasions we have seen properties that were on the market for months suddenly sell quickly once staged; sometimes for record prices.
How does vintage furniture play a part in the staging business?
Very few stagers use vintage pieces in their designs because it is out of their comfort zone. But we love incorporating vintage pieces because they add a unique, eclectic feel to the finished product. We try to avoid the “corporate look” in our installations and instead utilize items like an early abstract painting, a beautiful vintage typewriter, or perhaps an antique Moroccan table or MCM Credenza. It’s personal touches such as these that give a potential buyer the feeling that this is the home of someone with taste and is a space with a true sense of history.
Our biggest compliment is when someone asks, “Is this place staged?”
Because the staging looks so livable and inviting that they can’t tell for certain whether or not what they’re looking at is a staging rather than the furniture and decor that has inhabited the property for years.
What types of vintage furniture do you find work best in staging?
There are few hard fast rules to this because every project is different. We really let the space dictate to us what makes it function and look its best. An un-restored pre-war apartment on Park Avenue usually calls for things that have light updated classic designs like the Hollywood regency style with some bold modern art thrown in for some contrast. Industrial Lofts on the other hand look best with more masculine primitive wood farmhouse furniture and upholstered pieces that are heavier like a Leather Chesterfield.
How is staging an apartment to sell different from decorating a space for someone to live in?
They’re quite a bit different actually.
I think the biggest difference is client interaction. In staging, you need to make the space appealing to the broadest pool of potential new owners. This quite often involves neutralizing strong design choices that the owner made in the past.
Design and decor are the opposite. The designer must work with the client’s needs and likes and funnel those into a finished space that melds their taste and vision with those of the client in order to create a space that specifically caters to that client.
What is your personal favorite style of furniture?
My taste is always changing and evolving. I love great examples of all 20th century modernism, Art Deco, Craftsman, and Art Nouveau and of course mid century. Right now I would say Edmund Spence, Dorothy Draper and Paul McCobb are my top 3 designers. The first piece of mid century furniture I acquired is actually still my favorite piece in our collection. It’s a modular bar unit designed by Merton Gershen for American of Martinsville.
What tips can you give for people using vintage furniture in decorating their homes?
Buy what you love even if you think it won’t match your other things. You may be pleasantly surprised with the new direction it inspires.
So follow your heart when designing your own space and follow Rich and David at Edge Mid-Century Designs to stay up to date on their latest stagings!
Photo Credit: edgemcm.com