Staging and Design Network (SDN) announced the opening of its first Arizona location in the Deer Valley Airpark this month. The nearly 800,000-cubic-foot industrial warehouse (about 25,000-square-feet) is located at 3055 E. Rose Garden Lane, Suite 140, in north Phoenix. Founded in 2015 by Tricia Tomlinson, Staging and Design Network offers a solution to a problem that many in the real estate industry face. It is a constant balancing act to source and manage all the furniture types needed to stage every home in the marketplace so that when a home buyer walks in the door, they want to live there. Home staging is becoming an essential part of real estate sales. According to the National Association of Realtors, professionally staged properties sell for up to 18% more and in about a third of the time of an un-staged home.
The idea for the company was born after Tomlinson, a former real estate broker, discovered she was struggling to manage the mountain of inventory she accumulated while staging multiple listings. Sourcing, packing, and hauling was becoming a full-time ordeal that took her away from clients and design time; her favorite part. Tomlinson needed a way to access more furniture and better utilize the pieces she owned that were sitting in her garage. Her idea was to share resources with others who had the same problems. She did some research and created a business model to do just that, but quickly realized it would be impossible without the technology to track everyone’s inventory. When she couldn’t find a suitable piece of software to handle such a task, she gathered the financial resources to develop proprietary technology, and Staging and Design Network was born. Since its inception, the company has grown significantly.
“No matter how much inventory I purchased, I was never going to have the right piece for every home,” said Tomlinson, CEO of Staging and Design Network. “I knew I couldn’t be the only one. The stager, who may also be a realtor, or even a seller, often runs out of inventory or needs help managing all the furniture they are not using.”
This is where SDN steps in. The company collectively manages furniture and decor owned by members in the network. Each item is brought into its climate-controlled warehouse and vetted for quality. Barcodes are created, high quality images are taken and uploaded to SDN’s website. At this point, the member has a full account view of their items and can opt in to share their inventory with others. Whenever an item is rented or sold in SDN’s unique Shared Rental Pool, the member earns income. SDN’s digital platform facilitates this entire process.
“We use our network as a win-win for everyone,” shares Tomlinson. “Your own staging options increase exponentially, and you are letting your furniture work for you by having us market it to others.”
This system not only expands design opportunities, it helps eliminate the cost of staging that many companies take in-house. SDN has a buying center for model merchandising and for supplementing the rental pool. Delivery, set-up, destaging, and will call are all options.
“We are a network, not a staging company,” she clarifies. “We showcase our members who are very talented and have the resources to provide the appropriate types of furnishings needed for any home at any price point.”
Membership is made up of professional stagers, realtors, builders, interior designers, large developers, and anyone who owns appropriate furniture and wants to earn income or beautify a home for sale. SDN’s mission is to partner with others to share resources, grow their business, and inspire design. Sharing opens up the opportunity to appropriately stage homes with the right kinds of pieces – which help stagers grow their businesses and inspire design.
This combination of brick & mortar and technology has the venture listed as one of eight top tech innovators in the NAR’s 2019 REach program. Also, great for the community and the environment: over time, the gently-staged items are donated to local charities, helping others while saving thousands of pounds from landfills every year.
The company provides industry training, including accredited Continuing Education classes for realtors and is working on offering the same certifications for its Phoenix location. The unique concept has had a great reception from the real estate community with the success of its first two locations in Washington.
For more information on Staging and Design Network, visit staginganddesignnetwork.com or like them on Facebook at @StagingandDesignNetwork or on Instagram at @StagingandDesign
