Staging tips when working for another

How many of you decorator types have dreams of staging for others? Whether it be in homes or businesses, I'd say it's fair to admit, most of us have those desires and wonder what it's really like.

I am currently staging for a restaurant just moments from my home,  The Vedder Mt. Grille.

It's a lovely little restaurant with wonderful homemade meals. The building is an original to our little town so going with vintage decor suited the place to perfection. (Befores and afters coming soon!)

For those of you not having taken the stager plunge yet, I thought I'd share a few tips on what I'd consider to be helpful should you be debating on it.

Staging tips when working for another

1. Bring your camera. AND tripod.

Interiors are difficult to capture, so it's critical to stabilize your camera rock steady for such pictures. Your aperture wants to stay open longer due to the darker indoor conditions, therefore any motion at all will blur your photos.

Additional lighting would have been nice, however the restaurant wasn't closed and I felt that would have been intrusive for guests, so I went without. But if you can get away with it, bring an automotive lamp tree for a quick fix.

2. Have a mobile tool kit ready to go. With a bit of everything!

I happen to store screws and hooks in two cute little tool boxes, so it was easy to cart them around with me. And I brought my cordless drill with all the fittings too. But I didn't end up using those at all.  I used an old fashioned hammer and some nails. But what I DID forget was hand held screwdrivers, window cleaner, blades for scraping.. you get the idea.

Set up a mobile cleaning and tool kit that's well stocked and easy to grab and run and you won't have to drive back home again like I did. :)

3. You need stock.

I've staged for friends and family before many times, utilizing things they already had. However, it's alot different when you walk into a place that NEEDS stuff.

This particular project is about thrift store/vintage, so you can't jaunt down to Walmart to just pick it up. You either shop for your client with the chances of having nothing to show for your efforts if the pickings aren't good, or slowly collect things for your own 'stockpile' over time when out and about already.

I've stockpiled for awhile so I had things to bring.  I'm just glad I have a reason to horde collect now! It's for the sake of others of course. :)

4. Try it first. Paint it later. Maybe. :)

In a perfect world, all the stock we had on hand would be perfectly prematched for the decor. Or would it?!? I vote to NEVER assume.

I expected to paint and glaze a grouping of picture frames for a themed wall, however what ended up looking best was to leave them all as is. Which also proves another decorating theory I've used forever. Don't touch that paint until you try things as is first!

5. Expect some heartache with the parting of loved items.

It's inevitable. You'll look at something in your home that you KNOW will absolutely sing in it's new location. So you load it into your vehicle, secretly hoping it won't work. But it does. As you knew it would. 

Although the restaurant had some lovely things for me to use right away,  I needed much more. Part of this particular marketing stragety is to also sell my creations. So they have to come from... my creations. :)

But I admit... it was wonderful to see those items work so well elsewhere. And we can always collect and make new stuff, right Miss Mustard Seed?!?. :)

6. Bring entertainment for the kiddo/s.  If you bring them.

I brought my 11 yr old son with me. We brought in a laptop,  ordered up a chocolate milkshake for him and I was able to create uninterrupted. I could have gotten my son to assist in some areas, however this round, I chose to go it alone as he was perfectly content. In a perfect world, he'd be in school while I did this but I don't remember the last time my world was any where near perfect. :)


and finally


7. Plan your first job at a restaurant.

You won't have to worry about dinner that night and you can tweak your work while you eat. :)

My first day was a unique and new experience for me and way too much fun. :) I wasn't able to take after pics of what was accomplished as it was too late in the day, however I'll sneak in there soon and give you a little taste of what we accomplished for certain!

I can't wait to get back in there. Laurie is shopping for a cool vintage sofa and we're going to create a Starbucks style coffee area for those java/laptop types. I may even be the very first to try it out... "I'll take a pumpkin spiced latte while I SNS away on a Friday night, pretty please!" :)

Stagers! Have any tips for this newbie and others that are debating on making the plunge? 

How about stager wannabes? What's your dream staging job you'd love to dive into?