A Home Stager's Goal is to package a home to sell fast and get the highest price.

A Home Decorators Goal is to create aesthetically pleasing, functioning and comfortable environments that reflect a homeowner's personal style, design preferences and values. 

Investment to prepare and stage a home will range for .5 to 1% of the listing price. These costs can include updating fixtures, painting, handywork, furniture and art rentals, and the staging expert's fees. 

Investment to decorate a home can range from 30-40% of the home's value. This varies based on the scope of work, but typically includes fixtures, furnishings, art, window treatments, rugs and accessories and the home decorator and craftsman's fees. 

Home Stagers use furnishings, accessories and art to accentuate the positive aspects of the home and appeal to the largest pool of buyers. The home seller's personal style preferences are irrelevant in the staging. 

Home Decorators create spaces that reflect the homeowner's personal style and design preferences. They design and plan around how they live and what's important to them. 

Home Stagers install furniture, accessories and elements to best present the home's style and what will resonate with prospective home buyers. Professional photos are important to stand out among other homes for sale online. This can mean installing certain items that make a lifestyle statement and also present well online. Home stagers stage with less furnishings than in a decorating project. Fewer items will make the spaces feel larger. An experienced professional home stager installs items that not only fit the space, but also align to the price point of the home for sale. 

Home Decorators install furniture, accessories and elements that are selected to create a livable space with function, comfort and personalization. Items in a decorating project also reflect the customer's budget and their quality standard. Home decorators are often involved in selecting finishes, fixtures and structural aspects of the home. While homeowners hire a decorator for their talent and design sensibility, the best home design projects are collaborative with the home dweller and the professional home decorator. 

With the home's architectural style in mind, a home stager selects furnishings from their available inventory at the time the contract is executed. The choices are tailored to best appeal to the buyer's profile. Stager's inventory changes every day based on the homes staged. Scheduling can impact furnishing availability.

​A home decorator has the global marketplace to source both stock product and custom items for the client. Timelines and budgets are not always a factor. 

The home stager selects the items for the home. The home seller does not approve the items before the staging. They are hiring a professional and and need to trust their expertise and remember why they are staging, to get the home sold.

​The home decorator prepares vision boards prior to installation. Vision boards present design stories before items are ordered and installed. The decorator relies on the home planning feedback and their style preferences. 

Most home stagers will charge a fee for edits to a staging after the items are installed. If the homeowner or Realtor has ideas or insight, this needs to be shared with the stager in the planning process. 

A home decorator cannot return or exchange any custom items. Depending on the supplier, returns and exchanges are allowed, but may have restocking or shipping fees for stocked items. 

How long does home staging take to plan and install? Depending on the home size and the team's project load, it can take from 2-5 days to stage. Destaging takes less time, but requires a 10 day notice to pick up items after the home has sold. 

How much time does a home decorator need to design and furnish a home? Despending on the home size, number of rooms, and custom items, the average home decorating can range from 30 days to 6 months.