About me

It's never too late to follow a dream

I became a home stager at 56.

It came in the form of a fluke. I had refurbished a little investment house, which the agent said would be difficult to sell empty, and had I thought about staging it? 

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Eeek! How do you stage a house? I had no idea. But I begged, borrowed, rented and bought and staged my first property.

It SOLD on the first day. PHEW! Literally 30 groups of people came to see it. 

The estate agent loved me. You can imagine - she did one day's marketing and sold the house. Soon she asked me to stage another property. It SOLD in no time! 

And that's how my staging business, Home Stagers Cape Town, was born. I never expected to become a home stager, but I've always loved decorating. Since then I've staged dozens of properties, in all sizes, styles and price ranges. 

You might wonder why if I'm a home stager, I'm training other home stagers. Because there's a big pie and there's a slice for all of us. I'm only one teeny one focussing on a small area in Cape Town. There's a whole country with hundreds of thousands of properties for sale and rent.

In 2019 I launched my home staging online courses on this website. I love training new home stagers. It is SO rewarding to see people go on to start their own successful businesses, as many do. I keep in touch with all of them, and it's a joy to follow their careers. Some people take a while to get going, others start immediately.

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Currently, the course is ONLINE. It is a combination of:

• 7 pre-recorded videos,

• 7 sets of practical activities

• A hands on project

• Personal feedback and evaluation from me, AND

• a wonderful group of fellow home stagers collaborating with each other.

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The photo is of my students in the first LIVE course I held.

SOUND GOOD? Read on...

What's in the Home Staging Business Course

Awards and accreditation

I'm the founder and president of the International Association of Home Staging Professionals in South Africa. This is the only such body in South Africa.

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In 2019 and 2020 I won an Award for Excellence Industry Leadership from the IAHSP.

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My courses are also accredited by the IAHSP (not many are!)

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Caroline Jurgens is my associate partner in Spain. For more info on her courses, click here.

Before

What services do Home Stagers offer?

There are two kinds of Home Staging Services:

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1. Staging an empty property - as you see in the BEFORE and AFTER photos here

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2. Staging a home where people are living (an occupied home).

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The course deals with both kinds of home staging. 

After

What's in the home staging course?

Module 1: Introduction to home staging

• What is home staging?

• How does it work psychologically?

• How to talk to sellers and agents about the benefits of staging

• Stats that support the success of home staging

• Why staging is NOT interior decorating

Module 2: Design elements of home staging

• 30 design principles of staging

• Before and after photos to show you how to stage

Module 3: Photography

• How to take photos for staging

• The ins and outs of home staging photography

• What to watch out for and avoid

Module 4: Your first project: What to expect

• What services you can offer as a stager

• Consultations vs staging empty properties

• Download your checklist for the day

• What's in your toolbox

• Buying vs renting furniture: what's best?

• Where to rent furniture

Module 5: The legal stuff

• What kind of company should you be

• What your contract must say

• Pitfalls of gaps in your contract

Module 6: Quoting, pricing, invoicing

• Buying vs renting furniture: what's best?

• Where to rent furniture

• How to cost out a staging job

• How to work out your profit

• What every stager needs in their toolbox

• What your contract must say

• Pitfalls of gaps in your contract

• Various options on how to quote for a job

• Practice in quoting for a job

Module 7: Marketing your home staging business

• Your business name, logo and website

• Content for your website

• Where and how to market your business

• Deciding on social media platforms for your business

• Networking

Hands on Project 

You choose a project to stage (it can be your own home, or a friend's, or a house on the market). You can restyle it or do an empty home. I give you detailed feedback.

What's a home stager's day really like?

Does the course start on a specific date?

No. The course is self-paced. You can start the course whenever you want. You can watch the videos at your own pace.

Some students like to watch the whole module and then go back over certain key sections.

Others watch more slowly, stopping and taking notes as they go along. Do whatever your learning style is.

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You have access to the training videos for two years.

Do I really have to study to become a home stager? 

Like a lot of careers, you can learn by trial and error by yourself. But you will avoid many pitfalls and save yourself a lot of time and money by investing in this course, which is Internationally Accredited.

You’ll get a professional grounding and have the confidence and knowledge to offer your services once you’ve completed your course.

Is the course totally online?

There are four parts to this course, so it's a bit of a hybrid course. These components are:

• Pre-recorded videos

• Printable workbooks

• Individual contact with me and feedback on your practical exercises and projects 

• You have the option of joining my network of home stagers

Will I get a certificate?

You will get a certificate which shows that you have completed an accredited course when you finish your project. You can choose what to do for your project, for example, a room in your own home or a friend's home. There are lots of options that don't involve spending money. Chat to me about this.

Click on each article to read it   

Trudi Beetge, Amanzimtoti

Home Staging for real estate was informative, interesting and definitely a new skill that I can add to my presentation package. I will recommend this for any real estate agent that wants to create a niche in the market and give their sellers excellent service.

Alexa Rex, Pretoria

This course was so informative. I am adding this service to my professional home organising business. Liesa is a knowledgeable instructor and is passionate about growing the Home Staging industry in South Africa. Thank you so much Liesa!!

Rhona Aves, Johannesburg

Thank you so much for the great support, webinars and staging tips.

You are a superb teacher.

Michaela Bridgman Opittz, Cape Town

Thanks for being such an encouraging, personal and personable teacher. What a blessing for me to have found you.

Jacqueline Raubenheimer, Stellenbosch

I knew I had the feel, the ability, and the knowhow to restyle a home. But I didn't realise how different it was to actually stage a home.

Charne Wentzel, Pretoria

I thourougly enjoyed the course. I appreciated the opportunity to work through at my own pace and having access to you to ask questions.

Zukie Gxalaba, Malmesbury

From day one I enjoyed all the  modules 1-7. Very insightful and clear in terms of how one can run the business and be successful .

Lynda la Grange, Parow

I loved every minute of the course.  I particularly enjoyed the breakdown of the Costings. I also did a photography course a good few years ago so it was great to refresh on that. All in all a well rounded course.

Sharon Dell, Durban

Your course is divine. I’ve been through the videos once, but will obviously go through them and the workbooks at least a couple more times. 

Successful graduates 

Many students who've studied with me have started their own successful home staging companies. Others are not ready to start yet - they are transitioning from one career and want to have a skill when they are ready. Here are a few businesses that I'm proud to say I helped launch.