STAGING WITH JASON SAFT
Photography by Hayley Ellen Day
Join us as we delve into the insights and expertise of Jason Saft, the mastermind behind Staged to Sell Home. This boutique staging company has set new standards in showcasing luxury properties. Based in New York City, Saft's meticulous approach to staging luxury properties transcends mere decoration; it creates an immersive experience for potential buyers. By carefully curating each space with his use of color, layering, and art, Jason ensures that every corner of the home exudes an inviting ambiance. His attention to detail allows prospective buyers to envision themselves living in the space, as if their own cherished possessions were carefully placed and displayed with love. Through Jason's staging, the luxury property becomes more than just a house; it becomes a canvas upon which potential buyers can project their dreams and aspirations, fostering a deeper emotional connection and increasing the likelihood of a sale. Read on as we chat with Saft and learn why he has been rated the #1 stager in the country.Â
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1. You have created a successful, very niche business in NYC; tell us about how you got started.
I had always wanted to be an interior designer. When I was growing up, my friends stole their dads playboys, I took my mother’s Martha Stewart Living and hid them under my bed so no one knew I was reading decorating magazines. But boys in the 1980s didn't tell their mothers they wanted to be a decorator. So I took a different course in life. In 2004 I changed careers and became a real estate agent, mostly because I loved fixing up homes. I started fixing up properties that couldn't sell with other agents. I have no design training, but I have 20 years of redoing people’s homes in order to sell them. I crafted my process organically through trial and lots of errors. I don’t look at it like a job or work, it’s my other child. I finally have the ability do the one thing in life that I always felt I was meant to do. It’s beyond fulfilling to be in this moment.
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2. How has your business evolved over time?
In the early days of Staged To Sell Home I was using mostly the contents of my apartment, at one point I even slept on a mattress on the floor because my bed frame was needed for one of my first really big projects at 150 Charles Street. I didn’t have the resources to buy something new so I used what I had and that has been my motto for a very long time. I’ve always thrifted and sourced from places like flea markets and estate sales, over the last 5 years Staged To Sell Home has grown significantly. In 2023 we staged $463,000,000 in real estate with just over 130 projects. It used to be just me, then a few helpers. I now have 10 full time employees and an army of contractors & vendors who help us turn over very complex properties quickly.
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Medium Moon Jar Gianfranco Briceño |
Spiral Vase in Clear Crackle Nathalee Paolinelli |
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 Photography by Shannon Dupre
Tree of Light Iron Series |
Arabella Glass Set Vintage |
3. I would imagine staging a home for sale has some pretty significant differences from designing a home for yourself or a client. What are some of those differences?
The main difference between designing vs staging is the way the end user is factored in the process. In design it’s all about the owner, their needs, their preferences, their taste and dreams. For staging, I'm being hired to mitigate flaws, accentuate the assets and to create something that appeals to a wide, yet specific audience that is often inundated with options. 99% of our sellers do not want to be involved in the design process and that allows us to move swiftly and execute at a high level.
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4. You have a fantastic collection of vintage and artistic treasures. Tell us about how you have grown that collection and where you source?
I shop therefore I am. I come from a family of collectors. I can still remember going to visit my grandmother in Coney Island and being enamored by all her tchotchkes and needlepoints. I enjoy the hunt for pieces and learning about them. I love finding antiquated objects that are no longer used or in production and working them in as art objects. I enjoy getting to know the artists I work with and feature and how they go about their craft. It is fascinating to watch someone paint or build a vessel by hand.
 Photography by Hayley Ellen Day
Photography by Shannon Dupre
5. You have collected several Gianfranco Briceño pieces from LES. What about his work sparked interest or connection for you?
I first saw Gianfranco’s work at your pop up and I was there talking with friends and i remember leaving the conversation and walking over to one of Gianfranco’s vessels...so it’s part ADD and part being completely drawn to and enthralled by an object that at the same time looks and feels complex, yet rough. There’s a raw masculine quality to each piece that’s wholly original.
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6. What are some artists, contemporary or historical, you are drawn to and why?
I love design & art and I appreciate different time periods, aesthetic movements and try to incorporate them all into my work. It’s common for me to be designing spaces that range from Postmodernism to Baroque all in one week and borrowing from each period and trying to incorporate them all together (when appropriate). My personal taste can go from Bruegel to Basquiat. I think it’s important to understand, embrace & respect all different forms of art & design.
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 Photography by Hayley Ellen Day
Cattleyas Iron Series |
 810 Tray in Cherry Gold by Anastasio Home |
7. What are some challenges specific to staging, and how have you addressed them?
The biggest challenge in staging is timing. We work under duress. Everyone wants everything done yesterday, there is often very little planning time for our projects. We are often installing very detailed and complex homes after 1 site visit (that can be months out) or only get access 2 weeks before install day and only have an hour or so onsite to prepare.
Many other staging companies have a templated paint by numbers approach to their projects, which I find uninspired and often ineffective as you can’t design a new condo on Billionaire’s Row in the same way as a turn of the century townhouse in Brooklyn.
I love designing with the space, architecture & end user in mind, so we design every project as if it’s meant to be there, meticulously. But I very much understand why some companies just have one look. It makes it easy for them. But I’m not interested in easy. Easy isn’t artful.
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8. What are you currently excited about? It could be a particular project, a pivot, a new artist, etc.
Right now i'm working on the home of an Italian Princess who was married to a member of the Romanov family. Both are deceased and the apartment resembles and old world European home with exceptional stone and plaster work. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my life (in New York) and it’s a project that I’m pouring my heart & soul into breathing a new life into. Expect to see quite a few LES sources heirlooms there... :)
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Sterling Silver Vintage Candlestick Vintage |
 Helena Candleholder by Style Union Home |
Isolated n. 15 by Canoa Lab |
 Emerge by Lauren Skunta |
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