What housing styles are typical of Brighton?

Brighton is a special place that has a mix of historic older homes, row houses and multi-family housing. Some of the housing stock is much older, and like other Boston neighborhoods, you’ll also find some newer condos and apartments as well.

Who is looking to buy in Brighton?  

Brighton is close to many universities and is home to Boston College, so you’ll find that the resident population has many students and young professionals. Because of that, you’ll see many investors buying multi-family or condo/apartment properties. You’ll also see young professional buyers working in Boston or nearby universities who are looking to upgrade from their rental situation and buy their first home - most typically a small condo.

What does effective staging look like in Brighton?  

Since Brighton has a lot of multi-family housing and small condo/apartment housing stock, it’s important for staging in Brighton to really maximize the potential of small layouts and show how these spaces can be used efficiently and work for young professionals. Often this means strategically fitting in multiple seating options in a small living room, as well as fitting in a small office space to show what remote working can look like. For young professional buyers they can then more easily envision how they might live in the space, and for investors they can see how the space might appeal to renters so that they can maximize rental values.

Also, given the buyer pool, it’s important that staging represents the tastes of young people in the area – so it should emphasize modern styles – but without being too bland or neutral. I think one of the most common misconceptions is that modern staging design needs to be entirely neutral and minimalist – when in fact young buyers are often drawn to design that incorporates color, character and a more “lived in” aesthetic.

Creating this “lived in” aesthetic is something Baan Home specializes in. We focus on creating modern, elevated staging that still includes the color and character found in everyday homes. We often do this through unique pieces of art and décor items that you can’t just find at Home Goods – and by doing this we often have found that we wow buyers. Agents and owners have often given us the feedback that prospective buyers will say “the person who lives here has great style” – instead of “oh I can tell this place was staged.” This feedback shows that buyers are excited by great interior style - and not just staging for staging’s sake.