Home staging costs anywhere from under $200 for a professional consultation to several thousand dollars for a fully furnished luxury listing. Nationally, the NAR 2025 Profile of Home Staging puts the median spend on a professional staging service at about $1,500 — but that single number hides a lot. What you'll actually pay depends on whether the home is occupied or vacant, how many rooms are staged, the property's price point, and how long the furniture stays.
This guide breaks down what each level of staging costs, what drives the price up or down, and how to decide how much staging your listing actually needs. The prices below are our own starting rates at Hummingbird Staging & Interiors in Olathe, so you can see real numbers instead of vague ranges.
How much does a home staging consultation cost?
A staging consultation is the least expensive way to get professional eyes on your home — and for many sellers, it's all they need. Our walkthrough consultations start at $175 for a 60-minute room-by-room session with staging recommendations, furniture placement guidance, and a listing-photo readiness checklist.
If you want a roadmap you can hand to the whole household, a consultation with a written action plan runs $350 and includes a four-phase timeline — declutter, repairs and paint, styling, photo prep — with must-do and nice-to-do lists for every phase, plus paint colors by room. A premium consultation with an extended 90-minute walkthrough and a follow-up call is $450.
For sellers willing to do the work themselves, a sub-$500 consultation is the highest-leverage money you can spend before listing.
How much does it cost to stage a home you still live in?
Occupied staging — restyling the furniture and decor you already own — is usually the most affordable hands-on option because there's little or no furniture rental involved. Our occupied staging starts at $425 for a half day and $750 for a full day of hands-on restyling: furniture flow, surface and shelf styling, beds, baths, and entry.
Occupied staging makes sense when the home has decent furniture but the rooms don't photograph well as arranged. A stager's edit — removing, rearranging, and restyling — often transforms listing photos without renting a single piece.
How much does vacant home staging cost?
Vacant staging is the biggest investment because it includes furniture, art, rugs, lighting, bedding, and accessories — plus delivery, installation, and a rental term. Expect a starting range of roughly $1,500–$3,000+ for the first month depending on the home's price point and scope:
- Homes under $500K: our Essential package (Feathered Nest) starts at $1,650+ and covers the key spaces — living room, kitchen, dining, primary bedroom, and baths.
- Homes $500K–$750K: our Signature package (Ruby-Throated) starts at $2,150+ with fuller styling, layered art and textiles, and all secondary bathrooms.
- Luxury homes $750K–$2M: our custom package (Calliope) starts at $3,000+ and is fully tailored to the home and its buyer profile.
- Flips and investment properties: our investor package (Blue Bird) starts at $1,500+ with an efficient, buyer-ready scope.
Every vacant package includes a one-month rental term. If the home doesn't sell in that window, extensions are billed in 30-day increments — a cost worth budgeting for in a slower market.
What factors change the price of staging?
Six variables move a staging quote more than anything else:
- Square footage and room count. More rooms means more inventory, more labor, and more truck space.
- Property value. Higher-priced homes need higher-end furnishings and fuller styling to meet buyer expectations at that price point.
- Occupied vs. vacant. Working with your existing furniture is far cheaper than furnishing empty rooms.
- Rental term. The first month is typically bundled; each additional month adds cost.
- Access and logistics. Stairs, long carries, difficult parking, and distance from the stager's base can add fees.
- Timeline. Rush projects inside 72 hours often carry a rush fee.
Who pays for home staging — the seller or the agent?
Usually the seller, though arrangements vary. In the NAR 2025 report, about a quarter of listing agents said who pays depends on the situation — some agents cover a consultation as part of their listing services, some split costs, and many simply refer a trusted stager and let the seller contract directly. If you're interviewing agents, it's a fair question to ask up front. (Agents: see how we work with realtor partners, including launch offers for first-time clients.)
Is staging worth the cost?
The short answer: for most listings, yes — staging consistently correlates with faster sales and stronger offers, though results vary by market and home. We break down the full numbers, including when staging is not worth it, in Is Home Staging Worth It? What the Data Says.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average cost to stage a house in 2026?
The national median spend on professional staging services is about $1,500, per the NAR 2025 Profile of Home Staging. Consultations typically run $150–$500, occupied staging $400–$1,000+, and vacant staging $1,500–$3,000+ for the first month, scaling up with home size and price point.
Is it cheaper to stage an occupied home or a vacant home?
Occupied is almost always cheaper, because the stager works with furniture you already own instead of renting inventory. Vacant staging costs more but tends to matter more, since empty rooms photograph poorly and are hard for buyers to size.
How long does staging stay in the house?
Most vacant staging packages, including ours, include a one-month rental term starting on install day, with extensions available in 30-day increments.
Can I stage my home myself?
Partially. A professional consultation (ours start at $175) gives you a room-by-room plan you can execute yourself — decluttering, furniture placement, paint, and photo prep. Where DIY falls short is inventory: most sellers don't own the right-scaled furniture and art for every room, which is what vacant packages solve.
Hummingbird Staging & Interiors provides staging consultations, occupied and vacant staging, and photo-day styling across Olathe, Johnson County, and the Kansas City metro. Book a consultation — all prices above are starting points, finalized by scope, home size, and timeline.
