Home Staging Training & Resources

The Staging Design Professional® online certification course includes everything you need to launch (and rock!) your staging career. There are 15 training modules, plus all of the forms, contracts, and checklists that you will need to run your home staging business. PLUS! You get a one-hour group coaching call, placement on our Find a Stager map, and your SDP® certification badge to use on your marketing materials.

Absolutely! You will discover so many ways to improve and enhance your home staging business. You have been using your amazing intuition, but now you will have the staging tools and skills to take it to the next level.

Staging Studio created a special home staging course for agents like you. Earning this prestigious staging certification will make you the top producing agent in your market! PLUS, you get to add SDP® (Staging Design Professional®) behind your name. Impressive!

We are so glad you asked! The online training is important to complete first for the foundation of design and staging business training. Everyone learns at a different pace, so it is important to take training that you can rewind, pause and come back to over and over.

But once you complete your Staging Design Professional® Expert Level online certification, you are eligible to come to our state-of-the-art home staging training center "The Studio" where you will spend 3 days with us practicing staging at our Master Class.

Staging Studio is Internationally accredited by the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA), the International Association of Home Staging Professionals (IAHSP) and the Home Staging Association in the U.K. (HSA).

There are very few training programs that pass the rigorous RESA accreditation process. RESA is serious about making sure the training companies that they accredit cover the prescribed objectives and set home stagers up for success. RESA even verifies every quoted home staging statistic in our courses.

Staging Studio is passionate about helping you be confident and successful in your staging career. To be a successful home stager, you must have a solid foundation in design principles and color, as well as marketing, efficient systems, and business savvy. The SDP® course and in-person Master Class experience are perfect for leveling up your staging design, marketing, and business skills.

Staging Studio offers four versions of the Staging Design Professional® course so you can take the one that best suits your home staging career goals. The SDP® Pro course is for staging assistants and others who want to learn how to stage, without the business and marketing training. The SDP® Expert course (on this page) includes everything you need to know to stage AND operate a home staging business. The SDP® Master Class takes that to the next level with a hands-on home staging workshop. We also have an online home staging certification course for real estate agents.

If you complete your course and want to take it to the next level, you can always upgrade your SDP® course at any time by contacting us.

Immediately! You have access to the entire online course as soon as you complete the registration process, and you can complete it anytime, anywhere at your own pace. The home staging training videos are as bingeable as Netflix.

Your course expires after one year, but don't worry, you can renew it anytime! Just reach out to us via email or through our chat box.

Your renewal is only a fraction of the cost of the course ($179/year), and it includes any updates we make, as well as your membership on the Find a Stager Map. You'll want to subscribe to make sure you have the most up-to-date information and documents!

If you enrolled in the course with the one-time payment option, your course will likely automatically renew each year. We are working on offering the same to our payment plan students.

The Staging Studio team is so confident that these courses will be invaluable to you, that if you are dissatisfied with the training, you will be offered a full refund within 30 days of purchase. We simply ask that you complete the full training before making a judgment on its merits.

Each course purchased is for one student only and may not be shared. Staging Studio retains the copyright to all of the training provided. You are free to use the forms and checklists in your own business, but please do not distribute them in any other way without express permission from Staging Studio.

Staging Studio believes that the home staging industry should be open to anyone who loves home decor and has the entrepreneurial drive to start their own business. We also believe that training is an essential part of building a successful business. Although our prices are kept as low as possible for everyone, we recognize that some need assistance. The Staging Studio scholarship program is for stagers, from stagers. Click here to fill out the scholarship application.

Also, when you and a friend sign up together for the Staging Design Professional® Expert course, you each will receive $100 off. Contact us for the applicable Staging Studio coupon code.

You can become a certified home stager in just 15 hours. The online staging certification is at your own pace, so rewind and rewatch as much as you want for a whole year.

Your staging business will get off the ground soooo much faster with training!

Easy as A-B-C. You will be guided through step-by-step and can track your progress as you move through the modules. Plus, the Staging Studio team is here to help you along the way. Just reach out via the chat box on our website with any questions as you work on your course.

Yes! Any of the forms, contracts, checklists, etc. included in your online courses can be customized for your own business and shared with your clients. However, please do not distribute them in any other way without express permission from Staging Studio.

We are not messing around. You will know your stuff after completing the training! You must pass a short quiz at the end of each video module to earn your Staging Design Professional® badge. Don’t worry – you can retake the quizzes as many times as you need to. There is no cumulative test at the end, just the quizzes throughout.

While Staging Studio does not offer any formal method of job placement, we are confident that your certification will set you up for success! Staging Studio’s certifications are extremely well-recognized in the industry, making you more marketable and confident as a home stager.

As a certified SDP®, you will have exclusive eligibility to be listed on the Find a Stager directory. Prospective clients in your area will use this map to find YOU for their next staging job.

If you purchased the course with the one-time payment plan, your certificate will be emailed to you as soon as you complete the course and pass all the module quizzes.

If you purchased the course with the payment plan, your certificate will be emailed to you within 2 business days of your final payment.

Since Staging Studio was born out of our own successful staging business, we have included all the paperwork we use everyday! Here is a list of every resource we include in this section:

Vacant Staging Forms

• Vacant Staging Proposal and Agreement (Contract) Templates - Improve efficiency by combining your staging proposal and contract into one document! 

 • Vacant Staging Intake Form - Track the progress for each job from point of contact through de-stage

• Vacant Staging Workflow & Email Templates - 13-page e-book detailing our vacant staging workflow and provides email templates you can copy & paste

• Damage Report - So things are going to get broken – here's how to document that

• Incident Report - We give you the process and all the documentation you need if your team accidentally causes damage in a client's home. For example, a floor is scratched when moving furniture

• Proposal Worksheet - Combines preview checklist with creating a staging proposal

  Occupied Staging Forms

 • Occupied Home Staging Client Agreement (Contract) - Customizable and ready for your next occupied stage or redesign

• Occupied Home Staging Consultation Report - Customize this template to give to clients after your consultations

• Accessory Checklist - After staging, make a list of inventory in the home prior to leaving

• Appointment Confirmation Template - Remind clients of appointment and introduce them to the stager

• Occupied Client Intake Form - Record info and track progress

 • Consultation Report Cover Letter - Sample

Consultation Folder Forms

• Occupied Staging Checklist - To prepare clients for your consultation visit

• For the New Home Owner - A courtesy for your clients to fill out for the new owners

• Moving Checklist - Handy checklist for sellers

• Showing Checklist - For when you only have 15 minutes before a showing

• Bed Recipe - Make the perfect bed for staging

Pricing Resources

• Vacant Staging Pricing Calculator - Use this spreadsheet to confidently price your staging bids

• Selling Furniture Invoice Template - For when homebuyers want to purchase your staging inventory

• Hourly Rate Worksheet - Calculate your hourly fees

• Cost of Acquisition Worksheet - Calculate the COA for an item in your staging inventory

• Price per Room Worksheet - Figure out your average price per staged room

• Pricing Audit - End of year exercise for staging business owners

Design Project Forms

• Hourly Agreement

• Project Agreement - aka Project Contract (not created by an attorney)

• Design Client Intake Form

• Design Process

• Design Room Planning

• Design Budget Planning

• Dimension Cheat Sheet 

Logistics and Inventory Forms

 • Wholesale Furniture Market Guide - Tips for going to market to set up wholesale accounts

• Vendor Info Form - Keep all wholesale account information in one place

• Toolkit Checklist - Don't forget toilet paper…

• Vendor List - Our fave wholesalers and exclusive student discounts (this is a super valuable list! We've spent over a decade purchasing wholesale and we've curated this list based on some seriously bad purchases – and of course, many brilliant ones!)

• Stop Forgetting Stuff List - Logistics checklist

• Bedding Checklists - For King and Queen sets

Misc. Forms 

• Additional Income Streams

• How to Take Great Photos - 12 easy tips for getting the best pics of your work

• Top 13 Staging Mistakes you didn't know you were making. This would be great for your first social media post!

Marketing 

• Staging Statistics - Educate your clients with these stats. Perfect for quick social media posts.

• Real Estate Vocab - Common RE terms and definitions

• Value Add - Make your clients aware of the value that you bring

• Elevator Pitch - When someone asks what you do, instead of just saying "I'm a home stager”

• NAR Home Staging Report

• Brand Style Guide Template - Create your own professional brand guidelines

• Social Media & Graphic Design Tools - Links to our favorite programs

• Seller's Market Marketing Materials - Facebook post, printable, and website embed

 Business 

• Pay-at-Close Program - Learn how to offer pay-at-close

• Mission Statement - Define your company's mission statement

• Staged Listings Spreadsheet - Keep track of stagings and how quickly they sell

• Core Values - Define your company values and make sure your team understands and upholds them

• Mileage Tracker

• Goals and Tasks

• Quick-Start Business Set-Up Checklist - Takes out the guesswork

• Employment Agreement (aka contract, not written by an attorney) - Agreement between you and your employees

• Business Software - Discounts and links to the programs we use in our staging biz

Email Samples

• Congratulations - Celebrate your clients' victories and awards

• Next Day Stage Email - Follow up the day after staging

• Proposal Cover Letter

 • Referral - Adapt this email sample when an agent refers you to a client

• Request for Endorsement - When you have done a great job, ask your clients if you can quote them

• General Response

**Disclaimer: Please understand that these were not created by a lawyer and should not be considered legal contracts. You should consult an attorney before entering into any legal agreement.