We Gave a Professional Home Stager $100 to Spend at Costco — Here’s What She Bought

published Jul 27, 2021
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Maybe you have your own Costco membership, or you’re lucky enough to sneak in with a friend who does. Either way, there’s nothing like a good trip to Costco. If it’s not the plentiful free samples that get you, maybe it’s the three-pound container of milk chocolate-covered almonds, or the promise of a $1.50-hot dog at the end of your shopping journey. 

It turns out, though, there are more bargains at Costco than the ones that even the diehards tend to think of. The popular retail mothership for Kirkland Nation is actually a gold mine for home stagers who are looking for reasonably priced items that spice up a home before it goes on the market. 

We asked Boston-based interior designer and home stager Jess Harrington of Jess Finessed Homes to head to Costco with a budget of $100 and report back with the items she would choose to stage a home. Read on to see what Harrington chose to give a home that special something so it gets snapped off the market in no time. 

A Towel Set

“While not the least expensive option available, these super plush towels look and feel spa-like and we prefer to use these in high-end properties. We can never have enough towels. The gray will pull out the beautiful veining in marble countertops in the bathrooms of a new build we are staging next week.”

Wine Glasses

“One thing we make sure to do when staging is make sure that we give potential homebuyers a vision for how they will enjoy living in a home. A great way to do that is to style out bar areas, or create a cocktail area with a bar cart. We love the elevated look of these cut crystal wine glasses, and can use these across multiple homes since they come in a set of eight. I bought two sets!”

A Picture Frame Set

“We source art from all over and are often purchasing, downloading and printing art to be framed. Mixing up artwork and textiles is how we can ‘remix’ our inventory, so we achieve different looks using the same core furniture pieces. This matted picture frame set is perfect to liven up a bedroom wall.”

Harrington clocked in with a total of $91.97, leaving a few dollars to spare (for Costco hot dogs, of course). If she had more room in her budget, she says she would have sprung for this beaded glass mirror.  “We usually use at least two mirrors in each home we stage. They bounce light, open up a space, and look much better in real estate photos than faux TVs!,” she says.

This post originally appeared on Apartment Therapy. See it there: We Gave a Professional Home Stager $100 — Here’s What She Bought at Costco