Model Home Staging for Indianapolis Developers

Living room staged for a listing: pale sofas and armchairs arranged around the fireplace, lit by a bank of windows.

The service

Model home staging, explained

Model home staging is the strategic furnishing and styling of a show unit or sales gallery within a new construction development. Unlike resale staging — built for a single photography day and a few weekends of showings — a model unit is walked through by prospective buyers daily for months.

Our approach designs one apartment or sales gallery to carry months of walk-throughs. Every piece is chosen for durability, every layout survives heavy foot traffic, and every room tells a single, clear story that helps buyers envision their life in the space.

Furniture scaled to highlight ceiling height, window lines, and finishes
Durable pieces selected for daily wear and repeated photography
One cohesive design language across the model and sales gallery
Maintenance and replacement included for the full sales campaign

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The work

What we do

A show unit sells the whole building. Model home staging designs one apartment — or a sales gallery — to carry months of walk-throughs for a development.

Built to be looked at daily and photographed once: durable pieces, a clear story per room, and styling that survives foot traffic.

A row of new houses still in timber frame on a development site, scaffolding up and materials stacked at the kerb.

New-build communitiesSingle-family homes on a site where the rest of the phase is still being framed.

A row of newly built white townhomes with dark gabled roofs and integral garages.

Townhome & condo developmentsA model that has to sell a layout, not just a house.

A modern low-rise apartment building in white and dark grey, seen from the street corner.

Multifamily lease-upsOne furnished unit doing the work of leasing the whole building.

A two-storey suburban family home with a covered porch, set back behind a wide front lawn.

Spec homesA finished spec that has sat through a season and photographs as empty square footage.

An established red-brick house with a columned entrance, framed by mature trees.

Custom & semi-custom homesA single finished home that shows the specification level buyers are choosing between.

A sales gallery display wall: pale timber shelving styled with ceramics, books and candles beside a black glazed cabinet.

Sales galleriesThe welcome centre where the buying decision actually gets made.

A residential amenity lounge in pale neutrals: low sofas and a long table under timber-clad ceilings, with a bar counter at the far end.

Amenity & shared spacesClubhouses, lounges and co-working rooms that sell the building, not just the unit.

Architectural floor plans laid out on a desk with drafting pens and a scale rule.

Multiple floor plansA one-bedroom and a three-bedroom rarely make the same argument.

250+Projects completed since 2021
25+Stylists, organizers and installers
5Metro areas covered
2021Founded in Indianapolis

Choosing a staging type

Model vs. vacant vs. virtual staging

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Model home staging

Best for: New-construction show units, spec homes, lease-ups
How long it stays: Length of the sales campaign
Furniture: Durable pieces chosen for daily tours
Designed for: A target buyer demographic
Typical timeline: Install in one day, two-week lead

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Vacant staging

Best for: Empty resale listings
How long it stays: 30–90 days, renewable
Furniture: Picked for the shoot and the showings
Designed for: The broadest resale audience
Typical timeline: One-day install, two-week lead

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Virtual staging

Best for: Listings marketed only online
How long it stays: Photos only, no fitting
Furniture: Digital, nothing physical
Designed for: The online shopper
Typical timeline: 48 hours from photos

Who for

Who model staging suits

The four situations a model programme is usually bought for, and what the furnished unit does in each one.

Production buildersIn the first phase, a finished unit gives buyers somewhere to stand while the rest of the site is still being framed.
Custom and semi-custom buildersOne home, dressed to the spec level you want to sell, lets upgrades get chosen in the room rather than off a price list.
Multi-unit developmentsOne model per floor plan, since a one-bedroom and a three-bedroom rarely make the same case to the same buyer.
Agents holding a spec homeA finished spec that’s sat through a season photographs as empty square footage; furniture gives every room a use again.

The scope

What a model unit covers

Included in the quote

A walkthrough of every room in the unit
A written plan, room by room: layout, palette, pieces
Furniture, rugs, art, lighting and soft furnishings
Delivery, placement and a full installation
A styling pass before the shoot day
Upkeep visits running for the whole sales campaign
Any piece that wears or gets damaged is replaced
De-staged and collected once the last unit closes

A model stays up for as long as the campaign runs, not a flat thirty days.

Not included

Painting, patching, or anything needing a permit
Any snagging or punch-list items left by trades
The final clean ahead of an open house
Anything fixed to the building: glazing, appliances, cabinetry
The listing photography itself; we style for it, not shoot it
Storing the furniture you already own

Where something falls outside the scope we will say who to call. You should hear that at the walkthrough, not on install day.

How we work

Step 1/4

Walk the rooms

In person or from photographs: what stays, what moves, and what is missing.

A price range before your name

The estimate flow returns a band up front; the visit turns it into a fixed number that stays fixed.

The plan, agreed

Placement, palette and pieces settled before anything is bought or moved.

Styling day

Rearranged, dressed and finished — everything reversible throughout.

The schedule

From first call to open house

Week 0Send the floor plans and a site date, and a scope with a price range comes back before you give us a name.
Week 1A walkthrough of the unit, a room-by-room plan, and a quote that then holds.
Weeks 2-3Sourcing and delivery get timed around whichever trades are still working the site.
Install weekA typical model unit takes one day on site, then gets a styling pass before the photographer arrives.

The costs

What affects the price

How many floor plansPer floor planOne model, or one per layout across the site, with every extra plan its own scope.
Rooms in scopePer room, not per sq ftNot just square footage: a finished basement or flex room still counts as a room.
How long it holdsRental periodA model stays up for the whole campaign, so its rental period runs well past a resale stage.
Site conditionsAccess and installAccess, stairs, elevator availability, and whether trades are still on site during install.

Model programmes are quoted per site, not off a price list; send floor plans through the estimate form and a range returns the same day, which the walkthrough fixes into a final figure.

Send your floor plans

The difference

Why choose us

A dining room with a sage-green painted accent wall behind a timber table

One booking, one team

Staging, styling, organizing and room makeovers under one roof — 23 bookable services, one accountable team, no juggling vendors.

A range before a name

The estimate flow shows a price band before we ask who you are — not after a sales call.

Answers in hours, not weeks

A stylist replies within two business hours, with a fixed proposal inside 48.

Built for Indiana homes

HOA approvals, delivery and driveway access, and certificates of insurance — handled as part of the job, not discovered on install day.

The proof

Before and after

Dining room styled for a listing: a long timber table, upholstered chairs and a clear sightline to the windows. — A model room dressed for viewings.

An open-plan dining area empty before styling, with bare floor and no furniture. — A model room dressed for viewings.

The method

How a model unit is furnished

A model is not a photoshoot that gets packed down on Friday. It is walked through by strangers every weekend for months, which changes what belongs in it.

So the brief is different from a resale stage: hard-wearing pieces, a layout that survives being walked around, and nothing that hides what the buyer is actually paying for.

Made to be walked, not just seen in photosPieces are chosen to wear well. A sofa that looks good for one morning but tired by the third weekend is wrong for a model.
One argument per roomEach room answers one question only: where you’d eat, where you’d work, where a second child would sleep.
The specification stays in viewFurniture is scaled so the finishes, ceiling height and window line remain what a buyer actually notices.

F.A.Q.

Common questions

Straight answers on timing, money and what happens next.

Get in touch

Have any questions?

If it is not covered below, send the details through the estimate form — a stylist replies within two business hours, with a fixed proposal inside 48.

Get an estimate

Can you stage more than one unit type?

Yes. Different layouts often need different arguments, and a one-bed and a three-bed rarely want the same scheme.

How long can a model unit stay staged?

For the length of the sales campaign. Pieces are swapped out if they wear.

How long does it take to stage a model home?

One day on site for a typical unit once the plan is agreed. Sourcing and delivery usually need a week or two before that, so most model programmes run three to four weeks from the first call.

How is model home staging different from staging a house for resale?

A resale stage is built for one photography day and a few weekends of viewings. A model is walked through for months, so it is furnished for wear, maintained during the campaign, and collected only when the last unit closes.

Can you work while trades are still on site?

Usually, yes. Delivery is scheduled around whoever is still working the building, and we would rather wait a week than install into a unit that is still being finished.

Do you stage the sales gallery as well as the unit?

Yes. The gallery and the model are quoted together, because they are selling the same development and should not look like two different projects.

What happens to the furniture when the last unit closes?

We de-stage and collect everything. Nothing is left for the builder to store, move or dispose of.

Which areas do you cover?

Indianapolis and the surrounding metro – Carmel, Fishers, Zionsville and Greenwood.