Testimonials
“Virtual Staging by Ilaria Barion transformed a rather bland, empty apartment on Park Avenue into a true designer show place. Thank you for your assistance and great sense of style and taste!"
John Burger, Managing Director, #1 Top-Producing Broker for 2010 at BHS, #1 of The Top 1,000 Sales Professional List by WSJ for 2010
“I knew that Ilaria was great at staging apartments BUT I was "WOWED" with the incredible job Virtual Staging by Ilaria Barion did staging an empty and high walled penthouse terrace. They not only landscaped the space, but also incorporated outdoor furniture in all the appropriate places. I am still trying to figure out how they knew exactly how I wanted it to look. Virtual Staging by Ilaria Barion did an amazing job and Ilaria was a pleasure to work with. The turnaround time was very quick and I can't wait to use her service again!"
Amy A. Singer, SVP The Corcoran Group, New York
“Ilaria is simply the best virtual stager! She has such an incredible eye and understands balance and design. Virtual Staging by Ilaria Barion has top-notch customer service and incredible turn around time. It is always a pleasure working with Ilaria and her company.
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Leslie Glazier, Prudential Rubloff, Chicago
“The virtual staging looks amazing! Thank you!"
Evelyn Fred, Jameson Sotheby's International Realty, Chicago
“Great thanks, I love it! "
C.B. Whyte, Senior VP, Stribling & Associates
“Fabulous. Fabulous. Fabulous. Thank you for showing the potential for an apt in need of renovation! "
Pamela Marcus Senior Associate, Associate Broker The Corcoran Group, New York
“I sold a property that Ilaria staged the first day it was on the market. The apartment had been on the market with another agent for months. Ilaria's staging made all the difference.
She has fabulous taste, and an unerring eye for scale, proportion, furniture arrangement, color and style, all the while listening to the type of buyer a particular property would attract. Ilaria is totally committed, works very hard, is extremely energetic and fastidious down to the last detail. Ilaria's turnaround time for staging a property is the fastest in the industry."
Louise Beit, Senior Vice President, Sotheby's International Realty, New York City
"There is only one name to know in staging and that is Ilaria Barion. She transformed this empty huge space into a designer dream adding just the right amount of furniture paying attention to every detail which resulted in a sale in one day. I can't say enough about how wonderful she is. She is a professional and extremely patient and accommodating. Buyers have so much to choose from in this market and staging is key to selling a property . But the right stager makes all the difference. I am extremely grateful and would recommend her to everyone. My clients met with her and immediately felt the choice was clear and that they were in the right hands."
Gina M. Kuhlenkamp, Senior Vice President, Bellmarc East LLC. New York City
"Ilaria staged a single family home that had been on the market for over a year with the clients’ own beautiful furniture – just half of it. After de-cluttering, neutralizing and re-arranging, I took new photos. A prospect saw the pictures a day after the change was up on all the search engines, saw the house the day after, and made an offer the next day. In the meantime, a couple who had seen it months before finally sold their home and made an offer as well. Two offers after 13 months, textbook results; exactly the way she said it would happen. I can’t say enough about Ilaria’s professionalism and market savvy. She knows instinctively what will appeal to a buyer and arranges furniture, lighting, everything for that initial impact. She’s very easy to work with and, most importantly, helps to make the sale. My recommendation: do the staging before listing, then the property will not languish on the market for months and months. I’m sold on Ilaria. Her staging works!!!"
Suzan Bramson, Baird & Warner Residential Properties, Chicago
"As soon as Ilaria staged my listing, in Chicago's Gold Coast, which was no easy feat – the interest soared and offers began to come in. The property sold in a month – all cash – at almost $2,000,000. She has amazing vision – whether the property is small or large – Ilaria can make it into the "Buyer’s" vision of where they want to live. Anyone selling in this market must realize that it is a Buyer’s Market and if you truly want to sell, you will invest in the advice and guidance of the Top Stager in Chicago... Ilaria Barion. Thank you, Ilaria... you have made my buyers and my sellers very happy."
Bette O’Banion Kahn, Broker/Realtor, Baird & Warner Residential Properties, Chicago
"Ilaria's taste level and quality of furnishings add tremendous value when preparing a property for sale by highlighting the best features of the home - we had multiple offers and a signed contract in the first 3 weeks on the market! She is professional, efficient and gets the job done!"
Stephanie Olivero, Vice President The Corcoran Group, New York City
"I was selling an empty high-end loft apartment and it sat on the market for 6 months. Buyers had a hard time understanding where furniture should be placed. I encouraged our sellers to stage the apartment to help improve the marketability. Ilaria Barion did an excellent job staging the apartment in a modern downtown style appropriate to the neighborhood and feel of the loft. Within a month we received three qualified offers at a price point that pleased our sellers. The excellent staging done by Ilaria Barion helped to sell this apartment. I would definitely recommend Ilaria's services to anyone trying to sell an apartment or home."
Tracie F. Golding, SVP/ Associate Broker Stribling & Associates, New York City
"Ilaria Barion is a true professional with a keen marketing eye; her passion and expertise make her an asset to any endeavor. She is exceptionally creative and an all around pleasure to work with. I am very grateful for her help."
Campaign Aid, Hillary Clinton for President
"I was originally skeptical about the concept of staging, but especially in light of the bad market, my Corcoran brokers -- Vincent Falcone and Paul Gavriani -- recommended it and suggested Ilaria Barion. I grudgingly gave her a shot. I'm a convert. Ilaria took a rundown, nondescript place and made it look chic and beautiful. In the worst economy in decades, the apartment sold after only 10 days on the market and for the asking price. Ilaria is creative, resourceful, and tenacious. She more than lived up to her reputation among real estate brokers as a talented artist with expertise in how to market an apartment. My brokers stressed that this never would have happened without Ilaria's staging job. I am eternally grateful to Ilaria Barion."
John Saffron, Home Seller, New York City
"Ilaria is simply fabulous."
Jared Seligman, Senior Vice President, Prudential Douglas Elliman, New York City
"Whether they are large or small, empty apartments can be difficult to sell. After using Ilaria for a small 1-bedroom and receiving tremendous response on it and a great sales price, it was an easy recommendation to make for my client to stage at 40 Bond. Ilaria has a great way of putting a light touch on her work that make homes feel complete, spacious, and easy to imagine yourself in. As a seller who is seriously looking for the highest price possible and a successful marketing effort, I think her services are invaluable."
Ben Gernandt, Senior Vice President The Corcoran Group, New York City
"Ilaria, the three properties that you staged for me look wonderful. If a space is empty or doesn’t flow because of the furnishings, buyers are unintentionally distracted by trying to make a logical sense of the rooms. They’ll look at rather than experience the space. Before you staged my exclusives, people would walk in, look around from room to room, pause then leave. Since the staging, they walk in, feel the space, take their time and imagine living there. This quality of experience for the buyer in the first look at a property is crucial and what we brokers seek to achieve."
Toni Scott Vice President/Associate Broker Prudential Douglas Elliman, New York City
"Every once in a while a real professional comes along who makes a broker's life easy and everyone look good. That has been my experience with Ilaria Barion. She took an estate listing that needed a lot of help and vision and transformed it into an absolutely chic, mint property with great style and minimal expense. After Ilaria oversaw minor kitchen and bath renovations as well as clever staging with pretty antiques and contemporary furnishings, this tired estate listing literally sold itself within a week!"
Charlotte Van Doren, Senior Vice President, Stribling and Associates, New York City
"My older sister had for many years occupied an apartment I owned, and it was a cluttered mess. Since I had never had experience with a person in the “staging” profession before, I interviewed three people in the profession to understand the approach and the particular ways that they could help me in my situation. In meetings with Ilaria four things impressed me over her competitors, as follows:
1. In her first visit her focus was on the attributes of the apartment and what could be done to focus on the positives.
2. She quickly gave me the impression that she saw her job as a marketing consultant who used design and style to be effective in marketing.
3. She was practical and impressed me that she was enough of a take-charge person, that the burden of dealing with the work that needed to be done would not be on my shoulders, nonetheless, her style was one of partnering.
4. She displayed a practical approach and did not suggest decorative treatments that could have been more expensive than the apartment warranted."
"Finally I would say that her mentioning the fact that she brings Italian style to her work meant nothing to me at first. But she does and it showed when my apartment was presented. We had terrific response to the apartment. It is now sold to one of three families who were competing to buy the apartment. Would I use her again? You bet I would!"
Richard A. Beaumont, Home Seller, New York City
"I highly recommend Ilaria Barion to get an apartment ready for sale. She not only took an apartment that was in terrible condition and made it very marketable, but she also kept in touch with me daily so that I could schedule the first open house at the right time. I think the communication was critical to our success. As a result of the staging, the apartment had a tremendous turnout at the only open house with 9 bids being submitted within 24 hours. The offers are higher than they would have been by a lot and the apartment will sell much faster than the average 5 months. I am convinced that Ilaria Barion is the driving force behind this success. I'm now a true believer in staging. Don't hesitate to use her services."
Barbara Goodman, The Corcoran Group, New York City
"I used Ilaria on a loft we have in Gramercy. I can't say enough good things about her, you'd be crazy to consider anyone else. She did an amazing job and is very service-oriented, significantly more than her competitors. Excellent follow-up too. If you give her the job and the parameters and budget you can trust the end result. The before and after on the loft she "staged" would make your jaw drop. The space was transformed and nearly everyone who walked in loved it. We had many offers at the first open house; we closed out bidding and were done in a week. The loft went way over ask and the Seller was thrilled."
Cathy Taub, Senior VP, Stribling & Associates, New York City
"Ilaria Barion has a talent to transform a barely presentable apartment into a stylish home able to appeal to a large audience within a matter of hours and with a minimal investment. With her tact she easily manages to convince Sellers to declutter and get minor works done on time for the very important first Open House. She is driven, sensitive to sales issues and focused on results. Involving her in the sale process makes my life much easier. I could not recommend Ilaria more highly she is a true professional."
Beverley J. Rouse, Vice President, The Corcoran Group, New York City
"Ilaria can turn an ugly duckling into a swan. She recently transformed a truly unattractive and mundane 1 bedroom prewar on the Upper East Side into a very appealing and extremely desirable residence in only one week. She managed every aspect of the process and is so talented and helpful, I hate to share her with you other brokers!"
Dennis Cusack, Stribling and Associates, New York City
"Ilaria did a super job for my apartment. I had a nice place but she really made it look beautiful and expensive and she did it within my budget and schedule. My place went in two weekends, the superball weekend and another with a historical snow storm."
Takeo Ohashi, Home Seller, New York City
"Dear Ilaria, you have made my place look so good that I want to keep it now. I really love it. Thank you so, so much."
Michael Goldstein, Home Seller, New York City
"I would like to take this opportunity to say how grateful, gratifying and successful it was to work with Ilaria Barion.I was given a studio to sell by an unhappy seller, whose apartment languished for many months in the Woodstock Tower without receiving any offer.I knew the apartment required a fresh image and a new identity and turned to Ilaria for her creative eye to stage the apartment. After the first Open House I received an offer that was accepted. Clearly the staging made a difference. I highly recommend Ilaria staging services to any seller who seriously wants to successfully sell their real estate."
Harriet Mirow, Prudential Douglas Elliman, New York City
"Ilaria is professional and absolutely great at what she does. Without her staging my apartment, it would have been on the market for a much longer time than it was. If I ever need to sell another apartment, I would definitely use her services again".
Jennifer Vitale, Home Seller, New York City
Amie Fields, Vice President The Corcoran Group, New York City
“I got a new loft-like two bedroom condo exclusive that was totally renovated with high-end European finishes but had a long and narrow layout and sat empty. Ilaria immediately saw the potential to create a sleek and sophisticated living space and within two days, she had completely staged the apartment with stunning Italian furniture and chic accessories from her own collection. She did all the work herself, and it was amazing to see how quickly she transformed the empty apartment into a fabulous living space. Her taste is impeccable and she was able to take advantage of the open city views and light to create a romantic and unique home. My seller was delighted, and within days on the market, we had our first bid!”
Jean Michael, Senior Vice President, Brown Harris Stevens, New York City
Caroline Racine, Home Seller, New York City
"A week before my mother's apartment went on the market, we decided to stage it. I live 1500 miles from Manhattan, so I thought this was going to be a huge headache at best, a nightmare at worst. I couldn't have been more wrong. My realtor recommended Ilaria to me, and from the minute she took on the job everything went swimmingly. Practically overnight, the apartment was transformed. Of course I only got to see pictures, but my New York family saw the apartment "in the flesh" and were wowed by the results. An hour after the showing we had multiple offers in hand. Ilaria even went shopping for us, purchasing a needed dining room fixture. She did a fabulous job and she was terrific to work with from start to finish. A consummate professional!"
Elizabeth Ciner, Home Seller, New York City
