BY JENNIFER GISH
ALBANY TIMES UNION

Penny Trieb and Jay Emerson replaced the day-glo orange carpet upstairs with gleaming hardwoods long ago, but their 1,900-square-foot Colonial, built in 1979, is still deeply locked in the era of disco and bad, bad decor.

So when home stager and professional organizer Neil Bindelglass talked to the Halfmoon couple about staging their home for the real estate market, his diagnosis was quick: “Dated. Dated. Dated.”

After listing their home on Craigslist for $225,000 at the end of March with little success, Trieb and Emerson entered the Times Union’s “Save Our Sale” contest, which offered Bindelglass’ staging services to the grand prize winner.

With limited natural light and 1970s-era fixtures (think avocado green bathtub and toilet in one of the bathrooms), the home provided a grand-prize-worthy challenge for Bindelglass and a chance to showcase what good staging is really about — working, for the most part, with what you’ve got.

“The home staging shows (on television) really set unrealistic expectations for clients,” said Bindelglass, whose business, Let Me Organize You, is based in Hudson and serves the greater Capital Region. “They spend 70,000 bucks to stage a house. That’s not home staging. That’s renovating.”

This week, we’ll show you the home’s problems. Look inside next week’s Real Estate section for the results of Bindelglass’ and the homeowners’ work.

As Bindelglass toured Trieb and Emerson’s home, he didn’t recommend gutting the avocado green fixtures in the hallway bathroom upstairs or even replacing the dark-wood vanity that makes you want to brush your teeth to the Bee Gees. A new medicine cabinet and lighting will draw the eye away from all that green, he said, and some fresh towels will help offer a fresh look.

Besides, he said, buyers shopping for homes in that price point expect to do a little renovation after they buy. A million-dollar or above home with dated bathrooms would be the only time renovations would be appropriate.

Trieb and Emerson’s kitchen also had an issue with living in the past. But instead of suggesting the couple replace the dark laminate counter tops and dated wooden doors on the kitchen cabinets, he suggested a coat of high-gloss white paint on the cabinet doors and some inexpensive brushed-nickel hardware.

And to give a house with limited windows a lighter look? The curtains had to come down, he said. That would also underline some of the home’s assets — its quiet, country setting and inviting backyard.

He left Trieb and Emerson with a long to-do list before he planned to return to the house and rearrange furniture, some of which he asked the couple to remove from the rooms to highlight the home’s generous living areas.

The couple was left a little intimidated by the project. They both work full-time and have a 3?1/2-year-old son to care for, but they were also motivated to sell. They’ve owned the house for 14 years and have enjoyed their time there. They’re hoping to find a smaller home in the Shenendehowa Central School District or North Colonie area.

Looking to economize, they don’t plan on listing their home with a real estate agent, instead opting to use the For Sale By Owner Internet service to assist. This could mean a limited number of showings for the home, making first impressions even more critical.

Bindelglass’ staging efforts, he said, would be concentrated on the foyer, living room and anything a potential buyer would see as soon as he walked through the home’s cherry-red, double-door entrance.

That meant the hallway bath, which could also be seen from the entrance, was added to the husband-and-wife’s project list, requiring a new vanity, mirror and lighting.

It was a small investment for a possibly big return.

“A buyer decides if a house is for them within six or seven seconds,” Bindelglass said.

That’s why little things — such as a bowl of fresh fruit in the kitchen, a clean linen-scented air freshener, and vases filled with fresh flowers throughout — are little staging tricks that count for a lot.

And can easily make a buyer forget about the avocado green lurking in the upstairs bath.