Virtual Furniture Removal: Market an Occupied Home Like It's Empty

Not every listing is vacant. Sellers often still live in the home, tenants are still in place, or the furniture is dated, bulky or very personal. Moving everything out for the photos isn’t realistic, and showing the home as it is can make rooms feel small and cluttered.

Virtual furniture removal solves this. Designers digitally remove the existing furniture and belongings from your photos, leaving a clean, empty room. You can list that empty room as it is, or have it virtually staged in a style that suits your buyers.

When furniture removal makes sense

Occupied homes. The seller is still living there and can’t empty the rooms for a photo shoot.
Tenant-occupied rentals. You need to market the unit before the current tenant leaves.
Dated or worn furniture. The furniture makes the home feel older than it is.
Heavily personal spaces. Bold colour schemes, collections or children’s rooms that make it hard for buyers to picture themselves there.
Cluttered rooms. Too many items hide the room’s size and features.

How it works

Photograph the rooms as they are. Follow the same guidelines as for empty rooms: level camera, chest height, good light. Our guide to photographing rooms for virtual staging covers the details.
Order furniture removal for each photo that needs it. At roOomy this is the cleaning service, $40 per photo.
Add virtual staging if you want the room shown furnished in a new style. Choose a design style and order staging for the same photos.
Review and download. Photo orders are delivered in 24 to 48 hours.

Furniture removal vs. minor cleanup

You don’t need the full removal service for small fixes. With a roOomy virtual staging order, minor cleanup is included, for example removing an existing chandelier or changing a wall colour. Choose the separate cleaning service only when a room is furnished and needs extensive removal before it can be staged.

Removal only, or removal plus staging?

Removal only shows the room’s true size and layout. It works well for buyers who want to imagine their own furniture, and for spaces that are already attractive when empty, such as a kitchen with good finishes.

Removal plus staging replaces the seller’s furniture with a fresh, on-trend design. It is usually the stronger choice for living rooms and bedrooms, where an empty room can feel cold and hard to judge for scale. It also lets you show a room with a different purpose, for example turning a cluttered spare room into a home office.

Keep it honest

Remove things that leave with the seller: furniture, décor, personal belongings. Don’t remove or hide things that stay with the house, such as damage, fixtures or built-in features. Label the edited photos clearly. Our article on virtual staging disclosure explains how.