Since 2005, International Staging, a professional staging company, has led with a mission to ensure that every home is primed to sell effortlessly, meeting the standards of buyers. Originally founded by Martha Encina, the company aims to increase the value of a property by leveraging unique design solutions and a buyer-centric approach, which defines all home staging projects.
According to Richard Landivar, Project Manager, home sales often falter under the weight of fragmented repairs, missed timelines, or disjointed presentations. International Staging, he notes, was built to eliminate precisely those pressures, offering sellers and real estate professionals a unified path from lived-in to market-ready.
Based in Massachusetts, the company began as a traditional home staging business run from the couple's garage. Yet, Landivar points out that word of mouth fueled its growth, which was driven by the company's design sensibility and the understanding that home presentation can directly affect buyer perception. Staging homes according to the National Association of Realtors can lead to as much as a 10% increase in the dollar value offered while also causing a significant reduction in selling time. This fact, he notes, underscored the firm's approach.
Landivar highlights that over the years, the scope of clients' needs expanded beyond furniture and decor to include cleaning, repairs, and light renovations that had to happen before staging could ever begin, which became a catalyst for International Staging's turnkey service strategy.
Landivar formally joined the business full-time in 2013, bringing with him a background in construction and commercial real estate analysis. His experience as an appraiser gave him a pragmatic perspective on value, while his construction expertise allowed the company to open new avenues beyond design and into comprehensive pre-market preparation. Today, International Staging has transformed into a full-service operation, encompassing remodeling, design, inventory management, and consultation, preparing homes holistically for sale.
According to Landivar, the problem the firm set out to solve is one that is increasingly ubiquitous across the US real estate markets today: a shortage of skilled tradespeople, which is estimated to be around 500,000 workers. "A persistent lack of tradespeople, combined with increased specialization, has made small but critical jobs expensive and difficult to schedule," Landivar explains. According to him, painters may prefer full homes instead of single rooms. Electricians, plumbers, and carpenters could charge premiums for minor work. "Almost all tradespeople are very specialized, and I believe now there's an economy of scale that doesn't work for sellers," he explains.
International Staging aims to provide a different operational model built not on fragmented trades but multi-skilled, in-house teams supported by fully stocked utility trailers. Each trailer, he notes, functions as a mobile workshop, carrying tools and supplies for everything from electrical fixes and plumbing adjustments to carpentry, painting, and finish work. "Even something as small as removing curtain rods requires very specific tools," he says. "We bring everything, so there are no delays."
That precision is reinforced by their hiring process. "We hire only direct employees, not subcontractors, and each team member is vetted for the ability to perform across different disciplines," he says. According to Landivar, the firm quotes both start and finish dates, anchoring every project to the photo date, which is the process of automatically embedding the recording date, time, and GPS location in construction photos. Cleaning, repairs, staging, and final touches, he notes, are all planned backward from that fixed point. "If I'm not comfortable that we can hit the date, we won't commit," he says. "I'd rather walk away from the work than miss a deadline."
Landivar emphasizes that clients engage International Staging flexibly. He claims that some use only staging services, others only home improvements, and many opt for the full suite. He likens it to a customizable menu, allowing sellers to choose exactly what they need without being forced into unnecessary services. The firm's design proposals are guided by market demographics, buyer preferences, and current trends.
Today, International Staging operates out of a 15,000 sq. ft. warehouse housing furniture, artwork, equipment, and multiple utility trailers. Its future goals remain just as vast as the company plans to continue expanding its versatile team model, doubling down on the efficiency that first set it apart. For the bigger picture, the company aims to position itself not just as a vendor but as a strategic, integrated partner facilitating the sale of a home with equal efficiency and purpose.
