Virtual staging: furnishing a room in a photo, with real furniture
By Nassim Hasni, publisher of DecoScale · published
Virtual staging furnishes a room in a listing photo so that a buyer or tenant can picture living there. Here is when it helps, how to label it honestly, what to check before publishing, and what DecoScale adds: furniture that exists, placed according to its real dimensions.
What is virtual staging?
Virtual staging means furnishing or redecorating a room in an image, to show what it could become. Nothing moves in the property: only the photo changes. It is mostly used for sales and lettings listings, where the decision to book a viewing is made.
Physical home staging works on the room itself: you tidy, repair, move or hire furniture, and visitors find it all on site.
| Physical home staging | Virtual staging | |
|---|---|---|
| What changes | The room itself | Only the image |
| What a viewing shows | The staged room | The room as it is, empty or furnished |
| What to disclose | That the furniture is not included in the sale, if it is not | That the image is virtually staged |
| Main risk | Cost and logistics | An image that promises more than the property |
When is virtual staging useful?
- An empty property. An empty room reads poorly in a photo: you cannot tell whether a double bed fits, or where the sofa would go.
- Dated or bulky furniture. The room is cleared in the image, then furnished differently: viewers judge the room, no longer the seller's furniture.
- A room whose use is unclear. A small room can be a bedroom: the image, furnished to scale, shows that a bed fits (see small bedroom layout).
It is not a way to hide things: a crack, a damp patch, a damaged floor or a view of a wall stay what they are, and the image must not make them disappear.
Do you have to disclose virtual staging in a listing?
Yes. It is good practice, and for an estate agent or any other trader it is also a legal matter. In the UK, section 226 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, in force since 6 April 2025, treats as a misleading action an "overall presentation which is likely to deceive the average consumer" about a matter relevant to a transactional decision, and states that such a presentation may be deceiving even if the information it contains is true. French consumer law has a similar rule (article L121-2 of the Code de la consommation). An image that makes a room look bigger, brighter or in better condition than it is can fall into that category. No law prescribes a set wording: what follows is good practice, and this guide is not legal advice.
- A label on every image, or just below it: "Virtually staged — furniture not included".
- The original photo next to the render, so everyone can see the real room.
- Nothing that is being sold changes: walls, doors, windows, floor, ceiling, radiators, fixtures, natural light, view.
- Furniture to scale: a bed drawn too small makes the bedroom look bigger in the image.
- The rules of the property portal where the listing appears, which may have its own on edited images.
Check every render before publishing it, ours included. An image model always returns a plausible image, even when it has made a mistake: a window can appear, a radiator can vanish, the view can change. DecoScale checks by calculation whether a door, window or radiator identified in the photo has disappeared. It does not detect an item that has moved or a changed floor or wall finish, and a crack or a stain can vanish when the room is redrawn: that is for you to check, against the original photo.
DecoScale also adapts the lighting and wall tones to the chosen style. Compare them with the original photo; if they have changed, say so in the label ("Virtually staged — furniture not included, lighting and wall colour altered"). And an image, however accurate, does not replace a viewing.
Why does furniture size matter?
Because scale is the one thing the eye cannot check in a photo. An image model drawing freely has no dimensions: it places a sofa that looks right without knowing whether it would fit between the door and the window.
DecoScale estimates the room from the photos, then sets it to two measurements taken with a tape measure — the back wall and the depth —, which it asks for before drawing. It then chooses real products, from merchants such as IKEA, Sklum, Camif or Miliboo, with the dimensions the merchant publishes, and looks for a layout in which they fit: doors, windows and radiators kept clear, a 90 cm walkway, 60 cm in front of a wardrobe or chest of drawers to open it. These are not absolute bans: in a small room, it keeps the layout that departs from them least.
The drawing follows that calculation, but an image model makes it, and it receives the furniture's positions in words ("at the back", "against the wall"), not as coordinates. So it is the calculated layout, not the image, that is checked against the room. The other distances are on the layout dimensions page, and the method for a specific piece on will this furniture fit?
In the app, every piece of furniture proposed is clickable: dimensions, price, link to its product page. It carries one of two labels. "Exactly this product": the drawn object is the merchant's. "Inspiration": the link, the price and the dimensions are those of the product, but the drawn object is only an interpretation and may not look like it. Styling accessories (throws, books, ceramics, decorative plants) and anything you kept carry no link. The sum of the catalogue prices of the proposed products is shown: enough to give a buyer a price range.
A bedroom photographed furnished, then cleared in the image: the window, the radiator, the air conditioner and the spotlights stay where they are.
How do you virtually stage a room with DecoScale?
- Photograph the room from three different spots if you can, empty or furnished. A single photo is accepted — the listing photo, for instance; the two tape measurements are still asked for before the render, so you need access to the property, or to a floor plan with dimensions. The main photo is the one DecoScale sends back furnished: pick the one that shows the most of the room. You must hold the rights to the photos, with no identifiable person in them.
- Give two measurements: the back wall and the depth. DecoScale asks for them before drawing; a floor plan with dimensions often gives them without a site visit.
- Choose a style, a budget and what changes. For a listing, a restrained style that changes little in the light and walls leaves each viewer free to imagine their own furniture. What you leave as it is stays in the room.
- Wait one to four minutes: DecoScale clears the room in the image, chooses the furniture, checks that it fits, then draws.
- Check, download, label: compare the render with the photo, then publish the downloaded image with its label, next to the real photo.
A render can be adjusted by describing what you want changed: the app shows what it will do, then each change runs a new render, which uses one credit.
A living room restaged in a minimalist style: the wall-mounted television and the chandelier stayed where they were. But on the right, where the photo shows only sheer curtains, the model drew windows, a pillar and the view, and a hard-to-read transparent object appeared in front of the coffee table. This is what to spot before publishing.
What are the limits?
- Living rooms and bedrooms only. No kitchen, bathroom, home office or outdoor space.
- An image, not a viewing. Each layout produces one still image, from the main photo's viewpoint: no virtual tour, no 3D. A listing that shows a living room and a bedroom needs two layouts.
- An image generated by artificial intelligence, not a photograph: it illustrates a proposal and should be labelled as one.
- A measurement, not a survey. The room is estimated from the photos, then set to your two measurements: check the ones that matter yourself. For a small room, see also small living room layout.
- No API: everything happens in the browser, phones included, with no app to install.
Which plan for an estate agency or a home stager?
The first layout is free, no card required. Professionals — estate and letting agencies, interior designers, home stagers — then have two monthly plans, Studio and Agence, with a stated volume of layouts and a reply within 24 hours; individuals buy packs or a subscription. Credits never expire. Beyond the Agence plan's volume, or for several agencies, it is a quote. Prices are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Is virtual staging legal?
Yes, as long as it does not mislead: the image is labelled as virtually staged, and nothing that is being sold changes in it. For an estate agent or other trader, a presentation likely to deceive the average consumer counts as a misleading action under section 226 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. This guide is not legal advice.
Is a single listing photo enough?
Yes, the app accepts one. With a single view the measurement margin is a fixed allowance; with three photos taken from three different spots, the difference between the views becomes measurable. Either way, DecoScale asks for the two floor measurements before drawing.
Do you need to visit the property?
Not necessarily. You need photos taken inside the room and its two floor measurements, the back wall and the depth, which a floor plan with dimensions often gives.
Can you show the same room in several styles?
Yes. Below the render, "Edit this render" suggests other styles. Each change runs a new render: one credit, one to four minutes. The previous render stays in "My renders".
What happens if a render fails?
Your credit is returned automatically. A render that completes but does not suit you is not a failure: adjusting it runs a new render, which uses one credit.
How much does virtual staging with DecoScale cost?
The first layout is free, no card required. After that, each layout uses one credit: packs, subscriptions, and two plans for professionals, Studio and Agence. Prices are on the pricing page.