I used Carole Soffer Design to sell a condo in SF right when the COVID shelter in place started. The staging was so stylish and well planned it drew in buyers and we were able to make the sale at a price we were happy with. - See for yourself at 946 Stockton St. #15C in SF. Michael Hopkins was a professional from start to finish and was so efficient and confident. I wish I could use them again for my current project, but they don't usually do the East Bay. Don't let a couple negative reviews distract you. read more

See all

Beware. Carole Soffer did the staging in my townhouse before it sold. In the contract they stated they will replace the curtains of which there were 8 extra long panels and for which I paid. When the photos were produced it was clear my old curtains were still there. When questioned I was told, oops, last minute they decided not to replace and now caught they offered to reimburse at $28 a pair of panels and only for 6 panels. Can anyone buy quality extra long curtains for such a low ridiculous price? read more

My husband was not a fan of staging our home, although he understood the process and why it was important if we wanted to get top dollar. Our home needed some updates to give it a more modern feel for buyers seeking a home in Piedmont. We interviewed several stagers and chose Carol Soffer Designs. Carole came into our home and knew exactly what we needed to do. She has a very keen eye for design and color. She picked out beautiful, warm colors for each room. Each room flowed into the other. She even got my reluctant husband to change the color of his "man cave". Carole helped me through each step of our remodel, and staging. Her services went well beyond just staging. Carole even went with me to pick out new light fixtures for every room. We used her recommended contractors for tile and carpet. The jobs came out beautiful and was very reasonably priced. Carol was right on the mark with all her design suggestions. Everything looked gorgeous after it was completed. Carol's crew came in and staged our 3100 square foot home in Piedmont, plus 2 exterior decks. Her crew was quick and cleaned up after the job was completed. They had to be extra careful due to new carpets and new paint. Michael, her associate was fabulous too. He was there overseeing the staging. Everyone worked very hard and quick to complete the job on schedule for our open house. Our house looked amazing. Our neighbors came in to take a peek before the open house and everyone just kept saying "wow". They are a top notch team. Let them do their thing and you won't be sorry. They know what makes a house sell. Our house SOLD IN 9 DAYS. for over asking price. THANK YOU CAROLE. and MICHAEL. After the staging Carol's crew came in to remove the furniture and accessories. They are very hard workers, and again were very careful. They even patched up any small holes on the walls left from hanging pictures. In the end, my husband was very grateful that we did stage our home and thankful that we chose Carole as our stager. I would use her again for staging, as well as color and interior design services. read more

Carole and her team are responsive, collaborative and did a wonderful job. I had a very nice, higher-end listing where the sellers and I were very concerned about showing the property in the best possible light. Carole's colors, her assistant's Michael and their crew couldn't have done a better job. We interviewed 5 different stagers who would have done fine, but I don't think any of them would have been able to navigate our challenges (absentee owners, short time line and on-going renovation work) with the grace, professionalism and quality that CSD provided us. The place looks like a million bucks (or two million to be more precise). read more

See all

Our condo sold in five days. You know why? The staging! Carole Soffer Design was spot on. They walked our property, worked with our selling agent to really understand the buyer persona. Based on the list price, location, and type of building we were in, they staged our place with the perfect furniture and decor that resonated with people that came through the open house. We didn't list an offer date and were scheduled to have two open houses and one broker tour. We held only one open house and got three interested buyers two days after the first open house. Literally 5 days after listing the place we had accepted an offer. 5 days. That must be a record. Check out the staging here: http://700cabrillo.com/ read more

So I don't know anything about stagers really. What's a good price, what's a good stage, etc. But they were able to stage our place quickly, the price seemed reasonable given what we heard from other people who paid for staging, and our place went into contract quickly. Numerous agents we worked with recommended Carole. I never met her, but my wife said you should try to meet her, she's very proud about her color picking skillz! (she picked the colors for painting our place and we liked them) Eva was the office manager and was responsive on email read more

My experience with Carole Soffer design was 5 star from day one till finish. Michael, the head of design, was very responsive, managed to accommodate a very tight deadline and transformed my loft into absolute hit during open houses. I contacted a few stagers to get a sense of the price to quality ratio. Carole Soffer Design came in the mid range option. I chose them and think their hard work and creative approach made magic happen in the most efficient way. Besides the fact Michael was able to work on a very short advanced notice he also saved me a ton on hassles with the HOA. First, they have a full time driver who can move truck anytime if any issue with loading/unloading arises. Second, they completed the full staging in a single day, dropping major pieces in the morning and wrapping it up with small touches in the afternoon. All mover guys employed by Carole Soffer performed at the highest level of efficiency and accuracy. Everyone knew very well what to do and when. It seemed to me like a very well orchestrated performance with master Michael as a conductor. I highly recommend this company for anyone who wants to create a beautiful contemporary interior for faster sale. I got an offer 6 days after my listing hit the market. Well done, Carole Soffer Design! read more

Michael, the lead from the company, wasn't responsive, was disorganized, and didn't feel invested in the project. We hired him to stage and also "project management" some minor renovations (painting kitchen cabinets, putting some new light fixtures in, new countertops, painting inside and outside and also minor landscaping. Everything ran late and we couldn't stage things till basically covid hit. Covid wasn't his fault but we should have been on the market 3 or 4 weeks before. The final staging was perfectly fine but Michael didn't seem to really care and only reached out to communicate with me to make sure that they were paid promptly. read more

Professional/Talented/Friendly- What more could you want in a stager? Carole's worked with my clients for about 15 years. She's done an outstanding job, and always quoted fair prices. She and her team have an excellent eye on the market. I highly recommend them. read more

I had a very disappointing experience with Carole. She charged me $300 for a color consult. The "color consult" turned to be her coming over to my small flat with a book of colors, and suggesting a couple of quite boring staging colors to me. She made no effort to figure out what kind of statement I wanted to make with my apartment. She wrote the names of the colors on the walls on painter's tape with a black pen, but after she left I saw that she got three of them wrong. She didn't leave color chips for me to consult later to see how the colors might look in later light, or to get other opinions (for $300 I would expect that), and as I wrote her a check (the whole consult took maybe 45 minutes), she said, "thanks, this will come in handy since I bought a new coat today." Maybe she's a great stager, but I certainly wouldn't get her if you want to make a place feel comfy and unique. read more

Carole is great - with a background as a colorist, she brings a great attitude, understanding, and vision to each pitch. A+

Top notch team from design to planning, implementation and cleanup. All you have to do is let them do their thing.

I first used Carole Soffer Design to stage my mother's house to sell. The house had some layout problems, but Carole saw right passed that and picked up on the elegance of the large rooms, wide winding staircase and the molding and trim throughout. I immediately felt confident that I was working with someone who really knew what they were doing. Carole picked out the interior and exterior colors, provided guidance regarding which items were worth fixing or improving, and staged the house. The result of Carole's work was an offer after 1 week. When I decided to sell my own house a few months later, I immediately contacted Carole. She took into account my neighborhood and the type of buyers looking in the area and came up with a completely different look for my place. Again, the result was two offers after just 9 days on the market. Selling a home can be emotional, but Carole keeps you focused on the fact that the object is to appeal to buyers, not to meet your design and or color preferences. I would be remiss not to mention Eva who handles the back end. She was great to work with, quickly returned calls and responded to emails, and was wonderfully patient and calm. I highly recommend Carole Soffer Design and will definitely use them again if I'm ever in the position to sell another house in the Bay Area. read more

Carole is a very talented colorist and I feel fortunate to have worked with her! I know that she often brings these skills to the table when doing staging but in my case she helped me select the perfect colors for my exterior paint job. She was great at balancing the colors of the neighboring structures with my general preferences and then helping to put together just the right combination of complimentary colors. I couldn't recommend her strongly enough. If you engage her assistance in choosing colors, you will not be disappointed. read more

Carole Soffer Design did an exquisite job staging my house for sale & it sold in one month! The work was world class!!! Everybody was truly professional and knew exactly what they were doing. If you want the job done correctly call Carole Soffer Design. read more

I used Carole Soffer for staging and cosmetic improvements when selling my condo via a referral from my real estate agent. On only a week's notice, they were able to schedule floor screening and refinishing, a full deep cleaning and carpet cleaning, full painting, and staging. Their prices were competitive with other vendors, and while other vendors were not available to start for weeks or even months, they were able to start and finish all the work within a week. Afterwards, the condo looked amazing and very marketable. I was able to get an offer for my condo above asking price after its first open house, and I'm certain that their excellent work and staging had a big part in that. I would wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone I know who is looking to improve and stage their place as a part of putting it on the market. They did an amazing job! read more

My friend had used Carole to stage a flip house. As soon as I walked into that house, I knew that a professional had chosen the colors. It was truly gorgeous. I contacted Carole to help me pick colors for my new Arizona desert home. This house has beautiful travertine tile throughout. Carole selected amazing colors that not only honored the stone floor, but gave the house a cohesive, calming effect - exactly what I had asked for. She selected one of the colors (which happens to be my favorite) by holding the color chip out the window and matching it to the outside landscape. Everyone who enters the house comments on how beautiful the paint colors are. I would definitely recommend Carole if you want to take your paint color palette to another level. read more

I want to thank Carole for all of her help staging my latest listing. We had a challenging project, and a very successful outcome. Carole was instrumental in bringing it all together. She (and her team, including assistant Michael) were very professional, and responsive to our needs and requests. But most importantly, Carole spent more time and energy that we coul have anticipated in preparing the house for sale. She worked with the various tradesmen to ensure a fine product. Thank you Carole. read more

Carole Soffer Design is the best and most professional colorist/stager/designer/colorist EVER! We wouldn't put a property on the market without them. Regardless of market conditions, CSD helped us multiple times to beautify properties so that we received offers at or above market value. Our introduction to Carole was a simple (for her) color consultation. For us, laypeople in that world, we had no idea the change Carole's finely honed color sense could make. We have been CSD evangelists ever since! The staging work CSD offers, is spectacular. They have made each property (3) pop, zing and have done so in such a fast, professional way that it was easy for us to turn over the property and wait to get wowed by the results. We follow Carole's recommendations to the letter and have experienced remarkable improvements in the look and feel both of the interior and exterior of properties we've had staged & sold. CSD even selected lighting for us. Each time the work was completed and ready as planned. When properties sold, it was almost a disappointment to see the beauty deconstructed as we approached closings. We highly recommend Carole Soffer Designs to anyone thinking about transitioning a property. read more

Lorraine Alwaise of Carole Soffer Design staged my house for sale. They did a very good job. The staging was a bit crowded in my mind and a little too fancy for my neighborhood, but it sure looked great. The only problem is they employed Le Flor Janitorial Service to clean. The janitorial service was just bad. read more

I had a real difficult time with this company. My real estate agent asked (pleaded) that I use her and I felt it was important to work with people he thought were competent. I had issues throughout the process starting with the initial walkthrough where one of the designers made a disparaging comment about some of my furnishings (just unprofessional I thought). They then billed me some $7,000 for exterior painting of my house, a job I gave to another company. (How can you not know you didn't do something as major as exterior painting??) The staging was fine, but in my opinion not terribly high end for a place that ultimately sold for $950,000. I don't know the staging business so perhaps worn furniture is acceptable. Nothing special about it at all, though I will say that it photographed beautifully. In person very common. It took them a long time to send an invoice and once it came (while I was on vacation) my agent asked me less than a week later when it would be paid. Apparently Soffer Design had asked him about it. They then, without asking, attached it to my escrow. I was made to feel like I was super late with my payment when not even a week had gone by since I had it. When I asked my agent he said I should have known since the amount was quoted in the contract, but actually there were charges (legitimate) that were not quoted so I had no idea what the final bill would be. And finally, I had custom drapes in the master bedroom that just disappeared. This could only have happened during the painting or the staging, both of which they supervised. While the drapes would have been going to the new owner, they cost well over $1,000 and they were just gone. They took zero responsibility for this and I was made to feel like a real jerk for asking about them. In fact, the guy's response to this was there were additional charges for hauling that they forgot to bill me for. They also forgot to bill me for a color consultation whose cost was to be paid by me and the other owner. The bill came after he and I had already settled outstanding debts. And then after that they wanted to bill another $150 for hauling. Even writing this review has me seething again. I would never work with this company. read more

They actually should have negative stars: they failed to provide services that I paid for in advance and I was out thousands!! They talk a great talk but have no morals in business. The better business bureau has several unresolved complaints against them. BEWARE! read more

I experienced horrendous service from the assistant, Mike. After showing up 45 minutes late without an apology or notice that he was running late, he proceeded to be quite rude, telling me he only had 10 minutes for me. His design aesthetic was equally as horrendous as his attitude. read more

As a real estate broker, I have a choice of zillions of stagers in San Francisco. But I repeatedly return to Carole and Lorraine because they provide such great service: color design, painting, furniture install and removal. And every single client has appreciated the setting they create - great vision and a responsible operation. What more would want? read more

The team at Carole Soffer Designs -- specifically Lorraine and Eva -- were great to work with -- I highly recommend their services and greatly enjoyed working with them. We had an almost impossible schedule to meet to get my father's house on the market. They were extremely supportive, helpful, professional and kind throughout the process. They were always in touch about what was happening when; flexible on what elements they would be happy to coordinate or relinquish if I had a vendor I preferred to work with; and quick to come up with solutions to any problem. And now that we've finished the staging (and minor repairs), the home looks great and I have no doubt it is showing well to potential buyers. Many thanks to Lorraine, who was my angel throughout this difficult and challenging experience. read more