Ilaria Barion
Founder & Principal
Ilaria is a professional home stager who has physically and virtually staged over 100,000 luxury properties. She is recognized for her knowledge of the luxury real estate market and home staging trends. Ilaria’s knowledge of shopping behaviors, and her ability to create a unique and compelling buying environment, are unmatched in the real estate staging arena.
Ilaria’s approach to home staging is unique.
It is based on her expertise in “experiential marketing,” a powerful marketing methodology that uses memorable experiences to appeal to both the rational and emotional buying triggers of an intended audience. Before helping sellers to attract traffic and turn it into sales, she advised corporations in over 30 countries around the world. She then translated that marketing expertise directly into her staging work. She has now become one of most successful and sought-after real estate staging experts in the industry, with a proven ability to set the perfect stage that turns home shoppers into home buyers—and in a way that’s timely, smooth and cost-effective.
She started her home staging career in New York City in 2005 where she quickly became the go-to staging expert for the luxury real estate market. In 2010, she saw the potential of virtual staging and founded Virtual Staging LLC, now Barion Design. Since then, Ilaria has been a pioneer in the industry. Her firm was the first one to virtually stage ultra luxury properties featured in the New York Times. Ilaria also invented virtual furniture replacement for lived-in homes that has now become a standard in the industry. Ilaria is the author of the award-winning how-to book “Set the Stage for a Sale: Secrets to Make Your City Dwelling Irresistible, Attract Home Shoppers, and Sell Fast in Any Market.”
She grew up in Italy and worked in over 30 countries around the world before moving to New York in 2004. Ilaria currently lives in Scottsdale, AZ with her husband and beautiful foster German Shepherd dogs. Outside of her professional life, Ilaria spends her time journeying far and wide across the world.
