Virtual Staging Prompt: Empty Room to Staged Photo Brief

Prompt

Act as a real estate photographer and virtual staging art director who writes ChatGPT image-edit prompts that furnish an empty room from its real measurements, and who never changes the structure, condition, or view of the property.

Inputs:
- Room facts (room type, dimensions, ceiling height, flooring, wall color, windows, doors, vents, outlets): [RoomFacts]
- Photo angle (where the camera stands, lens, which walls are visible): [PhotoAngle]
- Staging style and price tier of the listing: [StagingStyle]
- Fixed elements that must stay exactly as photographed (windows, floors, fixtures, radiators, defects, the view): [FixedElements]
- Where the photo will be used (MLS, flyer, listing site, social): [ListingUse]
- My MLS or brokerage rules on virtual staging disclosure, pasted as written: [MLSRules]
- Words I never use in listing copy: [Banned]

Generate:
1. Room fact sheet: restate RoomFacts and PhotoAngle, and mark any measurement I did not give as UNKNOWN instead of guessing.
2. Scaled furniture plan: list each piece with real-world size, its position against a named wall, and the walkway clearance left, so nothing would be impossible to fit in a room of these dimensions.
3. Life-safety placement check: no furniture blocking doors, egress windows, heat registers, radiators, or the electrical panel, and nothing covering smoke or CO detectors.
4. ChatGPT virtual staging prompt for the uploaded photo: style, furniture list, materials, and lighting that matches the existing window light, followed by an explicit instruction to keep every FixedElement unchanged.
5. Do-not-alter list to paste under the prompt: no new windows, no wall or floor changes, no painting over damage, no sky or view replacement, no added fireplace or built-ins.
6. Disclosure line for ListingUse written to match MLSRules, plus a reminder to keep the original unstaged photo in the listing if MLSRules require it.
7. Two style variants (for example warm modern and coastal) that change only furniture and decor sentences.
8. Fair Housing check on any caption: describe the room and features, never who should live there.

Rules:
- Staging may add movable furniture and decor only. It must not misrepresent the property.
- If MLSRules are missing, say so and tell me to check with my broker before publishing.
- No people, pets, family photos, religious items, or decor that signals who the buyer should be.

Instructions

Upload the empty room photo to ChatGPT with this prompt. Paste your MLS staging rule word for word. Compare the edit against the original and reject any version that changed the room itself. Label every virtually staged photo as your MLS and NAR practice require, and never hide or cover defects.

Generated Output

This image was generated using the prompt above.

Virtual Staging Prompt: Empty Room to Staged Photo Brief - Result

Examples

Example Input

RoomFacts: secondary bedroom, 11 ft 6 in by 12 ft 2 in, 8 ft ceiling, light oak laminate floor, pale gray walls, one 4 ft wide window on the north wall (egress window), door on the south wall opening inward, floor heat register under the window, smoke detector on ceiling center, two outlets on the east wall
PhotoAngle: camera in the southwest corner at chest height, 16mm equivalent, shows north and east walls
StagingStyle: calm Scandinavian, mid-price condo listing
FixedElements: window, floor, register, smoke detector, outlets, small scuff on the east wall baseboard
ListingUse: MLS photo set and listing site
MLSRules: "Virtually staged photos must be labeled Virtually Staged in the photo or caption. The original photo must also be included."
Banned: perfect for, dream home

Example Output

1. ROOM FACT SHEET
Secondary bedroom, 11 ft 6 in x 12 ft 2 in, 8 ft ceiling. Light oak laminate, pale gray walls. North wall: 4 ft egress window with heat register below. South wall: inward door. East wall: two outlets, baseboard scuff. Ceiling: smoke detector at center. Camera: southwest corner, chest height, 16mm, showing north and east walls. Closet: UNKNOWN (not given).

2. SCALED FURNITURE PLAN
- Queen bed, 60 x 80 in, headboard centered on the east wall. Leaves about 5 ft between bed foot and west wall.
- Two nightstands, 18 x 16 in, either side of the bed, clear of the outlets.
- Low dresser, 48 x 18 in, on the west wall (off camera, not rendered).
- Wool rug, 6 x 9 ft, under the lower two thirds of the bed.
- Linen curtain panels hung outside the window frame, open.
- Clearance: 3 ft or more of walkway from door to window.

3. LIFE-SAFETY CHECK
- Window: nothing in front of it, curtains open, register uncovered.
- Door: swing path clear.
- Smoke detector: nothing hung from or near the ceiling center.
Pass.

4. CHATGPT VIRTUAL STAGING PROMPT
Edit this photo of an empty bedroom to add calm Scandinavian furniture. Place a queen bed with a light oak frame and white and oat linen bedding against the right wall, with two small oak nightstands and simple ceramic lamps. Add a cream wool rug under the bed and open linen curtains beside the window. Match the existing soft north window light and keep shadows consistent with it. Keep the window, the view, the oak laminate floor, the pale gray walls, the heat register, the smoke detector, the outlets, and the scuff on the baseboard exactly as they appear. Keep the camera angle and lens unchanged.

5. DO-NOT-ALTER LIST
- No new or larger windows, no change to the view.
- No wall color, floor, or ceiling changes.
- Do not remove or hide the baseboard scuff.
- No added fireplace, built-ins, or light fixtures.
- Nothing covering the register or detector.

6. DISCLOSURE
Caption: "Virtually Staged. Furniture and decor are digitally added; the room is sold unfurnished."
Include the original empty-room photo next to the staged one in the MLS set, per the pasted rule.

7. STYLE VARIANTS
- Warm modern: walnut platform bed, rust and sand bedding, round paper lamps, jute rug.
- Coastal: white painted bed, pale blue and sand bedding, rattan lamps, flat-weave rug.
Furniture and decor sentences only; every FixedElement line stays the same.

8. FAIR HOUSING CHECK
Caption describes the room: "Bright north-facing bedroom with an egress window and oak laminate floors." No words about who should live there, and no banned phrases. Pass.