For a while now, I've been expecting a "staging" backlash. I just didn't expect it to take this form.

For anybody who hasn't had the distinct pleasure of trying to sell a home lately, staging is the practice of stripping down -- then gussying up -- a residence to make it look its most appealing to the broadest range of buyers.

On a recent Sunday, Bob and Jane Baker practically tiptoed across the hardwood floor of a newly refurbished Sherman Oaks home, looking a bit sheepish about bringing their Italian greyhound to the open house. They needn't have worried about Digby being an unwelcome visitor, however. Just about anything goes today, as agents vie to get potential buyers into homes for sale.