10 Home Staging Tips
Ready to sell your house? When listing a home, you want to make sure it's presented in the best light. We always tell our clients light, bright and open sells! You do not want your home to feel cluttered or overbear potential buyers with your stuff. While I realize this is your home and you actually use the things you have in it, it's important to understand that while you are marketing your house you need to put a little extra work into keeping it presentable for showings. For instance, after you use your toaster in the morning, put it in a cabinet when you're done to keep your kitchen counters clear. Here are some more tips to get your home prepared for the market.
1. SAY BYE TO CLUTTER
The best thing you can do to prepare your home for sale is to get rid of all of your clutter! Make a rule for your home that for every new piece that comes in, one must go. Look around your house and see what you can pack away. Things like paperwork stacked on the counter or kids toys laying around the living room can be very distracting to a potential home buyer. Take some time to sort, organize and de-clutter your home. Not only will you be getting your house ready for market, but it will also leave one last thing to do when you're trying to move! Depending on your situation, it may also be worth the investment to get a storage unit for a couple of months to store away some things you don't use daily or bulky furniture taking up too much space in your home.
2. FURNITURE GROUPINGS
One of the biggest factors to a cluttered home is too much furniture. Generally, in a professional staging, half the home owner's furniture is removed to make the house look much bigger. Also, it's largely misconceived that furniture pushed directly up against walls make a room look bigger, but this is far from true. Instead, you'll want to float your furniture in reach room and away from the walls. Position your sofas and chairs into cozy conversational groupings. Be sure the furnishings are placed to make the traffic flow in a room obvious. This will make the room more user-friendly and will make it look larger.
3. TRANSFORM ROOMS
If you have a room that has only served to collect boxes or other junk, it's important to purpose the room to something that is functional. You can make it into an extra bedroom, an office or even a small cozy nook/reading room. Even an empty room shows better than a room stacked with boxes. Feel free to use your garage for storing things instead of in bedrooms. You want potential buyers to be able to envision their belongings in the home, not walk away only remembering how much stuff you had in it!
4. HOME LIGHTING
Great lighting is the trick to making a home look warm and welcome. If a home is improperly lit it can make rooms look dark and dreary. When showing your home always open all blinds and shutters and turn on all the lights in your home. You can also increase the wattage in your fixtures and lamps, aiming for about 100 watts per 50 square feet. Add three different types of lighting to each room: ambient (general overhead), task (under cabinets or pendants), and accent lighting (table lamps and wall accents). Remember light and bright!
5. GO NEUTRAL
The simple trick to toning down dated finishing in any space is a little bit of fresh paint. Shades of white, grey and beige colors are best as they are neutral and provide a clean slate for buyers to visualize it as their home. Beige colors can also consist of warm honey like colors, soft blues and greens, and a variety of undertones that add a little life to a general neutral color. If you do want to use bold colors, be sure to only keep it on accent walls to help enhance structural features. Remember, you want to attract as many potential buyers as possible, so going too bold can turn some people off.
6. MAKE IT LOOK BIGGER
If you want to make a room feel bigger than it is, paint the room the same color as an adjacent room. For small kitchens and dining rooms, a seamless look will make the space feel like one, open it up and make it seem much larger. Use mirrors to reflect light which can make the space feel more open. Also, hanging drapes high and wide can add emphasis to the room's size.
7. FAKE IT TIL YOU MAKE IT
Staged homes have an emphasis in fresh flowers and pricey floral arrangements, but if you don't have the money to go all out on florals, you can get this same effect by using faux flowers and plants. Discount home stores (ie: HomeGoods) often have great faux plants and flowers that can add a huge impact in the home! Bonus: They WON'T die or need to be replaced! You can also DIY beautiful arrangements from your garden with fern fronds, magnolia clippings, and more. Use the spring and summer months to find cheerful flowers and use them in your arrangements.
8. GET A FACELIFT
So you can't afford new cabinets? I get it. Even new doors and drawer fronts can get pricey so if you're on a budget or not willing to put the extra money in, you may consider just painting your cabinets and/or adding new hardware. Instead of replacing the entire dishwasher, you may be able to get a new front panel, go for stainless steel if you can pull it off. Check with the manufacturer to see if replacements are available for your model.
9. MAKE NECESSARY REPAIRS
Unfinished home projects can really scare off potential home buyers, so you'll want to be sure to make required repairs. Holes in walls and scratched up door frames can really look unattractive, but are easy fixes to make yourself. Plus, these types of repairs cost you less to fix than buyers may deduct from the asking price.
10. CLEAN YOUR HOME
Aside from de-cluttering, the most important step to staging your home is to clean it. A dirty house is a quick turn-off for potential buyers. Most homes, especially with children and pets, and smokers, have a smell that may go undetected to home owners, but are quickly picked up by strangers. Be sure to have your home professionally cleaned prior to staging to appeal to all buyers that your home is nice and fresh.
These are just a few tips to help you get your home ready for the market. Remember: Light, Bright and Open! Also, keep in mind that it's important to appeal to the largest amount of potential buyers as possible. A real estate professional, like myself, can help guide you through the process of getting your house ready for showings depending on your area, price range and your home's needs.
