One of the most important steps of selling a home is proper staging. This takes a little bit of work but could make a huge difference. The way you stage your home truly sets the mood for your entire sale. It is imperative that your staging is harmonious and work well with your surroundings. Making your home as eye-catching as possible will help you stand out in a competitive real estate market and attract motivated buyers.
Below, our expert team has compiled some home staging tips to help you add a one of a kind stage design to your home with a flair of personality.
What is Home Staging?
Simply put, staging is the art of decorating a home to sell quickly and for more money on the real estate market. It includes renovating, rearranging furnishings, adding subtle pieces of décor or even taking some décor away for a cleaner look. Staging a property for sale implies preparing it to appeal to the greatest number of buyers, boosting the chances of selling fast and for a higher price.
As a seller, you have the option of staging your own house, enlisting the assistance of your Realtor, or hiring a professional home stager. Home stagers set the stage for potential home buyers to imagine how they could live in a property and make it their home. This can be as “simple” as rearranging what the home seller already has. Or it can include bringing in new furniture, accessories and art to make the home appeal to more buyers.
Every Detail Counts
To attract more buyers and a higher offer, home staging makes the space visually pleasing and draws attention to the home’s best features.
Home stagers also get rid of clutter and depersonalize the home so that potential buyers will be able to see themselves living there.
Too much and the home looks bland and boring. Too little and potential buyers are distracted by thinking about the people who already live there.
Every detail counts in selling a home for top dollar. From cleanliness to the state of repair. And from furniture placement to lighting, color, art and accessories.
Home stagers attend to all of these details for their home staging clients.
Home Staging Tips
First and foremost homes sell quickly with staging, if you want to sell your house quickly and for the highest potential price in top dollars, staging is one of the simplest methods to do it. Also the value of your home increases.
Staging a house ensures that buyers view it in its best light and may assist demonstrate what a property has to offer without requiring a whole home design overhaul. Potential buyers will be more encouraged to make a competitive offer if they can envision themselves living in the property.
Start With a Deep Cleaning
A clean home shows potential buyers that you have taken good care of the property. Ideally, you should clean every part of the house, from the floors to the ceilings—and everything in between. While some buyers might not care about a little bit of clutter or dust, it could turn others away. If your appliances in the kitchen are older, make sure they are spotless. Likewise, make sure your bathrooms sparkle, from the corners of the tub, to the sink drain, to that spot behind the toilet that you don’t think anyone can see. Your goal should be to make everything look new and exciting.
Declutter
Clutter distracts buyers from your home’s features and it makes the home seem like it has less space. When you are about to put your house on the market, be sure to box up and put into storage the things you do not need on a day-to-day basis (knickknacks, games, papers, seasonal clothes, and messy hobbies). It is also time to get rid of things you no longer need—like the expired food in the back of the cabinets, and the clothes and toys that the kids have long since outgrown. The more empty storage space you have, the better.
Define Rooms
Make sure that each room has a single, defined purpose. And make sure that every space within each room has a purpose. This will help buyers see how to maximize the home’s square footage. If you have a finished attic, stage it as an office. A finished basement can become an entertainment room, and a junk room can be transformed into a guest bedroom.
Even if the buyer does not want to use the room for the same purpose, the important thing is for them to see that every inch of the home is usable space.
Remove Most Personal Items
You do not have to remove every single personal item from your home before you sell it, but the majority of your belongings should be boxed up and stored elsewhere. That includes items like old family photos, family heirlooms, refrigerator art and knick-knacks. Buyers need to be able to envision themselves in your home. Keep clothes hidden away as much as possible, and make sure the bathroom counters are empty (except for hand soap and a towel, of course). Likewise, put away all the toys and anything else that is highly personal or evocative of the home’s current inhabitants.
Stay as Neutral as Possible
Your realtor will most likely going to tell you that you need to keep your furniture and decorations as neutral as possible. Yes, that bright red accent wall really shows off your personality. But you need to tone down the colors. Neutrals are your friends. You will also want to make sure to keep spaces gender-neutral. Your home’s new owners will not necessarily use the rooms (or decorate them) the same way you do. As a general rule, you want potential buyers to be able to walk into a home and envision themselves living there. Having neutral furniture and decorations is going to create a blank canvas for them.
Focus on Fresh
A few potted plants can do wonders to make your home feel fresh and inviting. If you have a lot of plants, space them out strategically so they do not overwhelm any one area. Of course, dead and dying plants do not do much to make your home look well-tended so be sure to prune them back or ditch them altogether.
Another way to make your home seem fresh is to get rid of odors. Pets, kids, last night’s dinner, and many other conditions can make your home smell. Inexpensive tricks for ridding a home of odors and giving it an inviting aroma include baking cinnamon-coated apples or cookies in the oven, or burning some mild scented candles.
And do not forget to take out the trash!
Furniture
Make sure furniture is the right size for the room, and do not clutter a room with too much of it. Furniture that is too big will make a room look small, while too little or too small furniture can make a space feel cold. Arrange the furniture in a way that makes each room feel spacious, homey, and easy to navigate.
Whenever possible, do not use cheap furniture. You do not have to pay a lot of money to switch out your existing furniture—and you may even be able to rent furniture to stage your home. Either way, make sure the furniture looks nice, tidy and cozy. You can use throw pillows to add contrast and a splash of color.
Lighting
One of the easiest and most effective ways to make a home more eye-catching is to improve the lighting. Take advantage of your home’s natural light. Open all curtains and blinds when showing your home. Add fixtures where necessary, and turn on all the lights for showings (including those in the closets).
Make sure that all of the bulbs throughout your home are bright and working correctly. Painting the walls a bright and neutral color is another simple way to improve indoor lighting. This makes your home appear more inviting. If you think your existing fixtures are fine, be sure to dust them and clean off any grime. Otherwise, outdated and broken light fixtures are easy and cheap to replace.
Find the Right Agent
First impressions still matter. Just like with curb appeal, the way you stage your rooms can make or break a buyer’s interest in your home, so it’s important to put your best foot forward. Be sure to add unique touches to make your home feel cozy and welcoming. These steps will go a long way toward helping your home stand out from the crowd.
Windermere’s community of real estate professionals is our greatest asset. We have experts in all areas of real estate, from your typical starter home to condos, luxury properties, and new construction. While residential real estate is the mainstay of our business, Windermere also has offices and associates who specialize in property management, commercial real estate, and relocation services. To further facilitate the home buying process, Windermere has affiliated partners in certain regions to provide mortgage, title, and escrow services.
Call us today with any questions or concerns. Our professional Real Estate Agents will help you through this exciting process. (951) 369-8002