Everyone talks about staging your home to impress buyers, but what specifically does this require? While each home is different there are a few basic principles to be applied to every home. You can stage your home to be a real show stopper without breaking your budget or replacing your furniture.
Here are 7 staging tips for your home:
Here are 7 staging tips for your home:
Rearrange the Furniture
The way you arrange furniture for daily life and the way you arrange furniture for style are often not the same. When staging your home for showings, play around with different arrangements. You want your home to feel cozy and not crowded. Don’t be afraid to remove a few pieces of furniture from the house. Try out symmetrical arrangements in the living room with couches facing each other and pulled away from the wall. In the master bedroom, center the bed on a wall and eliminate unnecessary furniture from the room.
Add Some Life
Houseplants or floral arrangements help make your home feel lived in without making it cluttered. A little bit of greenery can go a long way, so don’t over do it. Consider placing fresh flowers on your kitchen island and end tables in the living room. Small or medium sized houseplants will liven up a bookshelf or mantle.
Style the Dining Room
When the dining room is clean it can look bare and empty. Make it feel warm and inviting by setting the table, placing a few floral arrangements or simply laying out placemats. Avoid using large centerpieces as those often feel stiff and formal. Multiple small pieces will make the space look warm and welcoming.
Clean the Floors
Put your Swiffer away for this one. You’re looking for a nice deep clean. A steam mop is an excellent choice to remove most dirt and grime, but a traditional soap bucket and mop can work wonders. If you find a stain on vinyl floors, soak a rag in a mixture of four parts water and one part bleach and set the rag on the stain for about an hour. For carpet, move the furniture out of the way and use a steam cleaner. You’ll be amazed at the difference. Clean floors will also help eliminate lingering scents and freshen the whole house.
Organize the Closets
There are no secrets when you put your house on the market. Hiding clutter in the closet isn’t an effective solution because buyers will open all of the doors to see how much storage is in the house. Instead of jamming your closet full of clothes, pack a few clothes away to make the closet look bigger. Before you list your house, invest in an affordable closet system to make the most of the space and make buyers drool. Storage is highly sought after, so make all those hidden spaces look good.
Rethink Extra Rooms
Spare bedrooms can easily turn into a dumping ground for boxes left unpacked, unfolded laundry and odd pieces of furniture. It’s time for this to go. Every room in your house should have a clear purpose before buyers come through. If you already have 3 or 4 bedrooms, consider changing a spare room into an office. Look around the house and see what pieces of furniture could be spared from other rooms to put together a purposeful bonus room. Remember to keep it uncluttered. Buyers are looking to imagine themselves living here and they don’t want to imagine a room used as a dumping ground.
Declutter
We say it again and again, but it’s always worth repeating. Before your home is available for showings you need to remove clutter, and not just the pile of mail on the kitchen counter. Check every shelf, table and counter for things you don’t need. Pick up every item and make a decision about it (and dust around it while you’re there). As you begin decluttering your home, pick up moving boxes to store your belongings in. Make sure they are well labeled and organized on one wall of your garage or basement. Boxes will show the buyer you are a motivated seller and will be ready to move at the time of closing.
If you need more advice on staging, talk to your real estate agent today!
The way you arrange furniture for daily life and the way you arrange furniture for style are often not the same. When staging your home for showings, play around with different arrangements. You want your home to feel cozy and not crowded. Don’t be afraid to remove a few pieces of furniture from the house. Try out symmetrical arrangements in the living room with couches facing each other and pulled away from the wall. In the master bedroom, center the bed on a wall and eliminate unnecessary furniture from the room.
Add Some Life
Houseplants or floral arrangements help make your home feel lived in without making it cluttered. A little bit of greenery can go a long way, so don’t over do it. Consider placing fresh flowers on your kitchen island and end tables in the living room. Small or medium sized houseplants will liven up a bookshelf or mantle.
Style the Dining Room
When the dining room is clean it can look bare and empty. Make it feel warm and inviting by setting the table, placing a few floral arrangements or simply laying out placemats. Avoid using large centerpieces as those often feel stiff and formal. Multiple small pieces will make the space look warm and welcoming.
Clean the Floors
Put your Swiffer away for this one. You’re looking for a nice deep clean. A steam mop is an excellent choice to remove most dirt and grime, but a traditional soap bucket and mop can work wonders. If you find a stain on vinyl floors, soak a rag in a mixture of four parts water and one part bleach and set the rag on the stain for about an hour. For carpet, move the furniture out of the way and use a steam cleaner. You’ll be amazed at the difference. Clean floors will also help eliminate lingering scents and freshen the whole house.
Organize the Closets
There are no secrets when you put your house on the market. Hiding clutter in the closet isn’t an effective solution because buyers will open all of the doors to see how much storage is in the house. Instead of jamming your closet full of clothes, pack a few clothes away to make the closet look bigger. Before you list your house, invest in an affordable closet system to make the most of the space and make buyers drool. Storage is highly sought after, so make all those hidden spaces look good.
Rethink Extra Rooms
Spare bedrooms can easily turn into a dumping ground for boxes left unpacked, unfolded laundry and odd pieces of furniture. It’s time for this to go. Every room in your house should have a clear purpose before buyers come through. If you already have 3 or 4 bedrooms, consider changing a spare room into an office. Look around the house and see what pieces of furniture could be spared from other rooms to put together a purposeful bonus room. Remember to keep it uncluttered. Buyers are looking to imagine themselves living here and they don’t want to imagine a room used as a dumping ground.
Declutter
We say it again and again, but it’s always worth repeating. Before your home is available for showings you need to remove clutter, and not just the pile of mail on the kitchen counter. Check every shelf, table and counter for things you don’t need. Pick up every item and make a decision about it (and dust around it while you’re there). As you begin decluttering your home, pick up moving boxes to store your belongings in. Make sure they are well labeled and organized on one wall of your garage or basement. Boxes will show the buyer you are a motivated seller and will be ready to move at the time of closing.
If you need more advice on staging, talk to your real estate agent today!