Home staging is the process of preparing your home to be shown. The goal of staging is to make your home as appealing as possible to as many potential buyers as possible, maximizing your selling price and selling your home faster. In the past several years, professional home stagers have become more popular given the benefits of properly preparing a home to be sold; however, with the right guidance, good forethought and time, you can effectively stage your home to sell. The tips outlined below, including eliminating clutter, freshening your home's interior, rearranging furniture, and enhancing curb-appeal, will help you create a lasting first impression that sticks with your potential buyers and ensures you sell your home.
1. START CLEAN
The most important, and often overlooked step in staging your home, is the initial cleaning. Before you do anything else, thoroughly clean your home from top to bottom. Clean carpets, blinds and windows. Wipe down every visible surface, including lights, switch covers and trim. Hire a professional if needed; it will be well worth it.
2. DECLUTTER
While decluttering is a worthy goal regardless of whether you're looking to sell your home or not, it's especially important when selling your home to remove reminders of you from your home. Help buyers visualize themselves in your home by removing family photos, decorations and unnecessary items. Clutter is anything you’re keeping around your house that doesn’t add value to your life and in the case of selling your home, think of it as anything that could distract buyers from imagining living in your home. Avoid emptying your house completely; prospective buyers still like to see livable space being lived in, but that means keeping placemats on your table, a small plant on a bookshelf, or a lamp in your living room. Remove anything else, especially anything personal.
3. REARRANGE
Similar to the above point, too much furniture can make rooms seem cluttered and appear smaller than they actually are. Buyers will appreciate the size of each room more if you remove a piece of furniture or two and rearrange the rest. The general wisdom is that by drawing attention to the wall farthest from the door, the focal point of the room, you'll make the room seem bigger. Arranging furniture around that focal point also helps to create depth. An example of this is placing your bed against the wall farthest from the bedroom door. In a living room, place furniture around a fireplace or mantle. In a dining room, remove furniture that's against walls closest to the door.
4. BRIGHTEN
A fresh coat of warm, light colored paint (neutral colors are typically best) goes a long way in creating a good first impression. Pair the fresh paint with accents like colorful rugs, pillows, plants and more to create visual appeal. Replacing the bulbs in your light fixtures with high wattage bulbs is also important. Note the difference in bulb color - warm white bulbs are perfect for bedrooms, living rooms, and dens, while bright white and cool white are recommended for kitchens, bathrooms and basements.
5. ACCESSORIZE
Help buyers envision living in your home by telling a story throughout each room. Add accessories such as fresh fruit or flowers in kitchens and dining rooms. Leave one book on a coffee table or nightstand. Lay logs in your fireplace and place candles in your bedroom. Replace older or heavy curtains in living rooms and bathrooms with new, sheer ones that let in more light. Put guest soaps out and bake something beforehand to create a homey feel. Keep in mind that simpler is still better, but you don't want your home to feel like a museum.
6. ADD APPEAL
Curb appeal is the way your house looks from the street. Having an attractively maintained and landscaped property can add thousands to your home's value and ensure it sells quickly. If maintaining curb appeal is not something you already do, there are some quick ways you can add curb appeal in a pinch. Start by mowing your lawn and trimming your hedges. Plant flowers or add potted plants to your home's entrance. Turn on a few sprinklers before a showing to draw attention to the lawn and gardens. Add accessories to a porch, door or mailbox (or replace it). Wash your house, windows and garage door. Call a professional to clean your roof or replace missing or faded shingles. Ensure basic home maintenance is addressed, such as refastening sagging gutters, replacing windows or trim, resealing asphalt, straightening shutters, replacing missing bricks, and fixing peeling paint.
Help your home put its best face forward. Contact our Proctor & Greene Real Estate team today for questions on staging or selling your home.