Once you decide to sell your home, it needs to look its best for the potential buyers coming to view it. That's where home staging comes in. Home staging is a decorating method which highlights your home's best assets, giving prospective buyers the feeling that this could be their forever home. When staging is done correctly, it can help sell your home faster and for more money. When selling your home, putting time and effort into staging it can make a world of difference.
Here are a Few Simple, Fool-Proof Home Staging Tips
1) Remove the Clutter
Clutter can take up a lot more space than you may realize. You can make your home look bigger and far more appealing by just removing a few, unnecessary items. This is not to say that you need to get rid of these items, but instead packing them up and moving them out of the house during the selling process. For example, winter coats in your hall closet during a summer listing. Often, buyers will look into your closets to see how much storage space is available, so be sure to remove non-crucial items. Other examples include old papers or bills lying around, refrigerator magnets, or anything similar that you'd need on a daily basis. The less clutter you have, the bigger your home will look.
2) Clean, Clean, and Clean Again
When your home is up for sale, you'll want every square inch to shine, from the baseboards to the corners of your ceilings, and everything in between. A spotless home will tell buyers that you've taken good care of your home. If you tend to ignore tedious tasks like cleaning your refrigerator or dusting the blinds, this is the perfect reminder to put them on your to-do list.
3) Fresh Coat of Paint
While bright, flashy colors show off a person's personality, they're usually a major turn-off for buyers. When you're staging a home that you wish to sell, one of the best things you can do is give your home a neutral coat of paint. Colors like beige, light grey, or even white can help a potential buyer imagine their own personal style onto your walls. Will they add their own bright colors? Maybe. But a neutral home provides a blank canvas on which buyers can paint their life story.
4) A Good First Impression - Curb Appeal
The first thing people will see when they're walking up to your home is the front entrance and there's a lot you can do to to make a good first impression. Remove seasonal decorations. (Don't keep those holiday decorations up past January!) If you have a front stoop, consider power washing it. Add a simple doormat and maybe a potted plant. Keep it simple and welcoming and start giving potential buyers a positive impression.
5) Keep it Light
Let in the light to brighten a room as much as possible. Light can make your rooms seem much bigger, so open the blinds and let in the sun. Turn on all the lights in your house during showings to make your home look welcoming. This also will save buyers from stumbling around looking for the switches to turn on the lights.
6) Rearrange Your Furniture
In your home, there should be as much walking space as possible. This will help buyers visualize their own furniture in every room of your house. Any unneeded furniture should be put into storage to get it out of the way. Any oversized or damaged pieces should be put away as well as pieces that don't match the rest of the room.
7) Focus on the Important Rooms
Not every room is made equal when it comes to showing off your home. Focus on the rooms that have the most impact with potential buyers. Rooms like the living room, the master bedroom, master bathroom, and kitchen are far more important than rooms like guest rooms or children's bedrooms.
8) Hire a Pro
This might all seem overwhelming, but I can help you with staging your home. Contact me with any questions you may have.
