Home Staging 101

If you've spent much time online seeking ways to sell your home, you've probably run across "professional home staging" options. While many of these are a great choice, they can be cost-prohibitive if your agent doesn't include those services with your sale. You aren't left in the lurch though, you can do a variety of things with your existing furnishings to clean up your home and make it more appealing to buyers. The hardest part of this process is to take yourself out of the house. It no longer matters what you love or what each room means to you, its now about creating a blank but appealing canvas that your potential buyers can see ways to make their own.

Properly staged homes, and that usually means neutrally staged, often sell up to 50% faster and for up to 10% or more over the asking price. Want in on this extra profit?

It’s easy as 123…

1. Clean and Neutral Colors: give your rooms a fresh coat of paint in neutral tones. Creams, warm grays and sand tones can brighten up your rooms without going all the way to white which creates an inviting look. It's not just the paint though, apply the same rules to your furniture and window coverings. Try to get as much natural sunlight into each room as possible and use bright and light tones to reflect that light around the room. Don't forget the bathrooms here, going for brighter neutral patterns on shower curtains, rugs and towels as well.

2. No More Hoarding (at least not in public): Yes, those pictures of your wedding or your kids are incredibly important to you, but this is about your buyers. Too much clutter or too many personal items in a design can make it difficult for potential buyers to decorate in their mind. You want your buyer to see themselves in the space, not you. That means removing family photos, trophies, kids' art and basically anything that speaks to your family life in the home. If you’re living in the home and showing at the same time, try going through your belongings and packing up things you don’t need into a storage unit. Keeping your closets only comfortably full and storage spaces empty of holiday decorations makes them more appealing to buyers.

3. Simple Spaces for Anyone: Remember that storage unit? Use it again for extra furniture. Keep only the items that work best in the space. Remove over-sized or extra-personal items to help your buyers see the house and what they can do with it. Stick with furniture that goes with the home itself, rather than the pieces you have for sentimental value. Also, remember to remove all or the majority of items that make a space age-specific where possible. Unless you're explicitly showing off a nursery, make the rest of the home design work regardless of children or buyers' ages. 

Your real estate professional can give you specific advice based on your particular possessions and home layout.