When staging your home, you want to make it aesthetically pleasing to potential buyers by accentuating its best qualities. Therefore the tricks and trends you read about from other bloggers and do-it-yourselfers may not necessarily work for your home. Feel free to explore tips and advice you read about, but make sure it works for your space first before establishing it.
Below are five simple but effective foolproof ways to properly stage any home. These helpful tips will work for any homeowner when prepping for a sale.
Boost Curb Appeal
Style and appeal don’t just happen on the inside of a home. It also happens on the outside. Take a walk across the street, and look at your home from afar. Does it have curb appeal? If not, make a list of the areas you see that need work and prioritize them because the exterior is the first thing people see and can really make or break a sale.
There are easy ways to boost curb appeal. Landscaping is a great place to start, especially if you have a unique pathway that leads up to your front door. Accentuate it with rose bushes or potted plants. If it’s fall, line trendy pumpkins along the walkway, mixed with orange and red flowers. Instantly enhance your home’s appearance if you paint your front door a bold color or replace it completely to draw attention to that part of your home. This will also increase resale value.
Boosting curb appeal is also as simple as replacing your old mailbox or installing outdoor lighting or spotlights.
Give Your Home a Deep Clean
This doesn’t mean you should just put away the dishes, take out the trash and clean the toilets. Your home will need a head-to-toe intensive cleaning — everything from the walls to the baseboards to your appliances. It’s a good idea to hire a cleaning company for your initial deep clean, then once that’s done, you can keep up with it easier.
A deep clean also includes the exterior of your home, so if your sidewalks or driveway are badly discolored or stained, hire a pressure washer. The main goal is to eliminate all dust, dirt, and grime from the premises — inside and out.
Practice Feng Shui
When you hear the term feng shui, you likely think about peace and order within your surroundings. That is exactly what you’re trying to create when you practice feng shui in your home, especially when staging it. Create a harmonious environment by putting an emphasis on good lighting (hint: visit Lights, for some amazing interior pieces), which will unleash positive energy out into your home. Let in as much natural light as possible to create a warm, welcoming feeling.
Open your windows to purify the air and let out any stuffiness you may feel. Plants absorb toxins and pollutants, so choose a few larger plants to strategically place around the house, as smaller plants may feel like clutter. Add a fountain to your foyer or living room area to create a serene and relaxing environment upon entry.
Think about where you position your furniture, decor, and art prints, as this will have a huge impact.
Declutter
There’s a reason why all of the homes you see on HGTV practice a minimalist approach when it comes to décor — because it’s more attractive in general, especially to potential buyers. You want them to see your home, not the pile of old magazines you have strewn about your coffee table or the overstuffed coat rack you have when you walk into the foyer.
Create a structured system that works for you. Take it one space at a time — room by room or section by section. You can even start with the most high-trafficked areas first, then move on to the rest. Whichever route you choose, it’s important to focus on one space at a time and its contents. Ask yourself — do you need it? Do you use it? If the answer is no, it’s time to either donate it or trash it.
Practice this strategy throughout your home until you feel your living space has grown and your load has lightened. Not only does less clutter have more visual appeal, but it also has mental appeal, as the anxiety and stress that comes from disorganization and clutter will disappear.
If you find decluttering difficult, try some storage ideas to cleanse your room!
Rearrange Your Furniture
When it comes to your furniture, less is more — and your buyers are going to want square footage, not tons of seating. Leave enough space for the buyer to imagine their own furniture inside of the house. Remove any unnecessary pieces that may clutter your living room, kitchen, or bedrooms. Keep it simple and relaxed. This includes the removal of family pictures or personal items. You can add personality with wall art – think of your home as a freshly cleaned hotel suite, and stage it that way.
There are ways to enhance space with furniture. After all, it’s about how the buyer will perceive each space. Choose a focal point for each room. Will it be the oversized antique sofa against the wall or the grand piano in front of your striking bay window? In this case, you want to draw attention to the bay window, so your focal point should be the piano — therefore you should choose a less extravagant seating piece.
Remember to also keep traffic patterns in mind. Rooms need clear pathways and entryways. A couple of other tips to remember — don’t be afraid to set up a couple of seating areas off the wall to create a comfortable area for conversation. Keep rooms balanced with the correct sized furniture and the proper amount. You don’t want one side of a room cluttered up with chunky oversized furniture, and the other practically bare, with only a couple of small side tables and a small armchair.
Successful staging is the key to selling your home, so make the task at hand seriously. Start with the above simple but effective ways you can properly stage your home yourself without hiring a professional staging company. Remember, square footage is important to all buyers, so enlarge your space as much as possible. Less is more. You want to leave room for your buyer’s imagination.
