Marcio Vasconcelos
Making your house look appealing when getting ready to sell it is an important step in the process. To guarantee success in the sale, there are a few things you can do, such as staging your house properly to make it look like somebody else's future home.
This process usually includes decluttering, cleaning, depersonalizing, and arranging furniture and decor to showcase the home's best features. The goal is to help buyers envision themselves living in the space, potentially leading to a quicker sale and a higher selling price. Without further ado, let’s learn about the essentials of home staging, what not to do and much more.
Essentials of Home Staging
The goal is to make your home inviting and appealing to the broadest audience possible. Key steps:
Improve Curb appeal
Boost your home's curb appeal with weekend projects like pressure washing, repainting the front door, updating fixtures, and refreshing your garden. Simple additions like colorful plants or outdoor furniture can also enhance the look.
Update your kitchen
Enhancing your kitchen can significantly impact your home's saleability. Simple updates like decluttering, repainting cabinets, swapping outdated hardware, and replacing fixtures can refresh the space without a high cost. Consider affordable DIY options for appliances and backsplashes to modernize the look.
Minimize furniture
Decluttering, especially reducing excess furniture, is crucial when preparing your home for sale. It makes spaces appear larger and ensures easy access to key features and views, enhancing the home's appeal to buyers.
Add work space
With the rise of remote work and homeschooling, creating a workspace is increasingly attractive to homebuyers. If a separate office room isn't feasible, consider setting up a small work area in a spare bedroom, living room corner, or even a closet.
Depersonalize
To help potential buyers envision themselves in your space, it's advisable to depersonalize your home by removing personal items like family photos, children's artwork, and personal collections, replacing them with more neutral decor.
Show off storage
Highlight your storage by organizing closets and cabinets, using matching bins and shoe racks for a tidy appearance, and enhance your linen closet with fresh scents to impress buyers.
Make it smell good
Enhancing your home's ambiance with pleasing scents can positively influence potential buyers' perceptions. Use diffusers, scented candles, and fresh flowers to create a welcoming atmosphere, and consider air fresheners in key areas to ensure a fresh and inviting environment throughout.
No signs of pets
We love our pets, but their presence might deter potential homebuyers due to odors or allergies. Clean pet areas well, use air fresheners, and temporarily remove pet items and pets during showings to ensure a neutral environment for visitors. Don’t forget to fix any damage on walls, windows or furniture made by your beloved pet friend.
Stage where it matters
Prioritize staging in key areas like the living room, master bedroom, and kitchen, which greatly influence buyer decisions. Less impactful spaces, such as guest and children's bedrooms or bathrooms, require less focus during staging.
Make it super clean
When staging your home, clean it more thoroughly than ever before, aiming for every part of your home to sparkle. This level of cleanliness signals to buyers that the home has been well-maintained. Address areas that might typically be overlooked, like inside appliances or window blinds. This deep cleaning should be similar to what you'd do when moving into a new place, with added attention to detail.
Repair what is necessary
During home staging, address minor damages like nicks and scratches to show care. Use a melamine foam eraser for scuffs and apply spackle and caulk where needed. Touch up any chipped paint to improve appearance and demonstrate proper maintenance.
Repaint with neutrals
Switching to neutral colors like gray, white, and taupe when staging your home can be impactful, potentially increasing sale price and reducing market time. Bright wall colors might reflect personal style but could deter buyers. Neutrals allow buyers to envision the home's potential and consider their own color preferences.
Bright and clear
Maximize your home's brightness for showings by opening blinds and turning on all lights, including in closets. This not only makes spaces feel larger and more inviting but also prevents buyers from having to navigate light switches in unfamiliar rooms.
What Not to Do When Staging a Home
To attract a broad range of buyers, prioritize staging to help them envision living in your space, regardless of their personal style or living situation. To ensure your home presents its best during showings, be mindful of common staging errors:
Too much furniture
Be mindful of the quantity of furniture in your home, as overcrowding spaces can deter buyers by making it difficult for them to envision fitting their own belongings and lifestyle into the space.
Be careful with smells
It's common to overlook familiar odors in your home, from pets to cooking smells. However, these can be immediately noticeable and off-putting to potential buyers. Ensure your home is free of any bad smells before listing it for sale.
Too personal
While personal touches can make a home feel cozy, they might distract buyers from seeing the potential for their own belongings and lifestyle in the space. It's advisable to store away personal items and decorations when showing your home to prospective buyers.
Abandoned exterior areas
Don't overlook the importance of the home's exterior when staging, as first impressions are crucial. Simple efforts like trimming hedges and adding flowers can significantly enhance curb appeal.
Dirty house
We might think that the house is clean, but remember, you will be showing it to potential buyers,that is why you need to make sure everything is as clean as it can be. If you don't have the time to do it, it’s worthed to hire a professional to do it.
DIY Staging Tips
You can stage your home effectively without professional help by focusing on key areas like the living room, kitchen, and master bedroom. Are you looking for some effective and easy tasks to stage your house? We have some right here for you:
Add a mirror
Adding a large mirror to a room not only enhances its style but also creates the illusion of more space and light, making even small areas feel larger and brighter. Consider using a mirror as a decorative element if you're short on artwork, as it contributes to a more polished and intentional design.
Invest in rugs
Choose rugs that fit the size of your rooms and furniture properly. For example, in the living room, the rug should be large enough so that at least the front legs of sofas and chairs rest on it. A well-sized rug that matches the room's decor can make the area appear bigger and more cohesive.
Update windows treatment
Replace old, heavy curtains with lighter, modern ones to freshen up the space. Opting for simple and airy window treatments can make a room feel more spacious and open. Hanging floor-length curtains closer to the ceiling, rather than just above the window, can give the illusion of higher ceilings and a taller room.
Adjust your furniture
Adjust your furniture to maximize open, walkable areas, aiding buyers in visualizing their own items in the space. Store unnecessary or bulky furniture, especially pieces that are damaged or don't fit the room's aesthetic. Arrange the remaining furniture to enhance the room's spaciousness.
Disadvantages of Staging
The primary drawback of professional home staging is its expense, particularly for larger homes with outdoor areas. Costs can vary based on location, home size, and value, often involving design consultation fees and potential furniture rental charges.
For example, staging a 2,000-square-foot home could approximately cost between $2,000 and $2,400 monthly, with many stagers requiring a minimum three-month contract, potentially raising expenses significantly.
While staging can enhance your home's appeal, it's not without its downsides. There's also the effort involved in maintaining a staged home in pristine condition, especially if you're living in it during the selling process.
People also ask
Why is home staging crucial?
Home staging is crucial when selling your home, as it can lead to a higher sale price and a shorter time on the market. It makes the property more appealing by showcasing a lifestyle that potential buyers can aspire to, enhancing their emotional connection to the home.
Additionally, staging helps highlight the home's best features and minimize the focus on any work that might be needed, preventing buyers from lowering their offers based on perceived issues.
Is staging worth the cost?
Staging can be worth the cost if it leads to a higher selling price and faster sale. It enhances the home's appeal, helping potential buyers visualize themselves living there.
However, the value of staging depends on factors like the real estate market, the property's condition, and the cost of staging services relative to potential increase in sale price. It's a strategic investment that should be weighed against these considerations.
Should I stage or not?
Deciding whether to stage your home depends on various factors including market conditions, what similar homes are doing, staging costs, and your willingness to move personal items. Alternatively, you might choose to simply declutter, make minor touch-ups, and rearrange furniture to enhance space and appeal.
