8 steps to stage your home.
Your home is a canvas. Staging your home is meant to highlight your homes’ most attractive assets. This is your moment to make it shine! When the buyer walks through the door your home should look its best, and these ten steps will help you get there!
When you are selling your home you want it to looks its best. That is why staging your home is perhaps the most important step you can take when preparing you home for the market. There are three routes you can take;
The first option, which we will explore in these eight steps, is recommended for the home seller that is still currently residing in their home and plans on either moving their belongings with them upon the sale or selling key items (furniture, etc.) with the sale.
The second method is to have your home completely empty, free of all furniture, all clutter, and all personal belongings. This route is ideal for the seller that is not currently living in the home. It allows the buyer to imagine and picture the lifestyle of their choosing, as opposed to having the influence of other people’s personal belongings.
The third method is to have a professional interior decorator temporarily stage your home. While this is the most expensive of the three methods, it allows the buyer to visualize a well crafted lifestyle that is free of personal objects and clutter.
1. Clean. Clean. Clean.
A clean house is the most important step you can take in staging your home. Above all else clean your home, top to bottom. No one wants to see a muddy floor, smell soiled laundry, or see you dishes in the sink. A neat and tidy home, with a freshly made bed, an organized closet and no visible clutter makes a huge difference in how your home is perceived. The tricky part is keeping it clean. You never know when a buyer might stop by for a viewing of your home. This mean making sure the bed is made every morning, the kitchen is spotless, things are put away, and everything is sparkling and smelling fresh.
2. Declutter & Depersonalize.
For many people this is the most difficult step, but a very important one. While, we all have attachments to sentimental objects, the person looking to buy your home is not particularly attached to the wall of souvenirs from your travels or the family photos hung on your wall. This does not mean you have to get rid of these treasures, it just means it is time to box them up temporarily (you’re moving anyway!). Clutter and personal items distract a potential buyer from what they are their to see, your house. Counter tops and surfaces should be clean and free of all clutter (no food left out, no bags of chips, no figurines of of celebrities on on your nightstand, no paper clutter like mail or magazines), clothing should be neatly folded and put away, and rooms should be decluttered of all unessential items. Hide or discard all visible clutter or personal items. This will allow the buyer to see the beauty of your home without all of the distractions. Simple is better! Empty and organize those rooms!
3. Neutral Decor
Go neutral and simple! Replacing your tie-dye comforter with crisp white linens is an easy start to simplifying your home. This mean taking a hard look at your home and recognizing the personalized decor you may have in your spaces. While a bright purple wall may scream “Fabulous!” to you it can be a huge turn off to buyers. Painting over any garish walls with neutral colors, like white, grey, beige or taupe, is an easy way to create a more welcoming space that helps buyers picture the future of the home instead of its past.
4. Patch & Repair
A little spackle, a fresh coat of paint, a buffed out scratch, all go a long way. Making small fixes to your home a property show that the home is in good repair and makes the buyer more comfortable with the upkeep that they will have to do. Holes, dents, rips, scratches, chips, are all things that potential buyers may hone in on when viewing your property, distracting them from the larger picture. Typically these repairs are quite simple depending on the state of the home, and can be done by you with a simple youtube tutorial. However, if you are not up for the job there are professional out there that are experts in giving your home the once over, repairing trim, patching paint, spackling holes etc. Fix all known problems, this will alleviate many worries the buyer may have and potentially increase the value of your home!
5. Enhance the Exterior
The exterior is the first thing a buyer will see when they come to view your home. So don’t neglect it! Of course this means different thing for different seasons. Making sure your property is kept up, mowed lawns, trimmed hedges, raked lawns, shoveled and salted paths (make sure everything is safe!) are all essential in the showing process. This also means doing a little extra, planting some flowers, making sure everything looks fresh, vibrant, and welcoming. Investing in things that present a lifestyle encourage buyers to imagine a future there. This could be investing in a small fire pit and some nice patio furniture.
6. Repair the Exterior
The outside of your home is just as important as the interior. Make sure the siding on your home is secure, painted and or power washed. Chipped and peeling paint can be a huge turn off. Check your homes exterior for any safety issues, loose boards on the deck, rotten wood, and other concerns. Clean out the gutters and make sure everything is in working order.
7. Let the Sun Shine
Let the light into your home! Open up blinds and curtains to brighten up your home. Natural light makes rooms more welcoming and feel bigger. When showing your home make sure everything is well lit, turn on all the lights prior to showing. Dark rooms feel sad and small.
8. Update within your Budget
Updating can go a long way, and this does not mean replacing and remodeling your entire home. Small and simple fixes like fresh paint, replacing an outdated light fixture, or taking down old wallpaper, can take your home from drab to modern with very little money and effort. There are many simple updates like these that you can make in your home that completely change a buyer’s perspective of your home. Consider replacing your shower curtain, changing the hardware on your kitchen cabinets, refreshing your grout, and removing dated decor.