It goes without saying that the number one advantage when selling your home is location, location, location. But right up there with a great location is staging, staging, staging!

If you are putting your home on the market, you most likely want a quick sale and for your asking price. Home staging is definitely a sure way to get you to that goal.

What is home staging?

Home staging is all about illusions. It is the art of creating moods. Staging goes beyond cleaning, preparing and decorating a home for sale. It is all about making a home appealing to all potential buyers. A home that is successfully staged will appeal to all senses of the home buyer so that they can imagine themselves and their stuff in the home.

How do you achieve that when every homebuyer is different?

Staging a home seems simple enough, but it is not just about cleaning and organizing and re-arranging furniture. It takes careful thought that will result in a dramatic scenery that will appeal to all senses.

A professional Home Stager or an Interior Decorator will possess the skills to show off your home in its best possible light and reach its fullest potential. For us, it is like painting a blank canvas. It requires some masterful skills like arranging sparse pieces of furniture in pleasing and eye-catching groupings or vignettes, The use of color that anyone can live with and will love, showcasing architectural details and special features, arranging accessories to add personality without personalizing, and much more

Staging A Home vs. An Empty Home

Selling a house empty is like showing up naked for a job interview! You would definitely not do that (at least I hope not ), and neither should you try to sell an empty house.

An empty house is soulless and lifeless! It’s hard for a home buyer to see themselves in an empty house. When a room is empty, your eye perceives it as being smaller than it actually is. The idea behind staging is allowing the home to show itself. An empty home will likely remain on the market a lot longer than its staged counterpart. So it’s in your best interest to arrange furniture and carefully chosen accessories to show potential homebuyers the possibilities.

Now that you agree that staging your home equals a quick sale and for top dollar, here are some designer tips to help you get it right.

Boost your curb appeal

Many homebuyers will search for homes for sale online and do drive-bys long before they even call a Realtor. Your curb is the first impression of your home and it sets the tone for what’s about to come on the inside. The goal is to get buyers to fall madly in love with your home before they even step out of the car.

• Power wash siding and walkways
• Repair any rotting siding and repaint. Sometimes even a fresh coat of paint on the trim and front door is enough to give the façade of your home a fresher look
• Plant and mulch new flower beds. Prune and trim existing plants and shrubs
• Make sure house numbers are visible from the street
• Wash windows
• If you are fortunate enough to have a front porch, make it inviting with a nicely decorated seating area complete with an outdoor area rug, pillows, lighting and potted plants
• Curb appeal is not just for the front of your home, but also the backyard

Make the kitchen inviting

The kitchen is often referred to as the heart of the home, and rightfully so. That is where most families spend a great deal of time. Your kitchen should be clean, organized and inviting with all appliances in good repair and a lot of storage. You want to give buyers the impression of a kitchen that is easy to use

•  Apply orange oil to cabinets to bring out their natural luster
• Declutter drawers and cabinets. Showcase storage
• Replace or repair old appliances
• Update lighting
• Add hardware to cabinets – keep them simple
• Place potted herbs on a window sill, fresh flowers or a bowl of fresh fruits on a counter. Don’t get carried away with this tip
• Arrange colorful cook books on shelves
• Clear countertops of clutter and distractions
• Always have a backsplash and make sure it coordinates well with your countertop and cabinetry

Get your home sparkling clean

This is the cheapest and possibly the most important step, so get it right. Bring in the pros if you have to, especially if you have a large home

• Steam clean carpet and even tile floors and grout
• Remove limescale from faucets
• Clean all baseboards and other trim.
• Get rid of cobwebs
•  Clean and declutter countertops

Clear your home of all clutter

If you are serious about selling your home and for top dollar, then all clutter must go! It is sometimes not easy separating ourselves from things we have collected, but it is well worth the trouble

•  Clear out closets and drawers. This is a great time to be charitable and donate things that you no longer use or need, or even make some extra cash by having a garage sale
• Remove the distraction of overly personal items like family pictures and collectibles. Remember that you want buyers to see themselves living in your home.They cannot do that with your stuff everywhere. Once you list your home for sale, it technically isn’t yours anymore, so take your personality out of it. You can infuse your personality in your new home
• You can utilize an offsite storage, or store smaller items in an organized way in the garage

Paint is your best friend

Painting is another inexpensive way to freshen up your home and make it ready for the market. Paint color choice is very important. You want to choose neutral colors that have sophistication and will appeal to all buyers, but still have some interest and not  too boring. Now is not the time to experiment with that lime green you’ve been thinking about. If you are struggling with this, you can hire an Interior Decorator who offers color consultations on an hourly basis to help you make the right choices

This is a home listed by Linse Meadows Real Estate where I was asked to pick out paint colors and draw furniture plans for a few key rooms. It is located at 23210 Willow Canyon Drive in Katy TX. View listing here

 

• Keep colors neutral
•  Warm neutrals are great for larger rooms
• Cool neutrals are great to open up a room
• You can go with a darker color in dining rooms, powder rooms or a media room – Sherwin Williams Dorian Gray comes to mind
• Painting cabinetry is a great way to give them a new look – white or a light gray is always a great choice. Sherwin Williams Greek Villa and Benjamin Moore Fieldstone are some recent choices I made for clients

Time to arrange furniture and accessories

Great job if you managed to clear out all the clutter. Now is the time to judiciously bring in only the right pieces that will make your home appealing to buyers

In this case, my client did the staging herself  using the furniture plans I drew for her and pieces she already owned. All these pieces were leftover pieces from her new home.

Here’s an example of one of the scaled furniture plans. This is great to include with your listing to show potential buyers exactly how to place their furniture pieces.

• Style your dining room table to make the dining room more inviting. Buyers will be able to imagine family gatherings if you show them the possibilities.
• Add area rugs to floors to anchor seating areas and define conversation groupings
• Re-arrange your furniture keeping them as symmetrical as possible. Pull pieces away from walls to create an inviting conversation area. Make sure that there is great traffic flow. The goal is to make the rooms look as spacious as possible
• Create a gender neutral master bedroom suite
• Show off closet spaces as prime real estate
• Give spare rooms a purpose that makes sense for the demographic of potential buyers
• Show buyers how to use awkward areas like under stairs and the landing at the top of the stairs
• Bring the outdoors in by opening up the views with the right window treatments. Add fresh flowers and plants
• Bathrooms should look open and airy. Arrange a basket of spa items to show buyers how relaxing they will have it when they move in
• Entice buyers to explore the entire house by placing pieces that will draw their eye and attention
• We know you love your pets, but pets should be out of the home when it’s being viewed by buyers. Be aware of their odors
• Your home should smell fresh and clean. Wickless candles and air fresheners can help, but be careful not to use strong scented fresheners, just in case you have potential buyers with allergies. Baking a batch of cookies prior to an open house will release some wonderful and delicious smells as visitors walk in, and give them a feeling of hominess and hospitality. Remember you want to appeal to all their senses
• Show off your home with the lifestyle that buyers are looking for, even just adding a hammock or a small barbecue area outdoors can help
• Don’t forget to stage the outdoors too, even if you have just a tiny space
• You want your home to look like it has been cared for and maintained, and of course, loved. Help buyers see your home as their dream home

 

So if you are reading this and you have a home to sell, hopefully you have found some great tips and ideas to get you started.

If you live in the Houston area, and you are looking to buy or sell or both, contact Linse Meadows, Realtor. She will definitely take good care of you!

If you need help staging your home, please contact me here

Hoping you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

Be Inspired!