Home Staging Tips

There are many aspects of selling a home that are out of the seller’s control, such as a noisy road or disorganized neighbors. Staging a home properly is one thing that a seller does control and can increase the chances of getting offers to buy the house, not to mention the increased dollar value attached to these offers. Some homeowners even go so far as to hire a professional stager to help them stage their homes.

CLEAN AND DECLUTTER

                The first thing to do when staging a home is clean, clean, clean. A clean home lets buyers know that the owner cares for the home. Along with cleaning, owners should remove all clutter. Do not just take all clutter and throw it into cabinets because potential buyers will be looking there as well. Buyers want to see that there is plenty of storage, and clutter tells them that the home does not provide enough storage space. It might even be necessary to place unneeded clutter in a separate storage facility while the home is on the market.

FURNITURE

                Another critical part of home staging is furniture placement. Placing furniture in the proper locations can maximize space and make rooms appear larger. This does not necessarily mean to push all furniture back against the walls. Sometimes rooms look larger when there is room to walk behind couches and chairs. Also, tall mirrors do not have the effect of making a room look larger. In fact, many times they have the opposite effect. Some sellers have excess furniture stored away to provide more space. Owners want to avoid too much furniture because it makes rooms look small.

FUNCTION

                Sellers want to ensure that each room has an obvious use and is functional. There should be no bedrooms that are used as a storage room. Awkward smaller rooms can be turned into offices with small desks and shelving. Unused bedrooms should have beds and dressers added. Every single room should have a use, and that use should be obvious to buyers. There is another side to this coin, however, as each room should have only ONE use. That means that the office should not be in the bedroom and the couch should be moved out of the dining room.

PAINT

                Everyone who has sold a home has been told about the importance of painting the walls, and there is a great deal of truth to this. Real estate agents always suggest using neutral colors for walls, but that does not mean that all walls should be painted beige. Owners should consider soft yellows and greens along with light tans. Buyers can be scared off by loud colors. Dark colors can make rooms appear smaller, but there are times when dark colors can be useful. This is especially true in bedrooms where slightly darker colors can give the impression of intimacy and coziness. Owners can just paint an accent wall a darker color to get the same effect. Another painting tip is to paint smaller rooms the same color as an adjacent larger room. It makes the smaller appear larger.

LIGHTING

                One secret to staging a home is lighting. Most homeowners overlook this critical aspect. Change the bulbs out for newer bulbs with a higher wattage. Add lamps to rooms that need more lights. Remove old and outdated fixtures. Proper lighting shows off the positive qualities of the home. Besides, what’s the point of all of the cleaning, organizing, and painting if the buyers can’t see all of this hard work?

Next week we will look at staging tips for specific rooms. As always, if you have any question related to condominiums, townhouses, or anything regarding real estate, feel free to contact Realtor Ryan Guilmartin at 617-852-0040 or ryan.guilmartin@gmail.com.