Selling Your Home: Tips to Make Your Foyer Fabulous

This is one of my favorite subjects - what to do when selling your home to maximize a buyer's first impression. Not to be redundant, but it bears repeating - "You have only one chance to make a first impression." And it's worth doing everything you can to make that first impression a positive one, especially when selling your house....

Ok, so back to my love of this subject. With Making Your Home's Exterior Show Ready, we covered making your home's exterior sparkle and shine. And with Appealing to the Visual Sense: Selling a Shiny, Sparkling Home and More Home Staging Tips to Sell Your Home, we did the same for your home's interior. This is about a buyer first stepping foot into your home, specifically into your entryway. Optimizing the buyer's initial glance into your home, namely by way of the foyer, is of paramount importance.

Last year, my post 5 Simple Tips to Optimize Your Entryway was based on recommendations from one of my favorites, Nate Berkus. He advocated (1) painting your entryway a bold color to show your personality, (2) adding a console table, (3) displaying a patterned rug or runner, (4) featuring vintage hooks and (5) hanging a mirror. And now, I'd like to offer more tips to make your foyer fabulous and to create a favorable initial impression for those buyers as they first walk through your front door. This time I have researched tips from such sources as Houzz.com, Better Homes and Gardens, House Beautiful, Southern Living and DecoratingFiles.com, and I'd like to share some consistent thoughts and ideas from all of these fabulous home design experts:

• Create a seamless transition from the outside of your home to the inside. According to Houzz.com, "Try to follow the style of the rest of your house [both inside and out] and make your foyer the ambassador of the theme." Think of it like this... when buyers walk inside the door and into your foyer, they know what to expect in terms of design, colors and decorative choices from that moment on and as they proceed throughout your house.
• Don't overlook the importance of your front door. A gorgeous door will impact your foyer from the inside and outside. This is one I hadn't thought about, but now it seems so obvious and makes such good sense.
• Let the lights shine. Having a table lamp, chandelier or some kind of lighting source not only provides brightness to the foyer but adds warmth too. It sets the right tone when buyers walk through the door.
• Add cozy seating options. A chair or small love seat is inviting and adds warmth and practicality. And this is a definite if you are asking buyers to remove their shoes or wear booties while viewing your home. This way they can sit right down after entering your home and leave their shoes behind.
• Keep your entryway simple, neat and organized. This is hard because the foyer is not only how buyers first enter your house, it's also your first entry point. It's important, however, that this area is de-cluttered when buyers step into your home. Otherwise it could be a big, messy turn-off. Put your keys, coins and other paraphernalia in attractive baskets or bowls to organize them. Store coats, hats and mittens in a closet, and display an appealing umbrella stand in the event of rain.
• Convey a sense of your personality, interests and tastes. As Houzz.com reports, "Make your entryway individual by adding family pictures or sculptures from your travels, something that speaks about the people who live in the house." This will allow buyers to have a sense of you as a person - not just as a seller - and will allow them to begin to identify with you, which is a good thing. Personally, I love adding flowers, candles and fun decorations to my entryway table. The only caveat is don't go crazy with the number of personal touches you add to the foyer; simple, neat and organized is still extremely important.
• Make sure your entryway is clean and mud-free. This goes without saying, especially when selling your home. Add a welcome mat outside the front door to catch some dirt, and then have a small rug just as the buyers walk into the house to contain the rest of the yuck. And as mentioned before, if you would like buyers to remove their shoes or wear booties, it's great to feature a shoe tray or boot rack so they have an easy place to store their footwear. It keeps things clean too.

What are your thoughts about your entryway? Have you incorporated tips like these to make your foyer fabulous when selling your home - or even when you're not selling your home and just want to delight in and enjoy the space? And/or do you have other fun tips to make your entryway appealing? I can't wait to hear....

For more information on this or on the real estate market in Weston, Wellesley, Wayland and the surrounding towns, please contact me, Lisa Curlett (781-267-2844 or www.homesalesbylisa.com), to answer any questions or for a complimentary home appraisal.

Lisa Curlett has been in the real estate business for more than a decade and has been a resident of Weston for more than 15 years. Lisa would love to answer any of your real estate questions or help you with your home buying or selling needs. Please contact her at 781-267-2844 or lcurlett@pinnaclehouses.com.