I honestly must start by saying that it is often, and usually, well worth the money to hire a professional when it comes to staging your home. Stagers, realtors, interior designers and organizing professionals have knowledge and experience that take the learning curve out of preparing a home for sale. When it comes to larger houses or homes that have a large accumulation over many years, a combination of some or all of these experts is key to bringing in the best price.
If you are someone without those challenges and just want to try it for yourself, here are a few quick staging tips to consider.
Size Matters: Buyers are looking for spaces that will fit all of their stuff.
- Don’t overwhelm your rooms with furniture. This may mean removing an extra chair or dresser to create a feeling of spaciousness.
- Empty rooms do not show well. Furniture gives the buyer reference for how their own stuff will fit.
- Expect buyers to open closets. Pack up your out-of-season items and other storage accessories and leave your closets looking roomy and well organized.
Flow: Make sure people can move through your home easily.
- Keep furniture, especially tall or bulky pieces, away from the doorways.
- Remove any furniture that would obstruct walking down hallways or from room to room.
- Use accent decor that matches from one open area to an adjacent one.
Rule of Three: With decor, three is not a crowd, it’s balance.
- Odd numbers have a magical way of adding visual balance to your spaces.
- Consider groupings of 3 pictures, 3 vases, 3 chairs or 3 pillows in various rooms of your house.
- Keep your group alike in some way: i.e. 3 blue vases of varying heights or 3 beach-themed pictures.
They key to pulling off a well-staged home is to keep in mind that this is a show. You are setting a “stage” to “show” your home. Keep it open, airy and lovely. Staged well, even your smaller spaces can be made enticing to buyers!
