Staging is one of the most important steps to selling your home.
It may seem a bit counter-intuitive or even downright silly to put so much effort into creating an image to sell, but it has been proven time and time again that the effort pays off.
Homes that are staged are more likely to be taken off the market in a timely manner than unstaged homes.
The process is easy, albeit a bit time-consuming. Staging can bring a higher listing price and help your potential buyers picture themselves living there.
🚪 Open Up the Floor Plan
If you have not moved out of your home, this could prove to be a more difficult challenge.
Open floor plans create a feeling that a home is larger than it actually is.
Removing at least half your furniture and rearranging the furniture can accomplish this goal.
Utilizing a “floating” furniture design is a technique used by professional designers.
Arrange your couches and chairs away from the walls and face them towards each other.
Use an area rug, even in a fully carpeted room, to anchor the space together.
This will create an open area that is perfect for conversation.
🛋 Utilize Every Area
Create a master plan of how your home can be utilized in the most efficient manner.
After staging the master bedroom and one room as a guest room, turn an additional room into a study or a craft room.
Using rented furniture can make the room become anything you imagine. Pop-up furniture may be another wonderful option for staging.
Constructed of corrugated plastic or cardboard and covered with fabric, pop-up furniture looks exactly like actual furniture but at a fraction of the cost.
Do you have a space that is awkwardly laid out? Turn an under-the-stairs eyesore into a storage alcove with shelving and hooks.
Is your room shaped in an odd manner? Use the floating furniture technique to draw the main furniture to the center of the room and put a desk or bookshelf in the dead space.
Create a breakfast nook in the kitchen or put a china hutch in the dining room. Make the most of your floor plan.
🗝 Go the Extra Mile
A milkshake without whipped cream and a cherry is still a milkshake. A trip to the movie theater without popcorn is still an evening at the movies. Same holds true for your staging.
Going the extra mile and adding a few minor touches could make or break a sale.
Set your table with the china you only use on special occasions and give the silverware an extra coat of polish.
Add a moderately sized centerpiece. Put some cut flowers in a vase on the entryway table or add a bowl of fresh fruit to the kitchen bar.
The little extras you can add to your home can set it apart and make it more visually appealing.
Professional stagers and decorators swear by using odd numbers. It creates a visual symmetry that our eyes are naturally drawn towards.
Put your tasteful additions out in groups of three, five, or seven. Put three throw pillows on the love seat, or five pillows on the master bed.
Perhaps use five apples and three oranges in the bowl of fruit on the table. Use seven yellow roses in the vase of cut flowers.
Visually appealing details are important!
🛏 Renovate the Rooms
Take a critical look around your home. It may help to have a friend or neighbor help with this.
Any area that needs touching up or revamping should be marked.
You may like your accent walls and the sports-themed man cave, but your potential buyer may not enjoy the same tastes and designs as you.
Try to create an unbiased space by using coordinated neutral colors. Neutral color schemes do not have to be plain and boring.
You can pair cream or eggshell with natural wood mahogany or even a rich mocha.
Check out color swatches and consider giving your walls a new coat of paint.
While you are at it, replace any outdated or mismatched fixtures. Simply coordinating your fixtures to your color scheme can spruce up a room and give it a new look.
Adding mirrors to walls across from natural lighting sources, swapping your light bulbs to a higher wattage, and drawing the curtains will open a room and add visual appeal.
⚠️ Detach Yourself
Removing your personal effects will help you to detach yourself from your home and start viewing this as a business transaction.
While your knick-knacks and framed photos make your home cozy and personalized, they can be a distraction to your potential buyer.
Take the time to not only remove the items from eye-sight but remove them from your home and put them in storage as your buyer may want to check all the closets and storage spaces.
🏠 Walk the (Property) Line
Take a stroll around your yard. Try to put yourself in the buyer’s shoes and notice things that are out of place or needs to be retouched and revamped. Is the lawn a bit over-grown?
Are there weeds growing in the flower bed or in the cracks on the sidewalk? Does the patio furniture need to be washed or replaced?
You can power wash the driveway and sidewalk to get rid of any spots or stains. Give the porch a good scrub.
Cut the grass to a respectable height and tend to the flower beds. Trim the bushes and ensure the windows are clean on the outside.
Add a welcome mat and a few potted plants around the front door to create an image that your home is well maintained and cared for.
🏡 People (Do Not) Live Here
You want to give your home the feeling of “people live here” without actually looking as if people are currently occupying your home.
While your potential buyers may love animals, they do not want to see your dog’s toys lying in the common room.
They may have children, but do not want to see their potential future home riddled with game pieces and puzzles.
Take the time to scrub everything clean and remove anything that will not help the potential sale of your home.
☎️ Contact Colorado Heart and Soul Homes, LLC
Give Colorado Heart and Soul Homes, LLC a call today at 303-345-3486 to learn more about local areas, discuss selling a house, or tour available homes for sale.
