When it comes to selling your home, visual appeal matters. Walking into a home for the first time should feel like a magical and comforting experience for potential buyers. They want to feel at home. They want to picture themselves and their family there for years to come. Buying a home has a lot to do with checking off boxes on a wants and needs list, but it also comes with the need for a deep emotional connection to the place, something sellers all too often forget. Whether you’ve moved out of your home before selling or wanted to completely depersonalized the space, there are still ways to make your house feel like a home for buyers.
Home staging is the best way to attract buyers and seal the deal on making your house a home. Not sure where to start when it comes to staging? I can help.
What is home staging?
In the simplest terms, home staging is the way you prepare your home for sale. Whether you use your own home furniture and decor or items you rent from a local staging company, getting your home aesthetically ready is imperative to closing the deal on your home for top dollar.
Here are my five favorite ways to stage a home.
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Well-manicured curb appeal makes all the difference.
The front yard and exterior of the home are the first things that a potential buyer notices and inspects. It sets the mood for the remainder of the house. If the curb appeal is lacking and the home’s exterior is subpar, most buyers will instantly feel turned off about the home, even if the interior is beautiful. Before you list your home for sale, take some time to manicure the front yard, bushes, flower beds, and exterior of your home. Get rid of any old front porch furniture and decor and replace it with something that compliments the space without feeling too bulky. Remove seasonal decorations. Consider power washing the exterior of your home along with the front steps and porch. Create a comfortable and welcoming feel by adding a new doormat and a few potted plants or flowers around the front entrance.
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Kitchens sell houses.
If you want to sell your home for top dollar, consider giving your kitchen a clean and straightforward facelift before adding your listing to the local market. Get rid of any clutter on your counters, organize the contents on the interior cabinets and in the pantry. Depersonalize by removing mail and other personal documents from your countertops. Give your cabinets a fresh coat of paint. Ensure the entirety of the space is tidy in appearance and smells clean by adding fresh flowers, a floral plugin, or a welcoming candle.
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Furniture placement is key.
The main goal of furniture rearrangement is to make your home feel spacious and flow well from room to room. One of the most important things to most buyers is the overall layout of a home. Make as much room for walking in each area as possible. Remove oversized furniture that may make a room feel more closed in and cluttered when possible. Leave pieces of furniture that match the room’s design and act as functional pieces to give the potential buyers a better idea of the ideal layout in each area.
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Office space is essential.
In a fast-paced digital world, at-home office space is a big selling point to many potential buyers. As many throughout the country have shifted to a work-from-home environment for the foreseeable future, designated office space is the gold standard of bonuses rooms in a home. If you are selling a home with many bedrooms, consider converting one to be staged like an at-home office instead of another bedroom.
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Cleanliness matters.
Before putting your home on the market, a basic but essential task is to clean it thoroughly from top to bottom. Ensure that high surface areas are at their best and more prominent focal pieces are in pristine shape. Don’t forget to clean the walls, baseboards, cabinets, and window sills; these spaces are often overlooked but important to a potential buyer. A clean house speaks volumes about how you’ve taken care of the home while you’ve lived there.
Although my five favorite tips for home staging are listed above, there are many viable ways to sell your home with staging.
Some of my other favorite ideas include:
- Adding in fresh elements like flowers and plants throughout your home.
- Ensuring your home feels bright and inviting by changing out all lightbulbs and opening blinds and curtains to let the natural light flow through.
- Repainting bright and unique walls to more neutral and muted tones to attract a wider array of potential buyers.
- Removing loud wallpaper that may be distracting to a general audience of people.
When it comes to selling your home, staging can make or break your sale. You don’t need to fork over a ton of money to make your home feel more open, flowy, clean, or updated. Instead, simply stick to steps that make the most sense from a buyer’s perspective. Potential buyers want to feel at home when they walk through the door, so ensure that your place is welcoming, clean, and inviting. If you’re hoping to sell your home this year and are still unsure if your current staging is the right fit for your place, contact me. I would love to help sell for top dollar with a beautifully staged home.
