Staging companies come in and set up furniture in your house in a perfect way that appeals to buyers. This can greatly increase the number of people interested in your home, as well as how much they are willing to offer.
Luckily, you don’t have to fundamentally change anything about your house, just simply reorganize it. Do you want to know their secrets without shelling out the big bucks?
No more clutter
Speaking of clutter, it isn’t important just to make sure that you don’t have papers all over the counter or closets that are bursting with disorganization. Instead, you have to remove the clutter that you might not even notice after years of living in your house.
This is where the staging experts come in handy. Because the home is new to them, they can walk into the living room and see that there is way too much furniture. What could be a loving family room actually becomes cramped.
To avoid this, try to look at your house with new eyes. Of course, make sure all of the top-level clutter, like messiness, is gone, but also make moves like taking out some pieces of furniture to make your home feel larger and more open.
Center furniture
On the note of making your home look larger by reorganizing the furniture, make sure that you don’t have anything pushed up against the wall. Many people would assume that pushing that couch back gives more room to walk around, but this is actually the opposite of what you should do.
If you instead group furniture together, rather than pushing it up against the wall, you can help guide the room’s traffic flow, making it look less empty and more usable.
Never underestimate light
Bright lights in a home accomplish a number of different goals. It will look larger, as well as more friendly and open. Although simply adding some lights seems like such a small thing to do, don’t underestimate it.
What many consider to be a good rule is about 100 watts of lighting per every 50 square feet. Staging experts know how to utilize task light, ambient light, and accent lighting to make your house appear warmer and larger.
Soften the bedroom
As we’ve talked about in previous articles, it’s usually the kitchen that really sells the house. However, this doesn’t mean you can ignore the bedrooms. Walking into a master bedroom where future homeowners can envision themselves relaxing is very important in making a sale.
In order to accomplish this, only choose soft colors for things in the bedroom, from the paint to the comforter set on the bed. Of course, you don’t need to replace your bed, but the bedding should have soft colors paired with a neutral pattern.
Additionally, make sure the closets are as empty and organized as you could possibly make them. Everyone knows that there can never be enough storage space, but making your closet look larger is always a benefit.
Neutral tones throughout the house
Neutral tones are best used throughout the house. Even if you have a beautiful accent wall, bright colors often drive buyers away because they might not like the particular color you’ve chosen and they don’t want to invest the time and money to repaint it.
Because of this, sticking to colors like light gray, beige, or tan is perfect if you decide to repaint your house before putting it on the market. With colors like these, particularly if you are replacing wallpaper with a neutral light gray, will help give your home a more modern feel.
With these colors, people are better able to envision themselves in the home without worrying about their artwork or furniture conflicting with any bright, bold colors.
Strategically place wall decorations
First, take away the pictures of your family and friends that are scattered throughout your walls. Once again, this is about helping the potential buyers see themselves in your house. This is more difficult to do while seeing old family photos.
Then, organize those paintings and other artwork so their spacing and height are varied so more attention is drawn to them. If you’re unsure exactly how to organize your artwork, try imitating some pictures that you see in magazines or online.
Utilize every room
If you’re like my family, you might have a “junk” room, where all the miscellaneous items that you aren’t exactly sure where to put end up. If so, it’s finally time to clear out this room. First, organize, pack, and sell anything that can’t remain in this room.
Then, give the room a purpose. Is it large enough for a guest room? Great, decorate it like that. If not, or if you want to save money, perhaps simply set up some small pieces of furniture to make it a small closet. Instead, it could become an office.
Whatever you choose to do with it, make sure you give the room a purpose other than a simple extra, unused room. If you do this, you’ll add a lot of value to your home and give it that extra kick.
Any projects going on?
We all know how it goes. You start a project with all the motivation in the world after seeing a particularly inspiring HGTV episode, but then life comes along and you keep putting off this project until weeks turned into months (and possibly even years).
Now is the time to finally finish them. Buyers noticed these little unfinished projects and they are a large deterrent. Additionally, if something left unfinished could present a safety hazard, it could make it so your home does not pass inspection.
So, finish those projects and make sure everything is up to code. And, while you’re at it, make any minor repairs that won’t take very long but you’ve been putting off because they aren’t very important. Small things can make a big difference to potential buyers.
Follow these simple tips and you’ll be staging like a pro in no time.
Michele Karl is the Owner/Broker of Priority Real Estate. She can be reached at her her email at sales@allwedo.com or give her a call at her office at 865-577-6600.
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