The benefits of home staging are undeniable. From creating visual appeal and highlighting functionality to eliciting emotional connections and standing out in online listings, staging offers a multitude of advantages for sellers looking to maximize their sale. By staging a home, sellers can achieve a higher selling price with less time on the market.
That’s why I’m such a strong advocate for staging and offer it as a complimentary service to all my clients. It’s not always easy for sellers to view their home from a buyer’s perspective or to recognize how small changes can make a big impact. Even as a real estate professional, I experienced this firsthand when I sold my own home last year. I brought in my staging team, confident that I had done a good job staging it myself and that it wouldn’t need much. To my surprise, they made a lot of changes, and these small changes really made a big difference.
WHAT DOES STAGING INVOLVE?
The goal of staging is to showcase your home’s best features, minimize any imperfections, and create a warm, inviting atmosphere that buyers can’t resist.
Staging can be as simple as decluttering, depersonalizing, rearranging furniture, and adding inviting accents and tasteful décor, to bringing in furniture and large artwork. For vacant homes it can involve bringing in all the furniture to create a fully staged and welcoming space.
TOP SEVEN STAGING TIPS CURB APPEAL
Have all your shrubs and grass trimmed, adding new shrubs if needed. Add pots with flowering annuals to the entryway. Curb appeal really does make a difference, and it’s the very first impression the buyer will get when pulling up to your home.
DECLUTTER
It is a good rule of thumb to take down two thirds of what you have out. Keep countertops clear, especially in the kitchen and bathrooms. Reorganize your closets to make them appear larger. Pack away anything you are not going to be using in the next few months.
DEPERSONALIZE
Potential buyers want to be able to picture themselves in your home, and that’s hard to do if all they see are your personal items. Remove family photos, your kids’ artwork, framed diplomas, and personal collections. Pack these items up to take to your new home and replace them with generic artwork.
DEEP CLEAN
Spend the time (or hire a cleaning crew) to do a deep clean, especially in the kitchen and bathrooms. Remember to clean the fan blades, baseboards, and light switches. Remove sunshades and clean the windows inside and out.
REARRANGE FURNITURE
If your furniture is too large or there’s too much of it in a room, consider removing a few pieces or rearranging them. Make sure no furniture blocks doors or walkways, as this can disrupt the flow of the space. Even small adjustments like these can make a room feel much more open and spacious.
CREATE INVITING SPACES
Bedrooms are often overlooked but are one of the easiest to enhance. Change out any bright colored or old and faded comforters for neutral colors and add accent pillows and a throw banket. Add matching lamps on the nightstand for the finishing touch.
KEEP IT OPEN AND BRIGHT
Buyers don’t like to walk into a home that is dark and feels closed in. Remove sunscreens and stack them neatly in the garage. Make sure all the blinds are open, and the lights are on for showings. Turn on any accent lights such as under the kitchen cabinets and side lamps. These not only make the home bright but also add warmth. The chart below from the National Association of Realtors shows the impact on homes that have been staged
STAGING TAILORED TO YOU
A personalized staging strategy ensures your home looks its absolute best, helping buyers see its full potential while envisioning how they can make it their own. Every home is unique, and whatever your home needs, my team and I will make sure it’s ready to wow potential buyers. Best of all, this is a complimentary service I provide to all my clients — so it won’t cost you a thing!
If you’re thinking about selling and would like a free, no-obligation staging consultation or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.