How To Stage Your Home Ready For Sale!
When putting your home on the market there are many details to take in mind, but there is one component in particular that often gets overlooked, staging your home! Staging your home is such an impactful tool in getting your home sold fast and at value. Yet, for many sellers, it’s the last thing they think about.
Why is staging important?
First impressions are so powerful and a considerable influence when it comes down to making a purchase decision. First impressions are what you first feel, smell and see when you first walk into a place. By staging your home, you have the advantage of managing your potential buyer’s first impression.
How to stage your home ready to sell!
The first step would be to consult with a professional home stager.
So we contact professional Stager and Interior Designer, Lola Castle, from Castle Designs, to give us her input on what are the best practices when staging your home.
We asked Lola why is it so important to consult with a professional home stager?
Lola: Scheduling a consultation with a professional is something that anyone can do, even if you don’t have a large budget. The stager will help you prioritize where you should invest your time and money. They can also help you catch potential deterrents and put a plan together to help you highlight your home’s best features.
Check out this video as Lola walks you through one of Carol Royse Team recent homes for sale, where we had the opportunity to work together on staging this beautiful home.
When asking Lola what are the 5 most significant things that a seller can do to ensure they are creating a beautiful and inviting environment for their potential buyers? This is what she had to say…
Lola:
1. De-Clutter
When buyers walk into your home, they want to be able to visualize living in your home and having their belongings there, not yours.
Clearing off the counter-tops in both the kitchen and bathrooms and organizing inside the cabinets and closets, along with making sure all loose items are either in bins or baskets will give buyers a proper perspective on how much space there actually is.
2. De-Personalize
Make your home as inviting as possible for a wide range of prospects. Put away your personal photos, awards, travels souvenirs, ethnic or religious items.
3. Neutralize
One of the simplest ways to neutralize your home is to use an on-trend neutral color throughout your home, this is an easy and effective way to give buyers a nice refine blank canvas.
If you are concern about everything looking plain, don’t be! You can always spruce up your place by adding pops of color elsewhere, with accessories such as throw pillows, vases and candle holders. Just be mindful of taste-specific artwork, and instead go for neutral abstract artwork (think hotel art!).
4. Lighting
Lighting in a home is everything! It can really transform a room by making it feel either small, dark and dungeon-like to an airy, light, breathable large space. So open up all blinds and shades, remove all heavy valances, curtains, and draperies, to let in as much natural lighting as possible.
Another key to making sure your home looks the best as possible, replace old light bulbs with soft white bulbs. Remove any light bulbs with blue or green hues along with any fluorescent lighting. These types of interior lighting are not appealing to your home or anyone.
5. Deep Clean
Last but not least deep cleaning. We always suggest hiring a professional if possible to deep clean your home, as they will come equipped with all the heavy duty chemicals and equipment needed to get your home spotless.
However, if that is not an option or you fully trust your cleaning skills. These are the areas where you should be paying particular attention, baseboards, walls, doors, floors, kitchen appliances (inside and out), and bathrooms. You may also add a soft smelling scent plugin, just remember to keep it at a low setting to avoid the scent becoming overpowering, as some people can be sensitive to strong scents.
Staging your home does not have to be complicated or expensive, and not everyone can or needs to have their entire home staged. However, if you follow these simple steps before putting your home on the market, you are sure to get started on the right foot.
For more information on our featured professional Home Stager and Interior Designer, Lola Peters, you can visit her at thecreativeproject.com, and if you would like more information on how to sell your home contact The Carol Royse Team at 480-776-5231.
