Explore 8 Outrageously Bad Home Staging Decisions That Sellers Make – Part 2 of 4

Welcome back as we continue with the 2nd segment of our series of Outrageously Bad Home-Staging Decisions That Sellers Make!

Explore two more of the “biggest staging sins” made by sellers and our common-sense strategies that could mean the difference between a “Buyer Bonanza” or a “Buyer Abyss”.

From a New York Times article, “The job of stagers is to reverse the accumulated creep of hundreds of small and misguided design decisions and to erase any hints of the messiness of daily life”. Sellers might own a fantastic rug, a gorgeous sofa and high-end accessories but there is a good chance their combined impact will fall short of the “one broad stroke of gorgeousness” that the Times article reports sellers should strive for, with home-staging.

• Remove anything that would put-off hypercritical house-hunters: unusual paint colors, distracting artwork, family photographs. One stager reports planting a photograph of a dog which she believes to lend a neutral and homey ambiance to her staged homes.
• De-personalize by removing items that can be distracting to potential buyers. The ultimate goal is to get the buyers to notice the space – not the wedding pictures.
• Edit, edit and edit some more. When you think you are done, consider having a friend or family member come in and help you decide what still needs to go.

Sellers need to understand they should stage their home to show off its space, light and conveniences. Staging is a design approach taken on with specific objectives of showing off a home’s best features in an effort to turn nitpicking lookers into smitten buyers. Some well-intentioned sellers may decide to stage one bedroom as a Parisian venue, another with a full-scale butterfly scene on all four walls and the third bedroom as a seashore/beach theme – complete with beach umbrella and towels on the wall. Staging a home to create “cutesy” scenarios with absolutely no correlation to the home’s selling features is of NO importance and can create a bargain-basement feel.

• Neutralize bold colors with more traditional or historic hues is recommended, both inside and out.
• If the backyard is a huge selling point, show-it-off by staging it with outdoor dining or living room furnishings.
• Staging a bonus room in a 2 bedroom home as an additional bedroom or home office, can help buyers visualize solutions that can minimize the impact of a home’s challenges.
• Understanding that most interested buyers make a mental decision about a home within the first 3 minutes is important to keep in mind.

We hope you found this 2nd segment of our series of 8 OUTRAGEOUSLY BAD STAGING DECISIONS to be informative and interesting… Watch for our next BLOG POST on July 30th as we continue this series…

To locate our recommended HOME-STAGING SERVICES in Spring Hill and Brooksville of Hernando County, Florida, be sure to visit us at www.homesinthesunteam.com/does-home-staging-work