Welcome back as we conclude our series on “Golden Rules to Staging a Home on a Budget” Series highlighting super-easy and cost-effective ways to greatly increase the odds of selling your home. Over the years, I’ve shared the value of home staging with sellers and have integrated it into my marketing strategies as it plays a huge role in prepping a home for sale. Always remember these “Golden Rules” of home staging when YOU decide to market YOUR HOME for sale: Sanitize, Neutralize, Maximize, De-Personalize and Modernize.
Living/Family Room
- Infusion of natural light is of major importance and appeal for buyers, particularly in the main living area. It is helpful to leave blinds ajar for showings. Vacant homes benefit greatly by not having all the blinds/shades tightly closed. Last thing you don’t want to do is turn-off potential buyers by a “dark and dreary” first impression.
- Proper placement of your living/family room furniture will determine the overall look of the space. Are ALL your furniture pieces placed tightly against the walls of the room? Consider moving them away from the wall and float them on top of a larger area rug to create better traffic flow and the illusion of more space by defining the area.
- An appropriately-sized and strategically-placed green artificial plant can create a visual focal point in large and/or empty living/family rooms.
Kitchen
- Replacing brass or wooden cabinet hardware with brushed silver or stainless steel is an effective way of updating dated cabinets.
- Clean the inside of your refrigerator, ovens and declutter the kitchen cabinets and drawers. Buyers WILL PEEK inside your appliances, cabinets and drawers.
- Make the floor space appear larger by removing any small area rugs. Think of the rug in front of your sink or stove. The visual effect tends to stop the eye by breaking up the space, thereby making the area seem smaller. Also, they can be tripping hazards during showings.
- Flat appliances such as dishwashers and refrigerators, particularly stainless-steel finishes, need to be free of smudges and finger-prints.
- Create a focal point of interest by adding a vase with fresh flowers to the center of the breakfast nook table. Assuming the table top is in excellent condition, remove the tablecloth.
Dining Room
- SET THE TABLE! This creates a visual point of interest in a room that can easily be lackluster after you’ve depersonalized and decluttered. Be careful of over-staging as there is no need to set out every piece of china.
- Remove any extra leaves from the dining room table to make the room seem larger by maximizing the space.
- Assuming the table top is in excellent condition, forego any tablecloth.
- Window treatments can be used to make a room feel larger. In rooms with low ceilings, hang neutral colored drapes all the way to the ceiling which will make the rooms appear taller, thereby amplifying the visual space.
We hope you found our series, “Golden Rules” to Staging a Home on a Budget, interesting, helpful and informative.
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Until then… it’s all about YOU!