If you’re like the rest of us you don’t have a warehouse full of designer furniture, accessories and home décor items or a degree from an interior design school. Don’t let that stop you from fashionably staging your home before you put it on the market.
Staging isn’t merely the act of decorating a home; it is primarily an appeal to emotions. A lot of psychology goes into determining colours, textures and furniture arrangement.
You can see this psychology in action in model homes. Every element of each room is thoughtfully chosen to evoke an emotional response from the potential homebuyer.
Overall, the designers hope to create desire by staging – they want to create a sense of longing for the home. How they get there is by making homebuyers see themselves living in the home.
The first rule of home staging
There’s a reason that most articles you read about home staging start with the admonishment to “clean the home.” Studies show that clean homes sell faster and for more money than dirty homes. Makes sense really
And, by “dirty,” we don’t necessarily mean cobwebs and dust everywhere. Something as everyday as a pile of laundry, dishes in the sink or children’s toys scattered about, can turn off a potential buyer.
By “clean,” we mean from top to toe, or ceiling to floor in this case. Yes, it’s challenging to keep it that way while the home is on the market. But, it will help the home sell quicker than it would if you don’t take the time to clean.
Another area for attention is your personal items. Depersonalize the home by removing family photos, certificates and children’s artwork, as lovely as it may be. These things are special to you, not a potential buyer. This will allow them to imagine themselves living in the space and where they might like to put their personal things.
Clutter also needs to go. How many coffee mugs do you have out on the bench? Can the spice rack get put away? Newspapers and old magazines are distracting. Put your personal toiletries such as toothbrush, toothpaste and hairbrush in a draw or cupboard.
DIY staging on the cheap: Start with your furniture
The best way to make a small room appear larger is to remove overly-large furniture. Then, rearrange what’s left so that it advertises the purpose of each room.
In other words, move the baby’s changing table out of the master bedroom and ditch that exercycle in the lounge. These are furniture items that don’t belong where they are placed or will not appeal to all potential home buyers.
Next, arrange the furniture that’s left to maximize space and create a cozy feeling. Pull the living room and / or family room furniture away from the walls and re position chairs, sofas and coffee tables to create a conversation area.
Spiff up kitchens and bathrooms
It’s often talked about that the two most important rooms in a home are the kitchen and the bathroom. It only makes sense, then, that your attention should be focused on these two rooms.
Thankfully, there are easy, inexpensive DIY projects that require nothing more than a bit of energy. Start by removing everything from the drawers and cupboards, thoroughly cleaning the interior of all of them and then returning to them only what is absolutely necessary.
Arranging the contents neatly gives the impression of roominess and storage space is a hot button for many buyers.
Speaking of cupboards and drawers, consider purchasing new hardware for them if yours are dated.
Bathrooms are easy to update on the cheap. A fresh coat of paint (even on the cabinets, if needed), new lighting and fresh, matching linens will help add a wow factor to a dated bathroom.
Additional ideas
Here are some inexpensive ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
- Tour show homes to get staging ideas.
- Consider asking a friend or family member to borrow a staging piece of furniture rather than buying something.
- Shop for decorative pieces at local flea markets, garage sales and second-hand stores. Look for art work, vases, baskets, rugs, mirrors, pillows and any other items you need to stage the home.
- Create focal points by adding colourful accents.
Some additional tricks of the trade include painting, which gives every room an instant makeover, and replacing faucets in the kitchen and bathrooms.
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Brent Palmer – Professional Real Estate Consultant
About the Author: The above article on DIY Staging tips that wont break the bank was written and provided by Brent Palmer, a local leader in the field of Richmond and Nelson Real Estate sales, marketing, advanced technology for home selling, and social media. You can contact Brent Palmer here, or at 027 544 9921.
He has helped many people buy and sell homes in the Nelson, Stoke and Richmond areas for years, and would love the opportunity to help you as well.
Thinking of selling your home? I have a real passion for helping people sell their homes in our Nelson and Tasman Region, as well as the marketing, social media & advanced technology for home selling that goes along with it. I’d love to have the opportunity to sit down with you discuss how we can work together to get you the best price.
I help people buy and sell real estate in the following Nelson and Tasman towns & neighbourhoods: Wakefield, Brightwater, Hope, Appleby, Redwood Valley, Mapua, Stoke, Tahunanui, Atawhai and of course, Richmond and Nelson City. Connect with Brent on Facebook and pretty much everywhere else.
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