Ask the Expert: 5 Ways to Stage Your Home to Sell
Take a look around your home right now. If you're anything like us, you've got mail out on the counter, dishes in the sink, and lots of personal items out on every counter. Your bathroom and kitchen probably aren't spotless and your carpets could probably use a good vacuuming. That mess just comes with the territory when you live somewhere day in and day out. But when you're trying to sell your house, it becomes a problem. Buyers are looking in every nook and cranny of your home and trying to imagine themselves living there. So how do you make your living space look like someplace someone else could live? We asked Leslee Ent from Staged, Styled, and Sold how staging your home can help you sell it. Here's what she said:
How to Stage Your House to Sell
Keep the appeal at the curb
One thing every home seller should do is make sure their home has good curb appeal. That means cleaning up any clutter in the yard, repainting the front door and shutters, and putting out some potted plants if the weather will allow. Not only does that make your home look stellar in photos and when buyers drive by, it sends a subtle message that you care about your house and keep it well-maintained.
Make the clutter disappear
Getting rid of clutter is one of the hardest things for people to do when preparing to sell their house. You want your place to show like a model home, so you need to reduce clutter and remove anything that’s not necessary to the functioning of your home. Rather than hiding things in closets, cabinets or under beds (places buyers will likely look), when you stage a home, storage for that clutter can be both functional and fashionable and it doesn’t have to break the bank. You can get boxes and bins with lids from Walmart, Big Lots, the Dollar Store, any low-cost box store. Then you can put your clutter in them and display them in a way that makes them look like home decor, not just storage.
Stage it for the buyer
The main goal when staging a home is to create an atmosphere for buyers that they can imagine themselves living in. For most buyers, it's difficult to look at someone else’s home and imagine how they would do that. If you do some repainting as part of your home staging, you freshen up the space, allowing buyers to feel an added level of comfort when they walk into the room. That's not to say everything has to be beige, because that color has actually kind of gone by the wayside. By using a neutral palette like Benjamin Moore's Silver Song, a soft gray color, you can build a foundation that will help buyers picture their own furniture and art in the room. The same goes for family photos and certain art pieces because these items can become a distraction.
Make it feel move-in ready
One of the most important staging tips is to make your home feel move-in ready and the easiest way to make that happen is to clean, clean, clean. Make sure the kitchens and bathrooms are scrubbed and all personal items are put away. No one really wants to look in the bathroom and see your razor or shampoo. If there are handprints on the on door jambs or a ring in the bathtub it can be a real turn-off for a buyer. Another very important thing is to make sure the windows are clean so the sun can shine in and show the natural beauty of your home! This job is often a lot of work and sometimes it's best to hire a professional cleaning service.
Staging makes the price right
Staging your house is definitely worth it. Not only does it help your home sell faster and for more money, on average sellers can get $2 back on the sale price of their house for every $1 they put into staging. HIRE A STAGING PROFESSIONAL...it just makes sense!
Leslee Ent is the Owner of Styled, Staged and Sold, LLC. Having been in the Interior Design and Home Staging business for over 20 years, Leslee and her Team bring an unparalleled wealth of expertise to their unique design concepts. Whether it's using found objects, an objet d'art or existing furniture in new and different ways, their designs bring everything together in a cohesive manner with the objective of appealing to the broadest Buyer audience possible when Staging...or specifically to the taste of their Interior Design Clients. Their Styling is tailored to fit any Design Style and/or Personality and they pride themselves on the ability to work within any budget.