Why Home Staging Matters!

Making your home irresistible to buyers will shorten the time it spends on the market, and will help you get your best price.  

If you fail to attend to the hundred and one little details that can create a positive first impression, you may end up leaving thousands of dollars on the table.

The process of presenting a home to an audience of buyers is called Home Staging.  Think of it as wrapping the home up in a pretty package and tying it up with a beautiful bow.  Ideally, the buyer should be pleased and delighted with what’s inside.

Clutter clearing is an obvious first step.  It can be a good idea to get a dispassionate third party to help you identify the clutter, because it’s so easy, if you live in place long enough, to overlook your own “stuff.”

Beyond clutter clearing, here are some other tips to ensure that your home gets rave reviews:

1.                   Create a clear pathway to the front door .  If the path is overgrown, trim it back.  If it’s in disrepair, fix it.  If it’s nonexistent, create a simple, serpentine flagstone path so that there is an obvious route into the house.

2.                   Paint the front door an attractive color .  The color should create a pleasant but distinctive contrast to the color of the house.  If the door is already painted a contrasting color but the paint is chipped or dirty, repaint the door.  First impressions are crucial.

3.                   Make sure the doorbell is working .  A doorbell that does not work creates a subtle impression that the visitor is not welcome to enter the home.

4.                   Make sure the door opens completely and easily .  A door that is stuck, or one that is partially obstructed, makes it literally difficult for people to get inside.  It also makes it difficult for positive energy to flow into the house.

5.                   Keep the front hallway uncluttered .  Again, the idea is to encourage people to feel welcome, and to make it easy for them to enter the rest of the home.

6.                   Wash the windows, inside and out .  There is nothing more distracting than to look out onto a sunny day through a dirty window.  You want to create the impression that your home gleams.  Start with the windows. 

7.                   Wash the window treatments .  If draperies or curtains have been hanging up for a while, have them laundered or professionally cleaned before the house goes on the market.  Fabric holds a lot of dust and stagnant energy.  The idea is to create a feeling of freshness.

8.                   Put all of your light fixtures through the dishwasher .  Again, the idea is banish dust.  Everything should sparkle.

9.                   Increase the wattage of all light bulbs .  Let there be light!  If a bulb is 60 watts, bump it up to 75.  If it’s 75 watts, bump it up to 100.  Make sure all bulbs are in good working order, and are dust-free.

10.               Consider full-spectrum bulbs.   Especially during the colder months,  standard light bulbs can create a yellowish aura.   To bring the feeling of the outdoors inside, try substituting full-spectrum bulbs (incandescent or fluorescent) for your usual bulbs.  The results can be startling, and can literally ensure that your home is seen in the best possible light.

11.               Have all carpets professionally cleaned .  Carpets can hold odors that you don’t even notice, but buyers will. 

12.               Strip the front of the refrigerator.  Take down all soccer schedules, lunch menus, baby photos, and grocery lists.  You don’t want buyers to get caught up in the day-to-day drama of your life.  You want them to buy your house.

13.               Consider hiring a professional home stager.  A professional interior designer can bring a fresh perspective and can sometimes transform spaces in miraculous ways, just by moving a few things around, or by swapping pieces of furniture from room to room.  I always offer the services of Decorate with Pizzaz! to my seller clients, as part of my marketing package.  Within a few hours, a home can metamorphose!