Home Staging Secrets

Home stagers have a number of tricks they use to sell a home quickly and for more money. Below are some of the best strategies used by home stagers.

Whether a home is empty or being lived in, some home sellers spend tens of thousands of dollars on home staging when they decide to sell their home. They know that a few pieces of well placed designer furniture or artwork and new paint will change the energy in their home.

Home staging is particularly effective for empty homes because most buyers have a difficult time imagining what an empty home could look like and where furniture could be placed.

Art and Accessories

1. Use framed art that is not too distracting. Do not use pictures that are taped to the wall, pictures that are figurative, or family photos.
2. Vary the patterning and grouping of wall hangings and pictures.
3. Accessories should be grouped in odd numbers and not in a line. Instead of a line of accessories, imagine a triangle and place accessories at each point.
4. Vary the height and width of accessories, but group accessories by some unifying theme such as color, texture, or shape.
5. Fancy soaps and plush white towels in the bathroom can create a spa like feel and subconsciously buyers believe this is a good place to relax and unwind. For the same reason, reading material should not be in the bathroom because it creates undesirable images.
6. Fresh flowers and foliage is often used in home staging. But you don't have to use store bought flowers - similar effects can be created using foliage from your own property.
7. Old fashioned and dated ornaments and furniture should be removed.
8. Talk to a buyers' subconscious by strategically placing a shopping bag from an expensive designer store.

Wall Color

1. Neutral wall hues tend to receive more offers than bold wall colors. Most home stagers recommend against a pure white which can leave rooms feeling cold and clinical. Avoid unusual colors.
2. Deeper tones can be effective in bedrooms, powder rooms, and dining rooms, making these spaces feel warmer and more intimate.
3. To make a small room appear bigger, paint it the same color as the adjacent room. The two rooms will seem to flow together creating a larger space.
4. Paint your walls the same color as the drapery for a more sophisticated look and to make the room appear larger.

Use of Space & Furniture

1. Ensure rooms are what they are supposed to be. For example, there should not be playroom areas in a dining room.
2. Partially empty closets to create the illusion of space.
3. Float furniture away from the walls rather than pushing furniture backs against walls.
4. Place furniture in groups to create conversational areas without blocking traffic paths - this will also make a room feel larger.
5. Use rugs to help define different areas of a room.
6. Try moving furniture around a bit to create different areas. For example, try an extra living room chair in your bedroom, or place a small dining table under a window with a nice view and showcase it as a writing table.
7. If you have a room that has been used for storage, transform the room into usable space by making it an extra bedroom, office, craft room, meditation room, exercise room, etc.
8. Avoid large furniture in a small room because it can make a room appear smaller than it is.

Other Home Staging Tips

1. Remove evidence of pets.
2. Make sure each room has both overhead lighting and ambient lighting. Aim for 100 watts per 50 square feet.
3. Use luxurious fabrics and soft colors in bedrooms.
4. Clean, paint, or replace doors and drawer fronts in the kitchen and change the kitchen hardware.
5. Update kitchen appliances if they are outdated. Sellers almost always recoup the money they invest in appliances.
6. Finish unfinished projects and fix things that are broken. Often fixing something like sidewalk cracks costs less than what buyers would want to deduct from the asking price.
7. Tidy up your front yard and entrance way. Rake up leaves, weed gardens, and trim hedges. Sweep driveways and walkways to create the best first impression possible.