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10
Staging Tips for Your Home (“Stage Right”)
by
Penny Carter, Nouveau’s Professional Staging
Consultant
see before and
after staging photos
Staging
your home while you are still living in it can
seem overwhelming at first, but doing it “right”
can increase the perceived value, improve the
chances of a quick sale and help YOU get a jump
start on packing things up!
What
is home staging? Staging is preparing your
home for sale by removing clutter, depersonalizing
it, and making it appear stylish and current.
Think of the way model homes are set up: inviting,
stylish, clutter-free, and lacking in family
photos.
Why
stage your home? Most people cannot envision
their things or themselves in someone else’s
home. Staging a home creatively offers potential
buyers with a “sense” of a room and
yet plants seeds of suggestions as to how they
might see themselves living there and where
they would place their furniture.
People
form an opinion about a place within the first
30 seconds. That’s all the time you have
to make the first impression count.
Here
are the top 10 suggestions I offer to people
when I work with them in staging their home:
1.
ENHANCE YOUR CURB APPEAL: Nothing will make
a prospective buyer drive right by a house more
quickly than a cluttered yard, un-mowed lawn
or shutters that are falling off. You need to
entice buyers to come to the front door. Clean
up the yard. Mow the lawn. Add rich, dark top
soil and some color "spots" toward
the entrance. Pay attention to the outside maintenance
of your home. Spending $200 to enhance the curb
appeal will pay off ten fold.
2.
CREATE AN “OOOH” FACTOR: Ideally,
your entrance should be dramatic and set the
stage for the rest of the house. Making sure
that colors are contemporary and fresh, the
entrance is free of clutter, the scent of the
house is pleasant, and, if you can see other
rooms from the entrance, that the colors of
the walls are complementary, creating a natural
flow into the next room. Fresh flowers from
the line of sight add a welcoming element.
3.
USE NATURAL LIGHT WHEN YOU CAN: Many, if
not most people are drawn to natural light.
Natural light elevates mood, illuminates a room
and can add a dramatic effect as the sun moves
about and casts rays in different areas of the
room. Open the drapes, pull up blinds and CLEAN
THE WINDOWS! If you have a home that is natural
light-challenged, consider purchasing some floor
lamps that shine up toward the ceiling so that
light can be reflected down.
4.
PACK IT UP! You are going to move anyway,
why not get a head start on packing? Take a
look around. Pack up all personal items (photos,
the vase your son made you in art class, the
To Do list on the wall, etc.) THEN, take a look
at what is simply “eye candy.” Pack
these things up too. OR, better yet, make a
box for donations. You can take the tax write
off at the end of the year! Have someone come
in and double check your work. You are often
too close to the situation to do it well. ALSO
- people will look in your closets. Pack up
everything you know you won’t be wearing
in the next 30 days. Then pack a bit more! Clear
out one-third to one-half of the clothing from
your closets. Make sure the closets are neat
and tidy. Make sure the garage is tidy as well.
You may need to use this as a storage location,
but it can still be made orderly.
5.
BASICS: Do the carpets need to be cleaned?
Do you need to re-grout the bathroom or kitchen
tile? Should you pull up the carpeting to expose
the wood floors? (YES! - it’s a great selling
point!) Does the house need to be professionally
cleaned (windows too!)? Try to think about what
you would look for if you were looking at your
home to purchase.
6.
ART: Hmmm. I wonder if I should leave the
collection of “Dia de los muertos”
dolls out. They ARE colorful! (NOT!) You may
have spent many hours and many more dollars
on unique art from many places. These are things
that hold a great deal of meaning for you. But,
these are not things that need to be
vying for a buyer’s attention. And, after
all, we are trying to sell a house, not
an art collection. I almost always recommend
most art - but not all - gets removed. I use
larger pieces on walls, over fireplaces, in
a large entry. But having multiple smaller pieces
(on a wall or table) can be distracting. This
is a general rule of thumb - and not always
appropriate. ALSO - the strategic placement
of mirrors can make a room look larger and reflect
back light - if placed opposite or cornered
to a window.
7.
PLACEMENT OF FURNITURE: Appropriate furniture
placement can be an art form. The key is to
make sure the room appears balanced. There is
not usually only one way to do this, but there
is usually one way that looks and feels best.
First of all, you need to pull out furniture
that is extraneous, pieces that by their removal
help to create more physical space and can make
a small room feel larger. A few large pieces
in a small room is better than multiple small
pieces in a small room. They will also be easier
to place.
8.
GO GREEN (and red or pink or white….):
Using live plants in a home adds a calming,
nurturing element and looks great with any décor.
If your furniture has an Asian feel to it, consider
a large pot with bamboo. Use of fresh flowers
in strategic places (entries, dining room tables,
living room coffee tables, kitchen counters)
brings a splash of color and creates a fresh
feeling.
9.
MAKING SCENTS: While it goes against common
advice, I really hate it when people bake cookies
at open houses. Number one, I’m usually
on a diet, and it’s just too tempting.
Number two - I simply think it everyone knows
what you are trying to do. Serving cookies is
okay, but I’d rather come into a home with
a fresh scent - say, a light grapefruit candle,
than the sweet smell of cookies baking. This
may be just my bias. The REAL issue is making
sure that no bad odors are present. Get rid
of the cat and the cat box for the day. Get
a new garbage can, if necessary. Make sure any
carpet accidents don’t have a lingering
aroma.
Finally,
10.
DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY! Whether it
is a professional stager making suggestions
about your home, décor or furniture placement,
or a potential buyer making a comment on your
choice of color in a particular room - Don’t
take it personally! Your home is full of memories
and life experiences - which you will always
have and be able to cherish. But when your home
is on the market, you need to stay focused on
the end result: the sale!
One
further note: The moment you put your house
on the market, it helps to stop thinking of
it as your house; think of it as now belonging
to the next owner. This may help when determining
whether to leave out Billy’s trophy collection
or that set of antique beer steins.
For
more information on professional staging, contact
Penny Carter, Home Stage Consultants, “Helping
You See Your Home Through the Eyes of Its Next
Owner,” 503.310.7832
before
and after staging photos
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