As you prepare to list your home for sale, one of the most important thoughts to keep front of mind is how your home will immediately appear to a potential buyer touring it or viewing photos of it through marketing materials. Regardless of location, square footage, or access to nearby amenities, the way your home simply looks has a powerful impact on buyers. Staging, which is the process of arranging furniture and décor (among other techniques), allows you to transport buyers to an imagined future in the home, helping them to envision their life in the property by providing a stylish, intentional design within it that highlights its best features and distracts from any of its less desirable traits. Continue reading for our guide on how to strategically stage your home to maximize its appeal so that it sells quicker and for the best possible price.
1. The Effects of Staging
According to a 2021 profile of home staging by the National Association of Realtors, 82 percent of buyers find it easier to visualize a staged property as their future home, and 27 percent are more willing to overlook other property faults if a home is staged well. This means that even if there is something about your property that a buyer isn’t satisfied with, its beautiful staging could help them put the flaw in perspective and see the bigger picture.
2. Declutter and Depersonalize
If you’ve lived in your home before selling it, it likely reflects your style and taste. However, when buyers are viewing a home, they’d rather not be reminded that the home has been lived in by others, and instead would rather approach it as a somewhat blank slate that encourages them to make their own memories in the space. Removing any clutter, which can make the home look disorganized and seem smaller, is the first step. Next, be sure to put away any décor that reflects your personal style or history, like sports memorabilia or family photos. This removes the home’s past from the equation so that its potential future can enter.
3. Enhancing Curb Appeal
Your home’s exterior is the first impression it will make on buyers, even before they step into its interior and view its beautiful staging. Power cleaning the driveway, walls, and entryway can make a world of difference in refreshing the exterior. Make sure the lawn is mowed and any landscaping is manicured. Bright flowers always add a natural pop of color that immediately welcomes people in. If you have porch or entryway furniture, make sure they’re clean and free of rust.
4. Lighting and Ambiance
Lighting can be completely transformative. Soft, warm light is soothing and casts an inviting glow across a home. If your home has large windows or direct natural light, take advantage of this desirable feature and make sure curtains or blinds are open and allow buyers to see the incredible light the home gets during the day. Lamps are excellent as they double as décor and provide the practical purpose of providing additional, and softer, lighting to overhead lights.
5. Furniture Arrangement and Room Flow
Furniture and furniture placement has quite an important job in the staging process—it has to convey the purpose of the room (e.g. living room, dining nook, office), allow homebuyers to picture themselves using and enjoying the room, add a sense of comfort, and make the room feel open and spacious without coming across as sparse or unfinished. If it’s a particularly open floor plan, furniture can help define and break apart the room, like a sectional that breaks up the largeness of a room, a plush chair in a corner to evoke a reading corner, or a desk in front of a window.
6. Utilizing Art and Décor
Think of tasteful art and décor as the finishing touch to your staging masterpiece. Although it's important to not overdo it with these pieces, they are crucial in bringing a design together, taking it from the ordinary to the extraordinary. Books, unused candles, vases, and landscape paintings all make a home feel more like a home without personalizing it. A fresh bouquet of flowers or lush indoor plants bring in color and a natural element that conveys a sense of care and attention.
From your home’s lawn to its lighting, staging is a top-to-bottom strategic makeover that might seem like extra work in the beginning but will make you grateful you took the time and care to carry it out once your home is sold faster and for a higher sales price. In any market, setting yourself apart from the competition is crucial, and it can mean the difference between your home sitting on the market versus being the center of bidding wars with eager buyers. If you’re interested in more selling strategies or want to discuss your real estate goals, please reach out to me today.