How to Stage Your House for Sale
Are you looking to make your home more attractive and desirable for potential buyers? Professional home staging is one of the most effective ways to achieve this goal. Home staging can help increase a property’s value, reduce its time on the market, and draw in potential buyers who could be interested in purchasing it.
In this article, our home staging company outlines some tips for successful home staging. We will cover key things you can do to help your home sell quickly, including decluttering, adding curb appeal, creating an inviting atmosphere with furniture placement, and more. By following these guidelines, you can give your house that “wow factor” that can lead to a faster sale at a higher price.
What is Home Staging?
Home staging is a marketing technique involving the arrangement and organization of a house and its furnishings in order to best utilize the space, showcase unique features, and give potential home buyers an idea of what their dream home could look like. Home staging can be accomplished by homeowners themselves or together with their realtors, or with a professional staging company such as SYH Design. By nature, people are almost entirely visual, which is why attempting to sell an empty, cluttered, or outdated home can often hinder and even delay the process. Home staging is known for helping a home sell up to seven times faster than a non-staged home.
How Does Home Staging Work?
Whether you are trying to sell an empty home, or the house you currently reside in, home staging creates a tangible display that can help potential homeowners envision themselves in your home. Stage Your House uses space planning, along with a mix of furniture and decor, to highlight the best features of each room in your home. This may involve rearranging items or introducing new pieces that will elevate the space and make it more marketable. Oftentimes home staging involves your own input in order to give your home the most attractive and welcoming appearance possible. Here at Stage Your House, we perform a thorough evaluation of your home to provide the most suitable staging options to complement the current style, or even create a fresh aesthetic most suited to your home.
Home Staging Process
The best time to sell your home is within the first three weeks of placing it on the market. To create the appeal that attracts buyers, you would do well to invest in home staging, as well as any updates and repairs that your home may need – whether you choose to hire a professional or do so yourself. Below is a list of home staging tips to help you better understand what home staging entails.
Declutter Your Home
Decluttering is an important part of home staging that can help increase a property's value by making it look more organized and inviting. By removing clutter, a home will be more visually appealing which will draw in potential buyers and make them more likely to make an offer. Decluttering can also create the illusion of space and allow buyers to better envision themselves in that space. Last but not least, decluttering can make the space appear larger than it is, which will make your home even more attractive to potential buyers.
Highlight Your Home's Selling Features
A fantastic way to capture the eye of potential homeowners is by highlighting any unique and desirable features your home may have. Starting with the exterior – a hot tub, porch, deck, or pergola are all positive features that can up your home value. Moving onto the interior of your home – a jet tub, open-concept kitchen, fireplace, or additional storage space are great selling points worth showcasing.
Cleanliness of Your Space
Your home needs to have an inviting feeling to entice buyers, which is why thorough cleaning is imperative. Washing carpets to remove any stains and odors, deep cleaning the bathroom and kitchen, and even cleaning the windows will give your home the sparkle needed to sell.
Extra Storage
Storage options make for easier cleanup and removal of clutter. There is a wide variety to choose from, so picking one that suits your space and won’t look out of place is vital. They should still be kept to a minimum because even too much storage can begin to look cluttered.
Make Repairs to Improve Your Home's Value
It is time to move on to repairs. This includes anything from leaking faucets to refinishing wood floors. Whether you choose to do them yourself or hire a professional, it is necessary to update, replace, and repair any damaged, dated, or broken items so they don’t count as issues for the potential buyer.
Fresh Coat of Paint
Although it may not be necessary for all homes, a new coat of interior paint in one, two, or all rooms is a fantastic way to update the space. Be sure to select more neutral and warm colors that allow the home staging to remain the primary focus.
Updated Kitchen & Bathroom
If there are any two investments you want to make, it is updating the kitchen and the bathroom. These count as impressive selling points that can instantly raise the value of your home. Repainting your kitchen cabinets and replacing the old hardware, removing an old or small tub or retiling the bathroom will help modernize the space.
Layout of Each Room
Once the house is prepped and primed, it is finally time to move on to the staging process. This begins with the analysis of each room’s layout. It is important to take advantage of any striking features such as a picture window, or potential reading nook in order to show buyers the best way the space can be used. This may require the rearrangement of your existing furniture along with the addition of staging items to accomplish the ideal look.
Home Staging
Home staging involves the best use of the space in your home as well as selecting the best style and aesthetic in decor and furniture. There is no point in trying to create a farmhouse look in a space that is more modern. With our expertise, we are able to furnish and decorate your home in the most appealing way possible.
Other Features to Consider
Add Curb Appeal to Increase the Value of Your Home
Adding curb appeal to your home is one of the most important steps in staging it for sale. Curb appeal can help make a property more attractive, inviting, and desirable to potential buyers. It also increases the perceived value of a home, which can lead to higher offers from interested parties. By improving the exterior of your house with landscaping, painting, or other enhancements you can make sure that people will be drawn in by its beauty and charm before they even enter the door. Adding curb appeal is an important step in making sure that any potential buyer is able to see what a great home you have for sale!
Should You Depersonalize Your Home for Sale?
You certainly don't want your home to be void of all charming elements because you want to highlight your home's character and help a buyer envision how they would enjoy the space. However, we do suggest depersonalizing to some extent for a few key reasons. Depersonalizing your home for sale will convey a neutral look that people can appreciate without being distracted by personal items such as family photos or collections. Depersonalizing your home to some extent will create an environment that is welcoming and inviting while still giving buyers enough freedom to imagine what their own lives could be like there. In addition, this helps potential buyers focus on the features of the property rather than any personal belongings which may distract from its appeal.
Contact a Home Staging Expert in North Carolina
At SYH Design, we understand that home staging is an incredibly important part of selling a property. With 20 years of experience in interior design and home staging, our team of experts can help you create the perfect look for your house to maximize its appeal to potential buyers. Whether it’s decluttering, depersonalizing, or optimizing furniture placement that you need assistance with, our professional designers are ready to work with you every step of the way to make sure your property looks its best when on the market. Give us a call at 336-851-1351 or fill out the contact form below to schedule a consultation with an expert who can stage your home for sale!