(well, as long as the buyer’s loan goes through, we will have sold it!)
{HGTV}
{ok, I made this one up… But don’t worry, I’ll add a bonus pro tip at the end}
{Proud Home Staging}
{Home Staging Brisbane}
{Right at Home}
{The Nester}
{HGTV}
{Dream Works Realty}
Hide your personal photographs, your mail, your kids’ names, your friends’ wedding announcements, memorabilia with your favorite team on it, things that reflect your career, your faith, etc. Everything that might remind the buyer that someone they might like (or not like) lives there now. Don’t leave out anything that could distract potential buyers!
{every staging website, ever}
11. “You’re not selling your house; you’re selling your kitchen. That’s how important it is”.
{HGTV}
12. Buyers make up their minds within the first 15 seconds on your property.
FIFTEEN SECONDS! Practice walking up to the front door and into your property and make everything seen within those first seconds look absolutely irresistible!
{Ed Benning}
13. Get more familiar with Feng Shui.
Whether you believe in “energy flow” or not, Feng Shui is still a great way to balance out the colors/textures inside the house. Think about how you feel when you go to a spa or yoga studio. You get the feeling that it’s a calm, clean, peaceful, relaxing place, right? Knowing a little about the practice of Feng Shui will make your house feel that way, too!
{HG Front Door}
14. Paint everything neutral.
Professional stagers/realtors call this painting everything “contract khaki”. And while it’s not an actual color, it means to paint the walls colors that don’t steal the show: beige, light blue, light green, subtle tan, and white are all examples. We went with Allen + Roth’s Bubbly, Morning Jog, and Sunday Times. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s a light color so that the natural sunlight can bounce off the walls!
{every staging website, ever}
15. Organize the pantry.
We bought the OXO system at Williams-Sonoma for $100 (Bed, Bath, & Beyond and Target had it for the same price). I think it came with 10 containers and they look absolutely amazing! No more distracting, randomly-sized, randomly-colored boxes in our pantry! Plus, keeping all of the containers well-stocked is good Feng Shui!
If you want more uniformity in your pantry but don’t want to spend that much on new containers, Target also sells mason jars with lids in its kitchenware area for about $20-30 (depending on the size). It would give the same organized feel but cost a lot less!
{Home Staging Expert}
*BONUS*
The one thing that we did differently the day that we sold it was go get a twin air mattress, sheet, comforter, and pillows from Wal-Mart and create a faux-bed in a bed-less bedroom. We put it up on some storage bins and covered them with a bedskirt. I am 99% sure this is what finally made the difference.
{Realtor Mag}
“Do we really need to do all these things to prove that our house is great?”
YES! NEVER EXPECT BUYERS TO USE THEIR IMAGINATIONS!
(because they won’t)
Do you have a house for sale? Or did you recently buy/sell one? What kind of advice could you add to this (there is still a ton!)? Don’t you think some of these tricks are just great for your own home? I know we’ll certainly use some of them forever!
Staging is a topic that has endless information! If you are looking for cleaning systems, curb appeal inspiration, furniture arrangements, or paint color ideas, check out my Staging Pinterest board.