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Staging Your Home to Sell Quickly this Summer
No matter how corny or contrived you think it is to put a bow round your bath towels or set the dining room table all fancy when no one is coming to dinner, staging can definitely help you sell your home faster and for the best price. Buyers decide based on the feeling they get. It’s emotional. And much of staging a home can be free. Following are some top staging tricks that will raise your staging game to a high level:
One-third rule. When styling a bookcase or built-in shelving unit, think thirds. One-third of the shelving area should have books (hardcover only) distributed evenly. One-third should have attractive accessories, and one-third should be open.
Pull an accent color throughout. Pick a strong color and feature it throughout the house. Turquoise, for example, is a good Florida color, and it ties the indoors to a blue outdoor swimming pool, lake, or the ocean.
What’s cooking? Get a handsome book stand and place a nice cookbook on it open to a recipe with a picture of something delicious looking, as if that’s what’s for dinner.
Clear the closets. You’re moving anyway, so box up and bag off-season clothing items and linens so that closets look airy. People will open these, and you want to show them that there is room to spare. Stuffed cupboards will only telegraph limited storage space.
Project influence. On a shelf in your closet where there is room to spare, set a shopping bag from a high-end store with tissue poking out. It telegraphs to buyers that if they lived here, they too, would be able to afford the finer things in life.
Project luxury. Splurge on fresh flowers. Put a live orchid in the great room, a flowering plant for the kitchen table, and assorted bright flowering plants for outdoor pots. Fresh flowers convey that the buyer would enjoy the best that life can offer.
Project a modern lifestyle. Get rid of anything that smacks of old technology, including land lines, wires coming out of the walls, and intercom systems.
Project good times. Set the outdoor and dining room tables so they look as if company’s coming. Wine glasses, cloth napkins and napkin holders. It shows that its company you care about.
Project happy kids. Hang a prom dress in the teen girl’s room, and park a baseball bat, glove, cap and ball in the corner of the boy’s room.
Project romance. Put a silky nightgown on the bed, or hang one on the closet door. Put two flutes of champagne and a bottle of bubbly and some chocolates on a tray beside the bed. Whether this sounds goofy or not, it actually works.
One-third rule. When styling a bookcase or built-in shelving unit, think thirds. One-third of the shelving area should have books (hardcover only) distributed evenly. One-third should have attractive accessories, and one-third should be open.
Pull an accent color throughout. Pick a strong color and feature it throughout the house. Turquoise, for example, is a good Florida color, and it ties the indoors to a blue outdoor swimming pool, lake, or the ocean.
What’s cooking? Get a handsome book stand and place a nice cookbook on it open to a recipe with a picture of something delicious looking, as if that’s what’s for dinner.
Clear the closets. You’re moving anyway, so box up and bag off-season clothing items and linens so that closets look airy. People will open these, and you want to show them that there is room to spare. Stuffed cupboards will only telegraph limited storage space.
Project influence. On a shelf in your closet where there is room to spare, set a shopping bag from a high-end store with tissue poking out. It telegraphs to buyers that if they lived here, they too, would be able to afford the finer things in life.
Project luxury. Splurge on fresh flowers. Put a live orchid in the great room, a flowering plant for the kitchen table, and assorted bright flowering plants for outdoor pots. Fresh flowers convey that the buyer would enjoy the best that life can offer.
Project a modern lifestyle. Get rid of anything that smacks of old technology, including land lines, wires coming out of the walls, and intercom systems.
Project good times. Set the outdoor and dining room tables so they look as if company’s coming. Wine glasses, cloth napkins and napkin holders. It shows that its company you care about.
Project happy kids. Hang a prom dress in the teen girl’s room, and park a baseball bat, glove, cap and ball in the corner of the boy’s room.
Project romance. Put a silky nightgown on the bed, or hang one on the closet door. Put two flutes of champagne and a bottle of bubbly and some chocolates on a tray beside the bed. Whether this sounds goofy or not, it actually works.
