How to Stage in a way that’s Affordable, Productive and Refreshing!
When it comes to preparing your home to sell most people worry about the time and cost required to complete the process but over my 12 years of experience I have come to find out that more often than not, what you have is much more important than what you don’t have. Most homes being prepared to sell are in need of decluttering and reorganizing rather than purchasing new items to reinvent the space. What it boils down to is that most of us have at least a little too much stuff and at some point in our lives we run out of room for things yet we continue to accumulate or hold onto more and more. Inevitably many of these things are personal to us and personal items are known to hinder a prospective Buyers ability to envision themselves in the space. Another inevitability is the fact that even our generic décor and accessories only stay on trend for so long. Rather than trying to achieve the ever fleeting latest and greatest design trend the important take away is that Less IS More. This old adage remains true for a reason so unless you happen to have unlimited credit at the best designer shops your time and money would be better spent focusing on the following:
- DECLUTTER! Yes, we hear this word a lot but there is more to it than simply throwing things away. Minimizing personal items and the amount of stuff in the space is key but organizing and prioritizing is also important. To do so you can utilize certain design rules such as the rule of three or balancing and anchoring colour in the room etc., or of course you can call a professional like myself who works alongside professional stagers and designers regularly and we can help you out! Nevertheless, you can get started on your own by downsizing what you’ve got and a great way to let things go is to consider whether the particular item has been used, worn, thought of etc in the past year. If it’s been over year chances are that you don’t need it, but maybe someone else will, so let it go!
- Paint! Decluttering, if needed, is number one on the list however painting is proven to be one of the best things you can do to revitalize and add value to a space. First off, how to tell if the room needs the paint or not? If the room is painted a neutral or trending colour and the paint looks relatively clean and fresh your money would be better spent towards staging, however if your paint colour is too dark, too dated, or in drastic need of a touch up then painting should be the first place you consider spending your money. And even if that leaves nothing in the budget for shopping remember that decluttering, cleaning and reorganizing are free!
- Cleaning! I can’t tell you how many homes I’ve seen that had some effort put into staging, with scented candles burning and music playing. While all these are lovely features for a showing I can tell you that if the home isn’t clean all of this is for not. Sellers often ask before vacating their homes for showings, how clean should we leave the home? Some Sellers are even compelled to refuse a showing if they feel their home isn’t clean enough. Having the odd dishes in the sink or mail strewn about is not a big deal, nor will it deter a sale. Fear not. People generally understand that life and the odd dust bunny do happen. However, and this is a BIG however, there is a big difference between a few things left behind and a home that hasn’t been cleaned properly for weeks or months. No amount of organizing, glade plug ins or designer throw pillows can hide a house that’s gone without cleaning for awhile and if a buyer gets this impression their mind automatically questions how you’ve maintained the home in terms of the things that they cannot see and you don’t want them headed down that path. One of the best things you can do after decluttering and painting is one intense all-encompassing spring type clean prior to listing, followed by regular upkeep. Most importantly all of the above make the day to day that much easier and help you to achieve the clean, polished, “like new” feel Buyers are looking for.