Staging Tips Everyone Should Know

When staging your home for resale, many homeowners feel confident that they have the ability to do it on their own.  The truth is, unless the same space has been professionally advised before, you will be doing yourself a disadvantage if you opt to go at it alone. Getting a professional perspective will allow you to see more than you can by yourself. Furthermore, the professionals have tons of tricks and tips they can share that will allow you to utilize your own belonging to the best of your potential. If you want to play around with things before the stager gets there that is fine, but there are definitely certain things you do not want to do like go hang up a bunch of family pictures! Here’s what you need to know before attempting to stage your home yourself.

1. Clean and de-clutter your house before the stager gets there so they know you are serious about selling your home.

2. Take down all your family portraits. Every stager will tell you this no matter how cute your kid’s pictures are. One trick is to cut out a great picture you find in a magazine and put it over your kid’s 8x10s if you are lacking other artwork.

3. Professionally cleaning your carpets will brighten up a room, revitalize their texture, and promote a clean feel throughout the home.

4. Pack boxes as you go. There is no point moving stuff around from one packed closet to the next. Just pack it up and label it in case you need to find something before you move.

5. Think hotel. When you walk into your home it should feel like you are walking into a hotel. This means that it is clean, conservatively decorated, functional, has nice towels, the bed is completely dressed, and rooms are well lit. All valuable, nick nacky stuff and anything else that says a person lives here should also be put away.

6. Use rooms as they are supposed to be used and to their best ability. This means your third bedroom that has served as a junk room should now be staged as a bedroom. Likewise, furniture should be paired with appropriate sized rooms — i.e. small furniture in the smallest room and large furniture in large rooms. Tip: use an inflatable air mattress plus some of the boxes you packed (they must all be the same size), and a bed skirt to make a mock bed.  Pin sheets together to create a quick duvet cover for any old blanket.

7.  Use Restore-A-Finish™ Oil and a stain pen to bring back the luster of old wood banisters and other craftsman features.

8. Bleach white tile or linoleum floors for a whiter brighter look.

9. Mulch your heart out! Have stubborn weeds? Pour boiling water over them and mulch on top for a quick fix.

10. When all else fails, white paint is the simplest and cleanest looking.