Staging Your Home

 

In today's real estate market it is more important than ever that your home show in it's best possible light. Here are a few home staging secrets to help you get your home sold more quickly and for more money.

 

1.  Have great curb appeal.  Make potential buyers fall in love and want to come to your open house by adding potted plants and flowers, power washing walkways and patios, and by weeding and mowing the lawn.  You only get one chance to make a 1st impression!

2.  Get rid of items and clutter.  Your house will look bigger for it.  The average homeowner can get rid of as much as half of their furnishings.  Take a hard look at what you have and ask yourself what you can live without, at least until your home sells.

3.  Clean, Clean, and Clean some more!  Pretend your mother-in-law is coming for a visit.  Scrub and organize and clean everything.  Remember people will look in cupboards and closets.  Also pay attention to odors.  Buyers don't want to move into someone else's dirt.

4.  Make Repairs.  Repairs will cost you less to fix than than what the buyers might deduct from the asking price.  Also, buyers tend to fixate on the negative and not remember the positive.

5.  Depersonalize.  Excessive personal items like photos, awards, and collections will make it difficult for the buyers to see past your personal stuff and style.  Take yourself out of the picture so the potential buyers can see your home and not your style and personality.

6.  Apply a fresh coat of paint.  Painting your home in a neutral color will brighten and refresh your space.  Painting is quick and it is the best bang for your buck. If you have a small dining room and kitchen, paint them both the same color.  The same color can make both rooms feel like one big space.  Also, another tip is to paint your walls the same color as your drapery.  It gives a seamless, sophisticated look.

7.  Don't always shove furniture up against the walls.  Floating furniture away from walls and grouping pieces into cozy conversational groups, helps the space be more user friendly and makes the room appear larger.

8.  Pay attention to your home's lighting.  Some of the most welcoming and warm homes have great lighting.  Many homes are improperly lighted.  Increase the wattage in your lamps and fixtures.  Also don't depend on just one or two light fixtures per room.  Make sure you have ambient(overhead), task(pendant, under-cabinet or reading) and accent (table and wall) lighting.  Try to turn all of them on when showing your home.

9. Repurpose rooms.  If there is a room in your home that does nothing but gather junk, make it into something that will add value to your home.  For example, if you have an alcove that is not used, turn it into a cozy little reading area.  An extra bedroom could become an office.

10.  Accessories look best in 3's.  Accessories in a room can make it more inviting, but they are more eye-pleasing if they are arranged in groups of 3. Rather than lining them up in a row, group them in a triangle.  Try to vary the scale of them, with the largest at the back.  For maximum effect, group accessories with similar colors and or textures.

Information graciously provided by:

 

Charlotte Kleen, Interior Designer 5900 South 72nd St. Lincoln, NE 68516 ph. 402.416.9291

 

Charlotte Kleen attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and received a degree in Interior Design.  During her 4 years at the University she completed courses in color theory, art history, and space planning providing her with great fundamentals for Interior Design.  Following college, she went to work as a professional designer with focuses on corporate, healthcare and residential design.  The home staging and design business has given Charlotte an opportunity to feed her passion for design and allows her to fulfill a lifelong dream of running her own business.  Her experience has taught her why certain looks sell and she can help you make your home more desirable to buyers.