As a team we probably view about fifty properties a week, on a slow week. We are good at seeing the potential in houses. We like houses with good bones. We can see past the clutter in most properties and imagine a pristine, empty space. And yet, we are still totally enamoured of a good staging job. You would think that we would be immune to the charms of a throw blanket and decorative fruit. You would be wrong. And you know what? We’re not alone. Most people respond very well to a good staging job.
A house that is well staged leaves the visitor with a great gut feeling about the house. Staging can be expensive, but it usually more than pays off.
You will notice that this blog is not titled “Should You Stage Your Home?” because the contents of the blog would be very short: “yes”. Taking as a foregone conclusion that you will be doing some staging, here are some tips.
Most of staging is decluttering
Clear all surfaces in your house to create calm and open spaces. If you have full bookshelves, take away about thirty percent of the books and arrange the remaining books in an artful way (colour coded by spine?)
Clear your closets
You might be tempted to put all the stuff that you just took off your surfaces into your closets. Don’t do it. Buyers will open all the closets in your house. If they see a stuffed closet, they’ll immediately think that the house has storage problems.
Bedding is important
If you do nothing else, buy a new bedspread, iron out the wrinkles and load your bed with pillows. A china tea cup on top of the latest best selling book on your nightstand? Nice touch.
Remove personal photos
As soon as someone sees your photo, they start feeling like a guest in your house and they stop imagining their new life in your home. Personal photos can also reveal too much of your motivation for selling. I’ve seen so many ultrasound pictures of little babies in bellies while showing one bedroom condos. Now your buyer knows that you are on a tight timeline and you’re probably pretty motivated to sell.
Outsource
The best way to stage is to hire a stager who will bring in their own furniture and expertise. Pro-tip. Don’t be sentimental with stagers. They know what people want and if they stage your house using an aesthetic that you hate and would never choose for yourself, just trust them. They’re making the space appeal to as many people as possible. Don’t be offended when they take down all your artwork and roll up all your carpets. Just go with the flow.
Don’t be home during showings
No matter how well staged your house is, your presence during showings can wreck it all. See above comments on personal photographs and multiply by a million.
★ To see an excellent example of a staging job, check out a sold listing of ours. This condo went from being empty to gorgeously staged. It sold in two days with three offers.
★ Are you thinking of selling your home but you’re intimidated by the mountainous job of staging? Give us a call or watch this video below. We can help make it easier.
