10 Staging Secrets to Make Your Home Feel More Spacious

Maximizing your opportunity to “Wow” potential buyers is what home staging is all about.  It is to make your home be more appealing than others they will be comparing yours to. The number of square feet is not usually something you can control but you can give the impression that less can feel like more. Here are 10 secrets to achieve this:

1. I have a four foot rule. Anything above 4 feet from the floor will contribute to closing in the room so minimize displays on the wall. Anything hanging on the wall should have a purpose and be light in colour.
2. The four foot rule also applies to large pieces of furniture, especially upon entering into a room. If you must have a heavy (in colour) piece of furniture taller than four feet, especially in a small room, keep it to the far side of entering the room and if it works, kitty-corner it.
3. Lighting can make or break a fantastic viewing. Change dimmer light bulbs with maximum wattage for all fixtures and ensure bulbs are a warm light and not a white light.
4. Add extra lamps in darker rooms or corners. Place a lamp in the far corner of a room to draw the eye and make the room appear larger.
5. Portable spotlights are small (5-6 inches), inexpensive, easy to use, and versatile. They are great for giving additional light in a dark area/room or highlighting a piece of furniture by placing the light on the floor and shining upward. Shine it at artwork or architecture and you have an instant art gallery. Another use is to place it behind a plant or screen and direct the light through it creating drama and interesting shadows.
6. A mirror in a pretty frame can make a small room feel more open. Position it at 90 degrees from a window and you’ll open up the space even more. Avoid hanging mirrors over a mantle unless if reflects a good view or is used to add depth.
7. Use as much natural light as possible to make the room feel larger. Remove all window coverings to open the space and allow more sunlight into the room. It may feel strange because you’re used to seeing them there but you are selling windows with the house and not window coverings that are personal decor.
    
   
8. If you must have window coverings for privacy issues, they are in style and of good quality, leave them on but left wide open for viewings.  Install curtain rods approximately 6-12” outside window frames to allow drapes to be wide open to maximum sunlight into the room to make the room feel larger.
9. Clear out closets and clutter. This is where pre-packing will benefit you in many ways but mostly, the house will feel more spacious.  It’s best to store boxes and furnishings off site although buyers are forgiving of storage boxes neatly tucked away in a garage or basement.
10. Remove all area rugs from the floor. Rugs tend to stop the eye from reach the full parameter of the room.

 Tina Parker
 CNE®, CSP™, SRES™, REALTOR®

   

Halifax - Bedford - Dartmouth - Sackville - Waverley - Fall River - Hammonds Plains
Nova Scotia

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902-229-5799

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Tina is author of the book, "Do Your Own Home Staging" and news source for the media.