Staging Touches that Make Your Home Irresistible to Buyers

Staging Touches that Make Your

Home Irresistible to Buyers

A home is nothing more than a box holding your stuff. You have memories on film, in china figurines or collector’s items, in books and media and in furniture, rugs and paintings.  Each of these memories tells your family story. The box could look ultra-classy, chic or fashionably retro.  What it won’t do is speak to a buyer. How you live is different from how a buyer perceives your home.  If you had a yard sale, for example, the items you sell would need to be attractively arranged, so a buyer would want them.  It’s the same principle with your house. That’s where staging comes in.

Lose the Clutter

Have you toured model homes?  The walls are sparkling white, the carpet springs when you step on it,  and the accessories are minimal.  There is space in the model home. That’s what attracts you to it. You can visualize your things fitting into the house.  If you want to sell your house, then it must be de-cluttered.  Rent a self-storage unit. Into it you place all furnishings except what you need for every-day life.  Stack your books, collections and all but one or two paintings for each room. Put away the towering floral arrangements, potted trees with Christmas lights and floor-to-ceiling sculptures. Leave each room with one or two pieces of furniture, bare floor and carpet with no floor rugs and only enough decoration to impart a sense of color and texture.  It will look similar to a model home with plenty of space and atmosphere.

Cleaning the House

Nothing turns off a buyer more than entering the kitchen and seeing grease buildup everywhere.  In the bathroom, hair and toothpaste specks on the walls, sinks and cabinetry will make a buyer frown.  Hand prints on the walls and door frames painted with gray prints of children braking their rush into the room can be a turn off to buyers.

After de-cluttering the house, consider these tips for cleaning your home so it sparkles.

• Bathrooms receive special attention from buyers. Scour the glass shower doors and remove soap film from shower walls and tub. One cup vinegar to two cups water will clean it well.

• Kitchens receive attention before bathrooms. Clean the vent over the range to remove grease and dust. Clean the top of the refrigerator and its sides to remove dirt, dust, food particles and hand prints.

• Wipe down every surface in the kitchen with a green cleaner. You don’t want the kitchen to smell like chemicals.  Buyers don’t want to eat food cooked in a kitchen smelling like industrial cleaner.

• Wash the windows. It’s easy to do with a wand washer and a garden hose on the outside.  Inside, the sparkling windows will impress buyers.

• Clean and dust each room as thoroughly as possible for best results.

Upgrades

Upgrades are advisable if the appliances or bathroom fixtures are outdated.  Chrome ovens and refrigerators for the kitchen are trending now. If the counters are scratched or outdated, butcher block or granite counters will look nice. The bathroom might benefit from a new pedestal sink instead of an outdated vanity.  It would show off the space in the bathroom.  Other rooms will benefit from simple refurbishment.

• Brighten hardwood floors with a mixture of lemon juice and olive oil. It’s a natural floor polish.

• Buyers love built-ins.  Accentuate them tastefully so that the built-ins shine and not your collections.

• Bedrooms are for resting. Take out everything but the bed and a dresser.  A few accent pieces are fine, but don’t clutter the space.

• Master bedrooms should impress buyers. Stick to one color scheme in bedding and window treatments. A four-post bed impresses buyers, especially when they have sheer hangings.

• Stage rooms for one purpose. Buyers are confused by multipurpose rooms. They will think there aren’t enough rooms in the house.

• Stage one room with a desk, chair, lamp and bookcase for a home office.

• Stage another room with a yoga mat and soft music as a yoga room or meditation room.

Outdoors

Trim the yard, get new plants and refurbish the deck for a good first impression for buyers. Sand and treat the wood of the deck, place potted plants around, and jazz up the furniture with an umbrella and bright cushions. If you have an outdoor room, clean the kitchen, furniture and fire pit. Buyers like to see themselves entertaining in an outdoor room. Your box should look as neutral as a model home. Buyers will then see the basic structure, and visually place their own stuff in the box. Attractively arranged touches will be irresistible to buyers.