DoorFly.com: 10 Tips for Staging Your Home

If you are getting ready to put your home on the market there are of course several things that you need to do in order to maximize the amount you get for your home as well as minimize the amount of time it takes to sell your home. These things range from selecting the right realtor, getting a feel for other houses in the area on the market, and then most importantly preparing your home for sale (this is also called “staging” your home). The concept is a relatively simple one where you are basically trying to make your home attractive from multiple paradigms in the hope that it will stick out in the minds of potential buyers as the perfect home for them. Now, this isn’t the time for major repairs or updates (those should have already been done). Staging is the last phase of getting your home ready for an open house where you are essentially rearranging and organizing your home in a way to set it up for a good showing. We collected the following 10 tips for staging your home:

Avoid cluttering the home. If you have a lot of things and just don’t know where to put them all, a storage unit or shed is a great way to keep the clutter out of the home. The last thing you want to do is let the prospects see the home cluttered up. They will take it as a sign there isn’t enough room in the home. The clutter will also lessen the appeal of the home altogether.
Simplicity matters more than you think. When you are staging the home and redecorating the various rooms, you definitely want to take note of the fact that the simpler the décor is the more elegant and fresh it will look and feel. Be sure not to use extravagant decorations that will greatly change the appearance of the place when they are gone or possibly detract from the space. Selling your home is about the space, not showing off your prized possessions.
Accentuate the high points. Every home has a few points that are better than others, whether the home features a certain room or a specific type of ceiling that people find highly desirable. No matter what high points are in the home you are staging, you should do all you can to bring them out and show off the best parts of the home.
Arrange the home for the best amount of open space. When someone is looking for a new home, they generally want it to feel expansive and open. This goes along with the concept of removing the clutter. The idea is to allow them to really picture where their furniture and belongings will go. The more open it is (without being totally bare) generally the better. So find the balance between a space you can actually still live in and a space that buyers can really envision making their own.
Bake some cookies before a showing. When you walk into a home and there was something baking in the oven, even if just some cookies, you will find that the entire feel of the home changes altogether. When someone is looking for a new home, they are probably looking for comfort and somewhere that is cozy, which is just the feeling they get when they approach the home and smell the baked goods (just like Mom used to make).
Freshen up the air in the home. The smell of the home is important, whether or not the new owners are going to have it smelling the same as you. They want to walk into a home that has that fresh smell and doesn’t smell like everything you have had in there for the length of your stay there. Use air freshener, candles, and incense to ensure a fresh smell throughout the home. This is especially important if you have pets and this applies to every room in the house (which baking cookies just can’t cover).
Attention to the floors is necessary. The floors of the home may be under your feet but likely to be one of the first things that a buyer looks at. When people walk in, they want to see floors that are nicely maintained and can be walked around on, when they move in, comfortably. Use rugs and polish or vacuum to ensure that the floors look their best.
Reasonable theme will work best. When someone walks into a staged home, they aren’t thinking of it as being staged, but as being their next new home. They want to see a theme that they can easily follow or that is common, giving them a good idea of what the home will look like once they move in.
Make the home welcoming. If the home isn’t welcoming, the prospect buyers are going to be too uncomfortable to pay attention to the home and will likely just want to leave. Make the home a welcoming atmosphere that others will enjoy enough to consider purchasing for themselves. This generally just mean being as culturally sensitive as you can and using a good dose of common sense.
Create the ultimate family environment. When people walk into a home they are interested in buying, they want to see the home is able to accommodate a family (this again is part of getting it ready for the NEXT owners even if you happen to be single). Using a theme within the home that promotes a more family feel about the place can greatly improve your odds of landing more prospects. You might even consider setting up a board game in an appropriate place for 2 or more to play.

If this isn’t really clear to you, don’t worry… it’s not an exact science. The idea is to do your best within reason to allow your home to show well. Your realtor can also help you know when you have it fully ready so leverage their experience here as well.