When it comes to selling your home, presentation is everything. That’s why many homeowners work with professional stagers when preparing to put their home on the market. When a home is effectively staged, it can give you a competitive edge and potentially help secure your desired sales price as well.
Not everyone has the budget to hire a stager, however, and going it alone is not as easy as it may seem. Even if you’re an avid reader of interior design magazines or a loyal fan of home improvement shows, you can fall victim to one of several mistakes when staging your own home:
Not thinking about photographs. Sure, your home may look great in person, but will your staging strategy translate well to photographs? Keep in mind that the vast majority of home shoppers begin their search online, where photographs are a deciding factor as to whether or not they’ll consider your home further.
Angling your furniture. Resist the temptation to get creative by arranging your furniture on a diagonal angle. You may think this makes your room look bigger, but it actually skews the perception of space.
Not using area rugs. If you have an open floor plan, you may think bare floors add to your home’s spaciousness, but the lack of rugs can actually make your home look barren. Attractive area rugs are essential to adding some warmth and coziness to your home by delineating specific areas.
Out-of-scale wall art. Eye-catching artwork is a great way to up your home’s presentation factor. Artwork that is too big or too small for your walls, however, will throw off the entire design of a room. A piece of art or grouping of artwork should take up ⅔ - ¾ of a wall’s space.
Not letting in enough light. A bright and airy feel is essential to helping your home stand out among buyers, so make sure your home has more than enough light. For older homes without recessed lighting, bring in some extra table and floor lamps, and in all cases, make sure window coverings are wide open or potentially removed altogether.
Keep these “not-to-dos” in mind when setting the stage for your home’s sale, and you’ll have a better chance of standing out among the competition.
If you are considering listing your home, feel free to reach out to me so I can help you build a plan specifically for your situation to help you maximize your earning potential. You can also download my FREE pre-listing guide by clicking on this link: MR Realtor Pre-Listing Guide. I designed this guide to help my clients prepare their homes for a successful listing.
.jpg)
