Staging

Nate and I are house hunting right now. In case you were wondering, it's not very much fun. I've decided we are way too picky. As we've been looking I've noticed a few things; 1. yards here in California are teeny tiny, and 2. people don't know much about home staging. Most of the houses we have seen are empty, but there are still things that can be done to make the home more sellable. The main objective of home staging is highlight the positives of the home and downplay the negatives. Here are few of my best tips to get this done.

1. Less is more. You might be in love with your great grandmas collection of vintage chairs and want to display ALL of them, but a buyer is not so interested. Having too much furniture can feel cluttered and make the room look smaller.

2. Make it neutral. Yes, painted walls are fun, but it could also mean more work for a prospective buyer. Most people do not want bright pink walls, and most people do not want to paint, so that one wall could be a deal breaker.

3. Furniture groupings. There is this common misconseption that all furniture has to be pushed up against the wall. It is best to bring furniture in to create conversation groupings. This will make the space seem larger.

4. Update Kitchen. Kitchen remodels can be very pricey, and homebuyers know that. For an easy update you can buy new cabinet doors and hardware and then paint everything else to match. Or, if your cabinet doors are still in good shape you can just paint those as well.

5. Declutter. You see that pile of papers sitting on your desk, and the one on the night stand, and those drawers in the kitchen full of junk. Get rid of them! All this says to a buyer is that there isn't enough room to store everything. It also makes the space look messy, which also something to avoid.

6. Clean! For me when I see a messy home I think, "If they neglected to dust, what else have they been neglecting in this house."

7. Give every room a purpose. Whether it's an office, a closet, a nursey, or a dining room, make sure it is known. That way the buyer has less he has to imagine.

8. Accencuate the positive. If you have a killer view or an awesome bathroom do all you can to draw attention to that feature. Arrange furniture around the windows or beautiful fireplace so the eye is drawn there first.

Photos courtesy of Hgtv.com