Home staging is one of the big buzz words in real estate today but what exactly does it mean? For starters, it is more than just cleaning your home well or moving a few pieces of furniture around. The concept of home staging is about making improvements to a house that increase its’ selling power. It involves de-personalizing and de-cluttering your home to accentuate the architecture and space to its best advantage.

The basics of home staging involve simple tasks such as cleaning, removing and re-arranging furniture to maximize traffic flow, and packing up extra belongings. It also means focusing on lighting, color, and enhancing focal points. Ideally, it is looking at your home through the eyes of the buyer who wants to do nothing more than to move in. Many of the following ideas can be easily accomplished on your own. Professional home stagers, however, are available.

Here now are some tips from professional home stagers:

1.)  Make an impression!
Many prospective buyers make up their minds about your house before they even get out of the car. Look at your house from the curb or across the street. Clean up your yard, rake leaves, get rid of twigs or anything else that is out of place. Sweep the driveway and the porch. Scour your front door, porch, railings, and steps to make sure that all are spotless. Make sure the house is well-lit at night and the house number is easy to locate.

2.)  Unclutter!
Clutter eats away at equity by making your home look smaller. Purge your closets, empty cupboards, and box up small appliances. Take some of the books off shelves and reduce the numbers of CDs or DVDs, pare everything down. Reduce as many stored items as possible. Don’t forget to unclutter the garage and the attic as well. Rent a storage locker to keep what you want then toss the rest.

3.)  Impersonal works!
You want buyers to be able to imagine themselves living in your home rather than feel like guests in it. Stash most of your personal items…family photos, hobby or craft items, sports equipment etc.. Clean dressers, vanities, and counters off. Put away shampoo bottles and cologne and make-up. Remove all stickers, magnets, and notes off the refrigerator.

4.)  Keep it fresh!
Buyers don’t like the smell of smoke, food or pet odors when they step into a house. The easy solution is to open all your windows for 10 minutes a day and let fresh air replace stale, old air. Remember that carpets, furniture, and even walls can hold onto odors and may need to be thoroughly cleaned to get rid of smells once and for all.

5.)  Declare war on grime!
Cleanliness helps put a buyer’s mind at ease since it suggests that you have probably taken good care of your home in other ways as well. So clean everything: walls, door handles, light fixtures, pantry cupboards, floorboards, etc.. Powerwash windows, walkways, gutters, driveways, etc.. Pay special attention to the furnace room since every buyer wonders what shape the furnace is in. That goes for the fuse box and electrical panels too.

6.)  Hire a handyman!
Dripping faucets, cracked tiles, and moldy caulking around the tub can knock thousands of dollars off the price of your home. When selling your home, remember that there is no such thing as “just a little problem” that the buyer can deal with. The buyers are going to be walking through your home compiling a list of all the problems, “little” or big, that need to be dealt with before settlement. The less problem areas they find, the smoother settlement will go.

7.)  Color it up!
Your single best investment may be a fresh coat of paint in key areas of your home. Neutral colors are almost always better than bright or distinctive colors. Remember though that neutral does not mean white. A home that is too bright white looks stark and institutional. Make sure the front door is painted and add some pots of brightly colored flowers on the front step or just inside the doorway. These are small things that make a home seem cared for, different, and important.

8.)  Reduce furniture!
As easy way to create a sense of space is to get rid of some of the furniture. Moving a sofa and end tables into storage can give even a small room some much needed breathing space. So too can storing the table and chairs that normally sit in your kitchen, piled high with magazines and yesterday’s mail. Take special note of the master bedroom as they tend to be areas where too much furniture tends to accumulate. Also, if any of your furniture pieces are from several decades past, consider packing it away and renting or borrowing more up-to-date pieces if necessary. In addition, check walls, end tables, and book shelves and pack away any unnecessary accessories as well. Keep it simple and clean.

9.)  Light me up!
The brighter and sunnier a place, the easier it is to sell. Start by giving all the windows a good, thorough cleaning. Bright, clean windows can leave in as much as 30% more light than grimy ones! Thoroughly clean all the shades on all the light fixtures throughout your home. Change any burned out light bulbs and add floor lamps if any areas seem dim. If you are using lower-wattage energy-saving light bulbs, consider replacing them with higher-wattage lights for maximum illumination. Pay special attention to hallways to make sure they are well lit.

10.)  Add a touch of humanity!
A couple of planters on the front porch, a vase of flowers on your dining room table, a bowl of polished apples or oranges on the kitchen counter, even a simple rose in a bud vase can do wonders to warm up a room. This is the place to let your creativity shine through. The idea is to get away from making rooms feel dull and sterile. Flowers, plants, and candles are great ways to do that.

To complete the staging process, when preparing for a showing, remember to put away things like dishes, laundry, shoes, etc.. Empty all wastebaskets and bins. Put the toilet lids down. It’s nice to have a light vanilla or floral scent wafting through the house. Make sure all pets are crated or out of the way. Leave lots of lights on throughout the house. Leaving soft jazz or easy listening music playing softly also puts buyers in a relaxed mood.

Call me or e-mail me for more information about the staging process or for information on contacting one of my recomended professional stagers!