Open house staging can be scary on a few different levels.
Perhaps the biggest fear for some is that you’ve got to get past any emotional attachment you have to the home. Homes hold a lot of memories, and I know it can be hard to let go, but fear not! Here are some tips to help you get through the process with a little less stress.
Clean it up.
We talk about this all the time: if someone is coming into your home who usually doesn’t, you want them to feel comfortable and welcome. One way to do that is to clean and organize.
This is super important when you’re staging the home. Cleaning up does so much to make a room look bigger. Be sure to also clean up utilities in the kitchen and televisions throughout the house.
To make small spaces look even bigger, consider painting the room the same color as a connecting room. This visual flow from one room to the next will create the illusion of a larger room. Also, check out our tips on How to Make Small Rooms Look Bigger.
Give rooms a fresh coat of paint.
Keep colors neutral in the kitchen and living room, and deeper in the dining room, bedroom, and bathroom. Neutral/light colors brighten up rooms where people gather and deeper colors create an atmosphere of relaxation and intimacy.
Likewise, if you have wooden floors, you might want to consider brightening them up by refinishing them. If there are very few scratches, consider adding an area rug instead. This can spark creativity in the buyer too, giving them the opportunity to imagine how they might decorate the room or chose to let the wood shine on its own.
Make sure you do all of this with enough time for any paint or stain scents to vanish. You don’t want potential home buyers to smell paint as soon as they come in!
Transform storage rooms.
This can be a great way to upgrade your home in a small amount of time. Turn the storage space under your stairs into a reading nook, or the attic with a slanted ceiling into an office space.
Get really creative with creating a mini home gym or yoga room in the basement or, again, the slanted ceiling attic. If you’re artistic, show it off! Set up your painting or photography supplies in one of these rooms. It’ll add character to the house and visitors will immediately envision how they can make the space theirs.
Take care in hanging art.
You want to create a feeling and dimension with wall art. Don’t hang everything in a straight line. Consider arrangements of photos and artwork, and get playful. Searching “photo arrangements” on Pinterest is a great place to go for inspiration if you’re not sure where to start.
Use natural art, too! Flower arrangements brighten up the home in spring, summer, and early fall. Take to your backyard and see what you can gather. This will save money and make for great conversation pieces as well!
Don’t be afraid to take to the outdoors in winter and late fall, too. Grab some fallen branches, spray them gold, and arrange them in accent vases.
All of this will help take your home staging up a notch, and every bit of personality you add will help your home stand out from the rest!
