Home staging – otherwise known as making your home look attractive to prospective buyers – could be the difference between selling or not.
Often, home owners will sell their house ‘as is’, with all of their belongings and furniture inside it. Why not, right?
Well, according to Custom Home Staging and Design, “staged homes sell for about 6% more on average.”
Without ‘staging your home’, you may be looking at reducing the listing price – not to mention that your home may hang around on the market for far longer than it needs to.
Staged homes are, effectively, the difference between the pristine homes you see on Pinterest and any typical family home. Lived in, comfortable, chaotic – but perhaps not the best ‘sales pitch’.
Photo credit: (L) katrinaleechambers.com / (R) managemyair.dk
But where do you start with ‘home staging’?
We’re sharing 8 easy tips below – but before that, we have one essential piece of advice to make your home desirable:
Pretend it’s a 5 star hotel room you arrived at 5 minutes ago.
Okay, it sounds weird, but hear us out… A 4 or 5 star hotel room comes with all the luxuries like little rolled towels in the bathroom, or freshly-cut flowers in a vase – but with the added extra of ‘life’ in the form of a pair of shoes, or a hanging robe, or an open book.
You want your home to look perfect and sparkly, but you also want potential buyers to visualise themselves living there.
No one actually visualises their clutter – instead, they imagine an aspirational version of their lives in your home. No mess, just beautiful, spacious rooms with a few of their most valuable belongings.
So, if after this guide your bedroom feels like a luxury room with a few touches of life, you’re good to go!
8 home staging tips to consider if you’re struggling to sell your house or flat…
- Declutter
- Dabble with rugs
- Bring in life with plants
- Banish bad odours
- Open your doors and your windows
- Use lots of mirrors
- Remove the pets
- Use Pinterest for inspiration
1. Declutter your home
A home full of furniture, odds-and-sods and stuff will not look appealing to homebuyers.
Ideally, you want to maximise the space you have available to make your home to look as big and adaptable as possible.
Putting your belongings in self storage while your house is on the market is a huge help.
Ideally, you would store:
- Large, non-essential furniture like unused desks
- Bikes or recreational items you don’t use regularly
- Boxes of paperwork, files, etc
- Retro relics like computers, old TVs
2. Dabble with rugs
Had the carpets down for a little while? Why not invest in a rug to freshen your floor up a little? It can really tie a room together.
Depending on the rug, you can use it to bring a splash of colour and design to your rooms or make them more homely.
It’s all about presenting the best image and possibilities for your house or flat.
3. Breathe life into your home with plants
Once you’ve put your non-essential items into storage, it’s time to bring a few things in – starting with plants.
Plants are beautiful additions to any room and add a pop of colour to an otherwise neutral palette.
If you can’t keep a plant alive (and we’ve all been there) then a few fake plants dotted around are still aesthetically pleasing.
4. Eliminate bad smells
This might be a bit of a no-brainer but bad odours are guaranteed to put off potential purchasers.
Instead of going OTT with the Febreze, try the old estate agent trick or making coffee or baking bread or cakes. You could even leave these out as a welcome gift to people viewing your home – who doesn’t love free snacks?!
5. Open your doors and your windows
While this will help with good odours, it’s also linked to psychology. Simply put, an open door is more welcoming than a closed one. It allows people to freely wander the property – and again, open doors, curtains and blinds allow more light in.
Also make sure the key selling points of each room can be seen from the door, so people just popping their head in will immediately be impressed.
6. Use lots of mirrors
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s home will look bigger if I use them all? Another bit of a psychological ploy, but having mirrors around will make rooms look brighter and bigger.
You can pick up vintage and ornate mirrors from charity shops – or you can get modern ones for cheap prices at IKEA.
7. Remove the pets
Not everyone likes dogs. Not everyone is a cat-lover. As amazing as they are, other people’s pets can be a turn-off for buyers – even if they have pets themselves!
So if you’ve got a pet, it can be a good idea to not only take them out during home viewings but also remove beds and toys too. And the cat litter tray. Definitely lose that.
8. Use Pinterest for inspiration
From nifty storage ideas to super soft furnishings, Pinterest has lots of ways to present your home as a show home.
We’ve got plenty of boards to help you find interior design inspiration.
Extra tips on home staging
- Shampoo the carpet – a dirty, dated carpet can indicate the house hasn’t been maintained. If you have exposed floorboards, consider waxing and fixing any creaky ones
- Don’t go too far – you still want your house to look like a liveable home, so don’t strip it bare!
- Shelve it – shelves are the big interior design trend this year
- Give them some space – house viewers tend to feel more comfortable if the owners are not in when they visit a property
- Wait for spring and summer – more homes are sold then compared to autumn and winter
- Remember the garden – especially the front garden if you have one, as first impressions definitely matter
Looking for some advice? Check out more of our useful info & guides to self storage
Do you have any killer tips on home staging that we’ve missed out on?
Let us know on our social channels…
