5 DON’TS Of Home Staging Yourself

What should you not do when staging a house? Everyone who’s ever sold a home knows about the importance of home staging – make the house that little bit more appealing to buyers with clever decorating and visual tricks. But what are some of the big NO’s in home staging

 1. DO NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE EMPTY

Cleverly staging a home with the right furniture takes the guesswork out of the process for buyers, helping them visualize living room ideas. Online photos also don’t tell you what kind of room it is unless you put in a bed, couch or desk. Don’t make buyers guess how to use the room and get it staged with the right pieces.

2. LEAVING PERSONAL PHOTOS ON WALLS

Buyers feel awkward anyway walking through someone else’s house, they don’t have to be reminded that this is still your home. Also, although sellers tend not to think about this, for security reasons, you don’t want complete strangers seeing all your family photos of your loved ones. It’s really not that difficult to take the photos down – you are moving anyway, so start packing up your home.

Use some Art but remember if there’s too much art, buyers will experience the home like a museum or a junk shop.

Select and place art and photographs with the intention of drawing the buyer’s eye around the room in a harmonious manner. Years of art on walls will pull focus away from the home and lower offers. 

3. BAD PAINT JOBS

Old chipped paint sends a message that the home is not well looked after. Intense colours will turn many buyers off.

4. DON’T GO OVERBOARD ON HOLIDAY DECOR

if you are selling your home during the fall or Christmas time, we tend to want to celebrate it one more time before moving out. However, that is something that will date your photos if you don’t sell your home quickly. There is nothing worse than looking at online photos of a house decorated for Halloween when your house is still on the market during December

5. LACK OF CURB APPEAL

First impressions count. Whether it’s the front foyer or the driveway that needs a little updating, spend the money. A bad first impression is hard to recover from.

The same goes for backyard landscaping. Make sure things are alive, fresh and dead plants are removed.

Check out my blog post on 3 tips to improve your garden.

BONUS TIP

I know, I know, I’m obviously going to promote home staging right? But the truth is, all you have to do is get your paintwork neutral and leave the rest to a company like mine. Home staging is well worth the investment because it can yield a much higher price on your property than you asked for or expected. A professional home stager knows exactly how to dress a home sympathetically, playing to a home’s strengths and weaknesses, such as turning a dimly lit room into something bright, and a huge sunny family kitchen into the absolute selling point. Some people will even engage in a bidding war to get your property if it is staged in such a way it allows all buyers, imaginative or not, to see themselves living there.

A home staging company will usually include the ordering and installation of furniture and accessories leaving you with absolutely nothing to worry about. Think about adding the cost of home staging into your selling costs, you won’t be sorry when you see the return on your investment.