| 1. Clear it all out. I mean it, girlfriend, move every single thing out of your place. That goes for your beloved troll doll collection, leopard skin rug, and the couch your mom claims you were born on. As sentimental as these things might seem to you, buyers want to be able to imagine themselves in your space; seeing clothes in the closet, family photos, and random tchotchkes prevents them from doing so. Then place back in only necessary furniture, keeping in mind that you want the space to look BIG, CLEAN, SPACIOUS, and UNCLUTTERED. This isn't supposed to be a functional room. Nope. As I did in this living area, you can lose the TV, stereo, side tables, and ottomans if it creates more room. Private Comment
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| 2. Freshen up the style. You may be a diehard Shabby Chic follower, but even Rachel Ashwell would agree that not everyone is. Aim for a style that most buyers would like, even if it's not your cup of tea. Furnishings that seem homey and comforting — yet fresh and contemporary — give an aura that your home is updated and well cared for. Neutrals work best; just add colorful touches here and there. For this office, I used a bright rug to punch in some color and pattern to an otherwise boxy white room. The clear console stands in for a desk (if buyers saw my real desk stacked with papers and dirty coffee mugs, they'd run for the hills). Curtains hide the closet doors and soften the hard walls. Stick-on mirrors from IKEA reflect light and space. Private Comment
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| 4. Don't forget the details. Set the table. It's easy to do and makes a big impact. Buyers walk in and instantly feel welcome, like as if they're coming over for dinner. Light clean- or non-scented candles, place plush towels and fancy soap in the bathrooms, a breakfast tray on the bed, and a pretty book on the coffee table. If all goes as planned, they'll want to stay over forever. Private Comment
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| 5. Play with texture. Wallpaper, pillows, rugs, blankets, baskets, and other tactile accessories can play up texture in a room. It's an easy way for anyone, even my colorblind husband, to add warmth to a blah room. Try grass cloth wallpaper on plain walls that need a little oomph, such as in this master bedroom, where buyers expect to see a little more luxury and style. Private Comment
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| 6. Smart accessories. I cleared this kitchen counter of appliances, spice racks, towels, and cooking utensils and left only a few things: a couple of cookbooks and a shiny tea kettle. Random? Not at all. The gourmet cookbooks give the impression that this kitchen is built for serious cooking. It's called "branding" — and it's what advertisers bombard you with every day. You're advertising your home, so buyers need not know that your cooking skills are actually a fire hazard to your own kitchen. The cookbooks here say culinary creations might have been whipped up here. Private Comment
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| 7. Small furniture, big space. It's the trick of the trade: downsize your furnishings to upsize the room. Here, I got rid of the king-size bed, two nightstands, a dresser, and a bookcase; can you imagine what this room looked like with all that stuff crammed in there? I replaced it with a queen-size bed, a mirror, and two tiny lamps placed on footstools. That's it. The one thing I regret is not ironing those sheets very well; it would have looked so much neater. Private Comment
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| 11. Decorative hiding. It's what Grandma does: throw a pillow over a wine stain, a rug where the cat coughed up a hairball, furniture in front of the crayon mural. It's called decorative hiding. In this upper-floor condo, I covered the fire escape railings with bamboo sheeting and placed an elegant lemon tree in front of it. Boy, it looked so much better and it hid the neighbor's hideous backyard from view. Remember, though, this is just for staging purposes; you'll have to disclose major flaws to the buyer eventually.
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Try out these tips and let me know how it works out. Cheers to the future sale of your home. More: 20 Finds for Staging Your Home Find a home stager near you Photos by Eva Stoyanov |
