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Stage Your Home and Sell it Fast
11 Ways to Prep Your House for More Offers and a Quicker Sale
Hi, my name is Susan and I'm a design-aholic. The former W. Coast Editor of Coastal Living Magazine, I now spread my helpless addiction to publications like the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, TIME, California Home + Design, Sunset Magazine, CNN.com, Design Like You Give a Damn II, and, of course, Houzz.com!
Hi, my name is Susan and I'm a design-aholic. The former W. Coast Editor... More »
This real estate slump is a real drag, especially if you're trying to sell your abode. So stage your pad to beat out the competition and draw in more prospective buyers. Most buyers have a hard time looking past pink walls and green shag carpet, so do the legwork for them and present their "new home" on a silver platter. If done smartly, the money spent staging will be made up tenfold in the house sale — and you keep all the hot accessories for yourself afterwards (or unload them on Craigslist).
Here are some tips I used when staging my San Francisco condo. This unit sold within a month and a half for just below asking price. The exact same (un-staged) unit, located one floor down, never even got an offer. So there you have it.
Here are some tips I used when staging my San Francisco condo. This unit sold within a month and a half for just below asking price. The exact same (un-staged) unit, located one floor down, never even got an offer. So there you have it.
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| 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. |
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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 home 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. |
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3. Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who's the fairest one of all? Your room, that's who. Use mirrors liberally to make your area look bigger, lighter, brighter, and encourage sunlight to bounce all over the walls. In this small dining area, the mirror even adds color by reflecting the painting that's hanging in the living area. How's that for working double duty?
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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8. Create vignettes. Set up little scenes that help buyers visualize their potential life in this home. For the nursery, I wanted the buyer to walk in and say, "How lovely, I could totally see my future baby sitting in that chair nicely reading a book." Now, if I can just get my own baby to do that....
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9. Don't forget the outdoor areas. Those spaces add as much interest for the buyer as the interior rooms. For this unsightly roof deck, I added inexpensive bamboo sheeting to the rail, an outdoor rug, small table and bistro chairs, and a few plants. Now the buyers will see this formerly blank space as an additional living area. Bonus.
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10. White is nice. When in doubt, use white in the bathroom. It spells CLEAN, and that's what buyers want in a bathroom. Plus, it matches the toilet. (Note the absence of bath rugs, toothbrushes, and fuzzy toilet covers).
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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. Try out these tips and let me know how it works out. Cheers to the future sale of your home. Photos by Eva Stoyanov |
Ideabook updated on June 11, 2012.
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What did you do with all your furnishings (like the king size bed and night tables) while waiting for your condo to sell?
Thanks for the great tips!
#10 - White is nice - but not white toilet paper. Avoid toilet pix.
Thank you for some great pix!
I often see homes staged with West Elm and IKEA furniture, and the place winds up looking disposable and cheap. Rent decent quality furniture and make up the beds with white hotel-style bedding and it will make your place appear like its worth the asking price.
Staging biz? Offer to stage your friend's house for free. Be sure to photograph the before and after. Then you'll start to have a portfolio that you can use to sell your services to others.
Table settings: It's up to you whether you want to set the table or not. Good point that some like to have a clear table. The point is that the details make a big difference, so don't forget those coffee table books, artwork, accessories, etc.
Great comments about appropriateness for your market. Obviously, highlight the best features of your house. The main thing is that you try to appeal to your own market. The only thing that appeals to everyone is clean, decluttered looks. Finally, if there is any other toilet paper color than white, I think we'd all love to know! White is great when you have absolutely no idea what to do with the towels and are in a time crunch, as I was; just get nice, plush ones. Thanks for your thoughts, everyone. Let's get staging.
I do agree with most of your tips however setting the table would be best changed by fresh flowers. Who keeps dishes on their table for display?
Also, neutral colors are great but don't make a room boring. An accent wall will do wonders to update a room.
One thing is certain, staged homes WILL sell faster and for more BUT not all stagers are created equal. A bad staging job can be worse than selling a vacant house. Make sure our stager has quality furniture. They may be more expensive but remember "you get what you pay for". Also, engage your realtor in this area. They actually work with buyers and know how they respond to a staged home.
It is absolutely true about targeting to your particular market and any good Realtor will work with you to determine who that is. Each stager is different and has his/her own way of working, but the basics of staging are all the same. And it works!
I think we need to get away from the negative criticism of staging. Variety is the spice of life. Every stager has his/her own ideas on how to appeal to a buyer. Staging is to listing as packaging is to merchandising!
There's no doubt in my mind that even modest staging efforts are better than none. Approached properly, it helps the buyer see a home's potential. Most people simply can't visualize. You can't just tell them "accessories will bring in plenty of color" or "you can screen the view with reed fencing." You have to show them. Good staging does just that.
I also have no problem with using inexpensive furnishings here and there for the average property. Even designers like Jonathan Adler have been known to work in a piece from IKEA. It's really more about how you put it all together.
If you use fresh flowers try to find those that have the least amount of fragrance. Use unsecented candles and soaps.
To make your home feel welcoming bake a pan of chocolate chip cookies or a loaf of bread just before open house. Just buy frozen and pop it into the oven. Cheap, easy, effective.
pix of the bathroom should not include the toilet.
The shot could be from the door way with the cabinetry shielding the toilet.
Toilets + toilet paper = TMI!
sf realtor: agree 100% about the table settings. But even fresh flowers can be a turnoff for buyers with allergies.
I've gotten from your website have been a great asset. Everyone thinks the house
is beautiful and love the set table, both inside and out. My only problem is that we
have a sunken family room that has made lookers think twice if they are 60 or over.
Keep the ideas coming!
Beyond the pricing, which is extremely important, a successful staging entails the right wall colors, the correct fixtures and fittings, furniture style, placement, and scale, as well as the overall look and feel of your home. Often times we are hired to restage homes that have been sitting on the market for months, which proves how important the right staging can be.
For examples of our staging style and more information about the work we do, visit our website at www.studiodhome.com or become a fan on Facebook, www.facebook.com/studioDstaging!