Realistic or not…every home buyers dreams of purchasing a home that belongs in the pages of a magazine.  Staging your home or making it look it’s best, is one of the first steps to putting it on the market.  Since many eyes will be on your home during showings, open houses and all through marketing and promotional materials, this is why you will want your home to look show room ready!  Many sellers feel that doing aesthetic work in preparation to sell their home isn’t necessary and that the buyers themselves will want to make those changes themselves and to their taste – but to sell a home for top dollar in any market you must set yourself apart from the others.

1 – The Exterior Aka Curb appeal –

This is where you will make your first impression.  If the outside is unappealing that sends a strong message to buyers and they may decide to move on without even entering.  Create a lasting impression by maintaining the flower beds and lawn, sweeping the walkway and porch, power wash the siding and freshen up the door and shutters with paint.  Take a look at accessories like the door mat – is it tired looking? mailbox – is it rusted? door bell? – is it working? number plate? – is it visible, clean?

2 – Depersonalize –

Staging your home for sale is very different from decorating your ‘new’ home.  when you move in to your space you want to put your personal stamp on things, set up your furniture for your lifestyle and make it yours!  When staging your home you want to attract the most buyers using neutral tones and furniture placement that shows off flow and the size of the room – highlighting the best attributes if the home.  Keep your style and tastes to a minimum since many buyers with many different tastes will be viewing your space.

3 – Don’t leave the walls bare –

Yes, you want to depersonalize but don’t completely neuter your home and remove all warmth and signs of life.  Removing personal items like family photos, collections and religious symbols is very important but decor items like art, mirrors and clocks add some warmth to the space and can pull a room together.

4 – Create furniture groupings –

Sometimes when sellers want to make a room look and feel spacious they spread out the furniture creating a big open space in the middle.  This arrangement does leave a big, open space but it looks unfinished – which is a big turn off for buyers.  It’s best to create furniture groupings to help buyers envision how to use the space – for conversation, TV watching, reading and more….Be sure to not only have furniture positioned in ways that would make sense for intended use but also be sure to have clear and direct paths through the room – this will give a room a spacious look and feel.  You want buyers to envision the use of the space, how to live in the home and of course, highlight the size of the room but still keeping it cozy for conversation.

5 – Use paint to maximize the space –

The right paint colour can perform miracles.  The right paint colour can make a room appear larger.  We often recommend a fresh coat of paint throughout the home in a light tone but if you don’t want to pain the whole home – paint the space that you need to enlarge the same colour as the room that is adjacent to it.  The matching colours will help the potential buyer’s eyes flow seamlessly from one room into the next and make both rooms seem like one big space.  Bold colours do make a statement but they tend to make rooms feel smaller and more closed off, plus that also a personal statement and taste.

6 – Add extra lighting –

Lighting can make all of the difference between a good viewing and a bad one.  You want to make sure that buyers actually see the aspects and features of the home.  Natural light is a plus, so pull back the drapes, remove heavy curtains all together and bring up the blinds.  For artificial lighting, you need to have enough to make your home feel cozy during evening showings.  Add some floor lamps in dark corners, routinely check light bulbs, add high wattage bulbs or day light bulbs to existing fixtures.

7 – Clearly define every space –

Most of us have a room or space that is a catch-all and it serves many purposes but when it comes to selling your home – that space never translates well to buyers.  That catch-all room becomes a confusing space. Present that space as ‘something’ a guest room, a desk, craft room, study, ply room – it doesn’t really matter  but define what that space is.  Clear it out, remove the junk and set it up as a proper, usable space.

8- Assume every space will be viewed –

Sellers like to think that buyers will just look at the main areas of the home during a viewing.  In reality, buyers will look everywhere (especially if it is a 2nd or 3rd showing). So spend some time organizing cupboards, closets and other storage spaces.  Yes, you are living there but you can keep it neat and organized.  Start with a declutter – go through your clothes and linens (no sense in bring items you don’t need or want into your next home), donate or toss what you no longer need, pre-pack the extras that you want to keep and fold up the towels and bedsheets in the current linen closet – making a beautiful and organized closet.  Same for other storage spaces. A closet that is bursting at the seams sends the signal that there isn’t enough storage space.

9 – Organize personal items with storage pieces –

If you are still living in the home that you are selling you will still have some personal pieces like toys, mail, pet items and toiletries.  The best way to keep the home staged while you live there is to have some easy storage solutions.  Baskets are great for toys, a chest or trunk at the edge of a bed, baskets or boxes in bookcases are perfect for flyers, mail and school items.  For bigger items, like furniture try renting a POD or Storage unit.

10 – Fresh touches impress buyers –

Some fresh details make an impression on buyers like fresh flowers (perfect for open houses), fresh fruit in a bowl on an island is a great pop of colour and sets a friendly tone, plush towels in the bathrooms look clean and luxurious are just a few easy examples.  These quick fixes can really make a world of difference in how your property is viewed by buyers.

Buyers want that emotional connection once they walk into a home, that feeling is so important and home staging makes that connection with buyers – it’s a necessary step in the process of selling your home,