We provide some professional tips and advice when home staging to sell:
Ensure that the front of the house is attractive and inviting. Are your rubbish bins visible, do you have peeling paintwork and rotten windows? Is your hedge trimmed? Do you have any colourful hanging baskets or pots? Does any of the guttering need replacing? You need to entice people in, and, assuming you use a for sale board to advertise the property, many people will see the front of the house before even booking an appointment to view.
Ensure your hall is inviting
Create as much light as possible in your hall. If you have an ugly radiator, use a radiator cover. Put some greenery in the hall, and perhaps a mirror to reflect light. Paint the walls a warm neutral colour so people feel cosy. If you have wooden floors, lay an attractive runner to break up the floor.
Clear your house of clutter
We are all hoarders to some degree! Take one room at a time or even a drawer at a time, and sort through every bit of paper, every ornament and every item of clothing. You’ll be amazed how much you throw away! Have four piles: items to keep in your home until you move items that can go into storage until you move items to go to a charity shop or sell at a car boot sale, items to skip. Hire a skip if necessary for a weekend. On average, we use just 20% of our belongings, 80% of the time. It will make a huge difference if you remove excess clutter from your home, and people will be able to see the house instead of all your stuff!
Clean the house
Your house needs to be spotless. Have your furniture and carpets professionally cleaned, remove cobwebs from the ceiling corners, remove dust from under the bed. You’ll be amazed where people look. No one wants to see crusty washing up littering the kitchen. If the place is messy, many will not be able to see past this and will immediately close up their minds to the house. Ensure the house smells nice. Walk outside and in again to check the smell. If you are a smoker or have lots of pets, you might need to work harder to shift the smell!
Neutralise
Use accessories and artwork wisely
Don’t clutter every shelf up with accessories and hang artwork randomly around the walls. Use architectural features to guide you into how to hang your artwork and choose a careful selection of your accessories and position them to create maximum impact. They should coordinate or complement with your décor.
Getting Help Home Staging
A Home Staging Consultant can provide you with a complete analysis of your home and the work required including all colours and swatches. You can then go ahead and do any de-cluttering, DIY or decorating required. At the end the Consultant can visit for a few hours to style the house ready for viewings. This might involve carrying out furniture placement, accessories placement, sourcing suitable furnishings such as window dressings and linen, and creating that all important ‘WOW’ factor!
Contributor: Zoë Beaudro, Property Presentation Consultant
Zoë Beaudro is an Interior Designer who specialises in Property Presentation. She was trained in Property Presentation by Ann Maurice, the original House Doctor. She describes her natural interior décor style as fresh and simple, happily mixing the old and the new with a love of fabrics and furnishings. However, for her property presentation she always has her eye set on what will make the particular house in question sell and works to create change so that the owner can achieve their goal, move on and receive the maximum return on their investment.
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