Kitchen before staging. Courtesy of Sweet Life by Design.
If you’re thinking of moving and planning to put your home on the market, you might wonder what changes you can make to garner a quick sale and get you top dollar.
Home stagers Leah Gomberg of Sweet Life by Design and Natalya Price of NJ Staged 2 Sell recently shared their tips for feathering your nest to help bring in offers.
According to Gomberg, who often teams up with Vanessa Pollock of Keller Williams Midtown Direct Realty, homes that are properly staged sell nearly 90 percent faster and for almost 20 percent more than those that aren’t. So which areas should you focus on when you want to attract buyers? Let’s take a look:
Kitchen after staging. Courtesy of Sweet Life by Design.
1. Paint
Choose neutral paint colors, Gomberg says. But that doesn’t necessarily mean white. Stay away from reds and oranges or anything that’s too dark. The stager recommends grays in warmer neutral tones. Some of her go-to shades include: Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter, Stonington Gray, and China White.
2. Make It Sparkle
A bedroom before staging. Courtesy of NJ Staged 2 Sell
After you’ve lived in your home for a while, you may not realize that some areas could use a deep cleaning. Price suggests hiring professionals to make your home sparkle like never before. If you have a cleaning person, they too may have become immune to dirt in certain areas. Hiring a new team for a pre-sale scrubbing can help your home really shine.
Bedroom after home staging. Courtesy of NJ Staged 2 Sell
3. Create an Easy Flow
Make sure rooms are easy to enter and flow into one another, Gomberg recommends. If furnishings are blocking the path, consider lessening or rearranging them.
4. Stash Your Stamp Collection
Just because you’re super-proud of your Elvis memorabilia, that doesn’t mean everyone wants to see it. Price suggests storing collections so they don’t distract potential buyers who may have a hard time looking beyond your taste and envisioning themselves living there. It’s also a great way to keep your pieces safe.
5. Let There Be Light
Dining room before staging. Courtesy of Sweet Life by Design.
“People respond to light,” says Gomberg. “If it’s dark and uninviting, people don’t have a good reaction to the house.”
The stager suggests adding lamps if overhead fixtures don’t add enough light. Be sure to use the highest wattage possible too, she notes.
6. The Bathroom
Add new towels and elegant soap, says Gomberg. Bathrooms should feel like a spa. “You don’t want to see anyone’s toothbrush,” she says.
7. The Bedroom
New bedding goes a long way to making this space look its best. Gomberg suggests a white throw with fun pillows and advises homeowners to think about how the room would look in a photo to see if they’ve achieved the desired effect.
“Most people today shop online before they ever step foot in a house,” she says. “Think of how will it appear to a young family.”
8. Out With the “Old,” In With the “Retro”
“I always say, ‘You can’t fight a house,'” jokes Gomberg, “which means, work with what you have.”
If your kitchen is old, consider painting it and playing up the retro feel to give it a more hip and fun vibe, she says. Limiting items on the countertops can also help.
Dining room after staging. Courtesy of Sweet Life by Design.
9. Create a Focal Point
Gomberg says she likes to stage rooms to give buyers a focal point. Whether it’s the fireplace or a beautiful view, offer buyers a focus to the room. Placement of the television is also important, especially in older homes, notes the stager, who adds that placing a large TV over a mantel is often what young buyers want. Separating the two creates different focal points and makes the space feel off-center.
10. Skip the Scented Candles
Many sellers think the aroma of a freshly-baked apple pie will warm buyers to the home, but Price says sometimes scents can have just the opposite effect. Candles and plug-in air fresheners are often overpowering and can backfire by creating the impression that you’re trying to hide something. All you really want is for the home to smell clean, she says.
Preparing a home for sale is a daunting task but by making some relatively simple and inexpensive changes, you may find yourself with an offer quicker than you imagined.
For more information on home staging, visit Sweet Life by Design or NJ Staged 2 Sell.
