By Erin Wright, Real Estate Agent with Windermere Real Estate

Image courtesy of WorldWideStock at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Sellers often ask me about staging, the benefits of staging, how in depth their staging needs to be, and if there are any small tips or tricks to the staging process. These are all valid questions, and ones Sellers should ask. When I go through my listing presentation, I spend a good deal of time on this very subject, to fully showcase the benefits of staging. I also bring a staging consultant to every one of my listings, so we can all go room by room and talk about the best way to showcase the homes features. Staging helps create the first impression, so it is a vital role in listing a home. When staging, there are a few key rules to follow: keep the style neutral, less is more and focus on light.

Neutral Style: Although some Buyers are able to look past a Seller's style, to create a positive first impression, it is best to make the home a blank canvas. This will allow Buyers to walk through the home and picture their own style and stuff throughout the home. A key piece of advice I give my clients is to go through their home and see what elements are more personal in nature or style. For example, the huge family portrait over your fireplace, not the best way to allow a Buyer to picture themselves in the home. The bright red accent wall in the family room will likely also keep a potential Buyer from picturing themselves in your home. When staging, it is best to depersonalize your home, remove most family pictures, and create a neutral tone and feel in all the rooms throughout the house. It is nice to have a pop of color around the house, so to achieve this consider a fruit bowl filled with colorful fruit in the kitchen, colorful pillows in the family room, and colorful towels in the bathroom. 

Less is More: In our day-to-day lives, I think we tend to like to surround ourselves with our belongings. A beautiful chair, decorative plates, and walls full of artwork. However, when staging a home, less really is more. The goal of staging is to make a space feel welcoming and attractive to as many potential Buyers as possible. Space and the size of rooms are two of the most important things Buyers look for in a house. Therefore, placing furniture and decor in a way that maximizes the space in a room is an essential part of staging. One of the key tricks to doing this is to keep the amount of furniture and decor minimal. Let the space showcase itself. So in a normal sized family room, a Seller may have a sectional, coffee table, two chairs and two side tables. Likely, if the Seller removed the two chairs and two side tables, the space would feel larger and more open. Consider what furniture and decor is essential in each room and place it intentionally. Then I recommend my clients rent a storage unit, use a shed, or use a garage and store the remainder of the furniture. This will allow the home to breath and feel more spacious. Also, this allows Buyers to more comfortably move throughout the home. A great rule of thumb is to keep all pathways and open spaces wide enough for 2-3 people to comfortably walk through them at the same time. Often times my Sellers end up liking the open feel better, and decorate their new home in the same manner as they staged their previous home.

Light is Key: Buyers often request homes with great light. This is because the natural lighting of a home can often create positive energy within a home. This is especially true in the Northwest where it rains for a large portion of the year. Therefore, it is important for Sellers to showcase the areas in the home with natural light. The best way to do this is to keep anything from blocking the light. If there are blinds, raise them. If there are curtains, open them. Allow the light to shine in through the house wherever possible. Another great way to create the feeling of a light and bright home is to keep the walls painted a lighter color and have the ceiling painted white. This will reflect the natural light throughout the home, making it feel lighter and brighter. Also, white ceilings give the illusion of taller ceilings, which is a great-added benefit. Another great idea is to allow there to be ample room in front of windows and exterior doors. Buyers love to go up to windows and look out of them to see the light and the view. 

For information on these and other staging tips, feel free to contact me at ErinWright@Windermere.com or (360) 356-1445.