Staging Your Home for a Successful Sale

In this turbulent economy, home staging may give you the edge you need in order to prepare your home for sale and to sell your home faster than you might otherwise. You may be wondering, “What is home staging?”

Home staging is more than just preparing the house for sale; it is about adding the small details that are needed in order to convince a prospective buyer that the house should be purchased. A professional home stager can do this for you, but you have the capability of doing this yourself if you know how to go about the process.

One effective way in preparing a home for sale is to arrange separate furniture pieces into an attractive grouping called a “vignette.” A vignette is an attractive design that gives an energetic feeling to the surrounding atmosphere. This is the feeling you want your furniture to present to the prospective buyer, but that will not happen if the furniture is in disarray and all over the place. It needs to be arranged in an effective pattern to convince the prospective buyer that this is a house worth purchasing.

This can also mean that you may have to rid your house of some furniture, as you do not want to present a cluttered appearance to the prospective buyer either. Professional home stagers have been known to dispose up to half of the current owner's furniture, making the house appear to be much larger than it actually is. This usually will entice the prospective buyer to seriously consider buying the house, since many people are fond of houses with large, open spaces.

Another effective way of staging a home is to make sure that soft fabrics are present, including satin and silk. This helps to soften the rooms and make them look more inviting to the prospective buyer, thereby making him or her more likely to want to purchase the home.

A third effective way of home staging is to add unique elements to areas such as fireplace mantels and bookcases. This helps to draw the prospective buyer's attention to these areas, which can enhance his/her desire to purchase the home.

Professional stagers utilize many objects in their efforts to stage a home. They will use silk flowers, small love seats, plants, mirrors, ottomans, afghans, and pillows in efforts to both make the house look larger than it actually is and to convince the prospective buyer that the house is a warm and inviting place. These qualities can help to make the prospective buyer be more willing to purchase the home.

According to many professional stagers, two of the most important rooms of a home that need to be staged are the kitchen and the bathroom. The kitchen, which is often known as the “heart of the home,” can be effectively staged by placing large bowls of various fruits, such as bright oranges and shiny apples, on the kitchen table. By applying orange oil to the kitchen cabinets, you will not only restore their original luster, but the kitchen will have a nice, refreshing scent as well. Adding colorful cookbooks on the kitchen counter can also add to the heartiness of the kitchen.

The bathroom should be staged to appear as open and delightful as possible. One great way of doing this is to add some baskets that contain scented soaps and smooth lotions and moisturizers in them. This will help to stage the bathroom as an oasis of relaxation and relief from stress for the prospective buyer.

You should also keep in mind that the outside of the home also needs to be staged, as this is the first area that the prospective buyer will see. In the front yard, making sure that the lawn is cut and the hedges are properly trimmed are essential to ensuring that the prospective buyer feels that the house has been well-maintained during your ownership. In the backyard, placing plants, potted flowers, and having colorful plastic dinner plates set on a picnic table can show the prospective buyer that the backyard is more than just the outside of the house, but that it is a place where a family can enjoy quality time together relaxing and having fun.

Staging your home effectively can be the difference between your home selling fast and remaining on the market for months or even years. Effectively preparing your home for sale is the key to successfully selling your home in this difficult economy. By effectively staging your home to make it more inviting and welcoming to the prospective buyer, your chances of selling your home quicker are much better.