Don’t Make These Home Staging Mistakes
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Staging your home for sale is an important step when you’re selling your home to help potential buyers see themselves in your space. But when staging your home, it’s easy to make mistakes that can detract from your home. Be sure to avoid these all-to-common home staging errors.
Letting the décor upstage your home. Let the beauty of your home shine through by putting away eclectic décor and making your home look inviting. Be sure to pare down your furniture to the bare minimum, use the right size furniture and area rugs, and let the light shine through clean and uncovered windows so as not to distract the buyer.
Lived-in is okay. Untidy is not. Make sure the house smells fresh, pet odors have been eliminated and trash bins are clean, empty, and out of sight. Your home should look lived in but well-kept. No need to stage with fake bowls of fruit or flowers. Megan Croteau from Nancy Kingston Realty suggests, “Walk through your home as if you’re a first-time visitor to help you identify areas that need extra attention, such as wiping down light switches, doorknobs, and high-traffic areas. It’s amazing how a little extra cleaning can make a big difference in how your home feels to potential buyers!”
Leaving cluttered countertops and flat surfaces. Cluttered countertops tell a client that the storage in the home isn’t sufficient to hold all their belongings. Declutter flat surfaces from kitchen counters to tabletops to desks so rooms feel open and uncluttered.
Don’t store your clutter in the closets. Use the attic, basement, or temporary storage unit to hold all your extras. Potential buyers want to see how much storage space they will have, which can only be achieved if your closets are mostly empty.
Take advantage of light and avoid dark spaces. During your open house, open all curtains or blinds and doors between rooms and let in natural light. Be sure to clean the windows, both on the inside and outside.
Develop a budget for updates and stick to it. Making updates, like repainting walls using neutral colors, updating light fixtures, and installing new faucets are small changes you can make that won’t break the bank. Megan shared, “When it comes to staging your home, timing is everything. Don’t wait until the last minute to start your projects. Prioritize what needs to be done early on so you can focus on finishing them. There’s nothing worse than starting a project but not having enough time to complete it before your first showing.”
Don’t forget about curb appeal. First impressions matter, including when potential buyers pull up to your home. Be sure to tidy up the exterior of your home, from mowing the lawn and planting fresh perennials to updating outdoor furniture cushions, painting the front door, and updating your mailbox.
Don’t show an empty house. It sounds like a dream, completely emptying your home and then selling it. But for potential buyers, it can be hard to envision their furniture in the home without having some guidance to where everything might go. If you are moving quickly, consider hiring someone who can stage your home with rented furniture items.
And don’t forget the little things that can really make a difference when staging your home. Megan reminds us, “We love our pets, but let’s face it. They can leave behind unpleasant odors. Be mindful of any pet smells and take steps to neutralize them before your showings.”
Put away broken, stained, or dirty items
Fix ceiling cracks and fill holes in wall
Skip the plug-in air fresheners
Remove just the right amount of furniture
Replace stained or worn-out wall-to-wall carpeting
Pack up collectibles and memorabilia
Put away children’s and pet’s toys
True story. When my husband and I bought our first home, not only wasn’t it staged, but it was completely empty! Turns out the owners decided not to move into the home due to a job relocation. Trying to figure out the furniture layout, especially in our family room, was very difficult. It took us a while to understand that it’s okay for furniture to float in the room and not be pushed up against the walls (which wasn’t even a possibility!), using a large area rug to anchor the furniture.
Don’t be like the family we bought our home from. Take the time to deliberately and thoughtfully declutter and stage your home. You’ll be thankful you did.
More Organizing Ideas
Need even more ideas on how to organize your home? Living. Simplified. is ready to help. Take a look at these blog posts or send us an email at lauren@livingsimplified.net and we can work together to reach your organizing and decluttering goals:
5 Steps to Organizing Your Family Room