Staging Your Home

Dress your Home for Success
Preparing your home for sale is about more than cleaning, decluttering, painting and making minor repairs. It’s all about "dressing" the house for sale…adding the small details…creating a mood. It’s a process called staging.
Staging makes your home look bigger, brighter, cleaner, warmer and more loving. Best of all, it makes homebuyers want to buy it.
There are many steps you can take yourself to help showcase your home in its best light. You also can work with a professional stager for additional help.
Here’s what you can do:

Remove/Replace Favorite Items
If you want to take window coverings, built-in appliances or fixtures with
you, remove them before you show your home. If the chandelier in the
dining room once belonged to your great grandmother, take it down. If
a buyer never sees it, she won’t want it. Pack those items and replace
them, if necessary.

Make Minor Repairs
• Replace cracked floor or counter tiles.
• Patch holes in walls.
• Fix leaky faucets.
• Fix doors that don’t close properly and kitchen drawers that jam.
• Consider painting your walls neutral colors.
• Replace burned-out light bulbs.

Make the House Sparkle!
• Wash windows inside and out.
• Rent a pressure washer and spray down sidewalks and exterior.
• Clean out cobwebs.
• Re-caulk tubs, showers and sinks.
• Polish chrome faucets and mirrors.
• Clean out the refrigerator.
• Vacuum daily.
• Wax floors.
• Dust furniture, ceiling fan blades and light fixtures.
• Bleach dingy grout.
• Replace or remove worn rugs.
• Hang up fresh towels.
• Clean and air out any musty smelling areas.
• Go outside and open your front door. Stand there as if it’s your
first time entering. Does the house welcome you?
• Linger in the doorway of every single room and imagine how
your house will look to a buyer.
• Examine carefully how furniture is arranged and experiment by
moving pieces around..
• Make sure window coverings hang level.
• Tune in to the room’s statement and its emotional pull. Does it
have impact and pizzazz?

Check Curb Appeal
Your home’s exterior makes the first impression on a prospective buyer.
Be sure to:
• Keep the sidewalks cleared.
• Mow the lawn.
• Paint faded window trim.
• Plant yellow flowers or group flowerpots together.
(Tip: Yellow evokes a buying emotion; marigolds are inexpensive.)
• Trim your shrubs.
• Make sure visitors can clearly read your house number.

Work With A Professional Stager
If you want extra help in getting your home ready to sell, consult with a professional stager. He or she will guide you, room by room, inside and out, to create the right atmosphere around your home. Stagers often use accessories to create an effect. These can include mirrors, plants, silk flowers, floor and table lamps, area and throw rugs, small love seats, ottomans, afghans, pillows, baskets, and plastic tables and chairs. Your backyard or deck may need staging, too. Professional stagers often bring in plants and potted flowers, and add additional color by setting the picnic table with bright, plastic dinner plates.

Your Town & Country Agent will have more tips on preparing your home for sale.