Posts Tagged ‘Staging’
The Importance of Staging an Older Home
November 28th, 2009 | 
Author: It is surprising, even with all the information out there on how much easier it is to sell a decently staged house, that some sellers are still resistant to the idea. Every house, particularly older homes, should be staged before pictures are taken or any showing takes place. Older houses have to compete with newer homes that, due to style changes, may need far less in the way of renovations or upgrades. Staging can make these homes look a lot more desirable than they would otherwise.
First of all, staging involves de-cluttering both the inside and outside of your home. Many people living in older homes have been in residence for a long time. Every year that you live in a house makes for more stuff that you’ve brought in, adding to the clutter that you already had. One of the key ideas in home staging is that it helps a prospective buyer actually see what your house looks like because you’ve removed the clutter.
Another important aspect of home staging that is vitally important when you’re trying to sell an older house is repainting and wallpaper removal. Many older homes have outdated wallpaper or paint colours; these outdated walls will just accentuate how much work a home buyer will need to do if they buy your house. If you can repaint the walls and remove any horrible 1970s wallpaper, your house won’t scream out “fix me” to a buyer.
If you have matching furniture to go with your older home, you have a couple of options. If your home is 1970s era or before, you can likely get away with staging in a retro chic. Many of the elements of ’70s decorating are back in fashion now, the thing to understand is that doesn’t apply across the board to everything from the age of disco. If your living room needs its orange carpeting to be raked on a daily basis, sports magic mushroom-inspired flocked wallpaper, and has a beach ball sized disco ball hanging in it, then you likely are going to need some updating.
Take a look at some design websites to see what bits of kitsch are acceptable and which should just be burned … I mean disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. If you don’t have furniture that is neutral enough to allow the character of your home to shine through, then consider renting some and putting your own in storage.
Staging allows a prospective buyer to see what kind of potential your house has by letting them see through your things so that they can envision themselves living in your house. If your home is full of clutter and years worth of treasures then a buyer can’t see themselves in your space. If your house is tragically out-dated, they likely won’t be able to see themselves in your space either. Give your home sale the best chance and stage your home; hire a professional stager if you need assistance.
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Staging Your Front Porch for Summertime Sales
With all the talk about staging homes for sale and making sure it has “curb appeal”, it struck me how much you could do just in the front porch and walkway area to make a prospective buyer feel welcomed. I’ve driven by many a house with a sale sign in the yard that has a lovely front side with a well groomed yard, but the porches are often empty.
Porches and verandas always remind me of summertime when I was a kid. It was always the coolest place to be during the sticky-hot afternoons, making it a perfect place to socialize with a glass of lemonade. With the home and neighbourhood design trends leaning more and more towards character and nostalgic charm, it seems natural that the front porch would figure strongly into the desires of current home buyers.
The first step in making your porch stand out as a friendly welcoming area is to give it a good cleaning. Brush all those cobwebs away that let people know that this is an under-utilized space. Does the porch area need repainting? Since you want people to sit and spend time here, it’s a good idea to touch up paint in this area, even if you aren’t repainting anywhere else.
Take a look at the plants growing against the front of your house. If you have too much foliage right against the front of your house, it could be making your porch seem too dark and cave-like. Too few plants and it could make the area too bright and sparse looking. Adding planters of flowers or fragrant herbs can add some botanical interest and make your porch smell lovely as well. Try using repurposed items to hold plants in for added visual interest.
Light can be a big issue for porches. Too little and a porch is uninviting while too much will make it too hot. If you desperately need brightening up in the porch area, consider installing a skylight. You will get a brighter atmosphere without inviting the elements in.
Don’t forget including some inviting furniture. Comfortable furniture truly makes a difference to how useable this area can be. Try to pick furniture that compliments the style of the outside of your home. If your porch or veranda is narrow, consider the size of your furniture so that it doesn’t make the space too cluttered. A wide porch might be able to accommodate a few chairs and a coffee table in front but a narrow one will likely need to have the chairs with their backs against the wall of the house and a table set between them.
If your home style allows, consider also including a bit of outdoor art on the porch to make it feel more like an outside room. Appropriate types for using outdoors are paintings that are made specifically out of materials that can withstand the elements, as well as ceramic, concrete, glass, and metal items. Don’t restrict yourself to garden art; many types of embellishments can be used just as well outside as indoors.
Don’t forget a mailbox and good visible numbers for the front of your house as well. A good mailbox is an essential item for your house even if you don’t have door to door mail service in your area. Consider what’s going into your mailbox, if it’s big items like newspapers, take that into account when looking at what size you’re going to need. Big bold house numbers can really complete the look of your home. There are a huge number of styles available if you take a look around your local home supply store or on the internet.
All in all, what you’re looking for when staging your home is to encourage people to want to stay and spend time in your home. You want them to want to live in your house and with the warmer summer weather, what better place to start than right at the front door?
Home Staging: Important as Ever in the Current Economy
With the current plummeting home values, you might think that now is not the best time to fork out extra money on home staging to sell your house that’s going on the market. There are two ways that you can go about this, depending on how much you can afford to spend; you can either stage your home yourself or you can hire an expert.
If you stage your home yourself, you can find a lot of information in books on the subject and on the internet. Or, for a nominal fee, you might be able to get some suggestions from a professional home stager to guide you along.
A professional stager will guide you in home clean up, repainting, renting furniture that shows off your rooms to their best advantage, and accessorising your home to make it look like a show home. If the home you’re trying to sell has furniture that doesn’t suit the space very well, your home stager can even rent furniture to set up in your home to better show your home’s assets. This service can be relatively inexpensive or very expensive, depending on the level of help that your home needs and what you can afford to invest in.
If you are arranging your own staging, remember that it should encompass both the outside and inside of your home; no matter what your staging budget is, your home should be immaculately cleaned inside and out. Ideally, every room should be repainted either in the same color or something more neutral, particularly if they haven’t been painted in a few years. A fresh coat of paint will brighten a home up delightfully. Another good staging tip that you can do yourself is box up about half of your belongings and put them in storage; this not only removes a lot of the clutter from your home, but also makes your storage areas look more than ample since they won’t be full to capacity.
No matter if you decide to hire a professional or stage your home yourself, home staging is a step that is well worth the time and money to complete. Staged homes sell faster and get the homeowner more money when they sell and preparing to stage a home entails a lot of clean up and packing away things that you would just have to pack later on so you can save yourself time later on when you have to move as well.