How to stage a pre-loved home for sale
If you missed the news on Instagram, our family is preparing to move to a new home by the end of the year which means we need to sell our “pre-loved” home to a lucky new occupant.
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I’ve personally been through this process before so there are a few tricks that I think help move the process along.
Clear your home of personal effects.
ALL of your family photos, cultural art, etc should be removed so that potential buyers can visualize themselves in the space. Now, this is twofold because you do want to stage the home with simple universal art and other decor to make the home warm. I will be removing all personal photos and art and replacing them with a super cute art piece of a dog and a custom piece of my favorite plant, a sansevieria (Snake) plant.
Declutter, declutter, declutter!
You want the home to have a clean and clutter-free vibe. It’s normal to collect things over time but when selling your space, homebuyers want a clean slate so they can envision their items on shelves, etc. This also means decluttering closets. Most buyers look for maximum storage so be sure to rid your closets and shelves of boxes, hodgepodge, and odds and ends. I am going through each of our closets and storing most of the items at a storage facility. There will be one pretty storage box in each closet to house my family’s absolute necessities for living in the house while selling. That’s a great excuse to make a Homegoods or Target run, right?. Get rid of clothes or at least pack up those clothes that are out of season so that when a potential buyer opens the closet it doesn’t tell a terrible story!
Get your Pinterest on!
This is the perfect time to try some of those Pinterest tricks that you’ve been saving for years and never tried because you live a real life. So now that you get to sell a fake life…do those special bathroom folding tricks where your towels look like a duck! LOL! Change out your pantry and use those glass jars with the corks to stage that perfect pantry! This is YOUR TIME!
Clear off ALL kitchen and bathroom counters!
I know we love to keep our chips on the counter and have our bread at the ready but this ain’t the time. THIS AIN’T THE TIME! While we are on the subject of the kitchen…Spruce up your cabinets and pulls. Wipe them down or if you need to run a quick stain on them, this is the time.
Bedding should be light and airy. And matching.
That’s it.
Get rid of extra furniture in the bedroom but not all.
Buyers like to see how the space can be used in each room but be smart about it. This may mean putting your bulky dresser in storage or relocating it. You want a buyer to feel like they have room to grow. For example, we are replacing our current dining room table since it is very large and doesn’t give the appearance of enough room. We want the buyer to be able to ease their way around the kitchen so we are going to replace the dining table with a smaller/round dining table to encourage the eye to focus on the space.
Have you sold your home? Share any tips I’ve missed in the comments below.
