6 DIY Home Staging Tips

When preparing to sell your home, an essential part of the sale is creating an environment within your space that is irresistible. You want interested buyers to walk into your home and never want to leave. Part of that entails good staging that allows buyers to love what they see and fill in the blanks themselves.

Staging is all about exploring the potential of your home and relaying that to buyers. Many people choose to hire a staging team, but if you’d like to take the temporary design of your home into your own hands, there are plenty of smart ways to ensure the project is successful. Take a look at the following tips and tricks to successfully DIY your home staging and make it a fun, profitable project.

The first step to staging your own home is to completely clean the space and get rid of all unnecessary items. This step serves two purposes. First, it gives you the chance to view the blank canvas of your home. This will help you visualize what needs to be upgraded, enhanced, or accentuated. Second, it lends you the opportunity to recycle and throw away any items you do not plan to take with you to your new home.

To lessen the stress, hire a cleaning crew. These professionals have experience with detailing homes before staging, so they’ll be able to tackle all the areas you need in a much more meticulous manner. Clean every area of your home, even the parts of your home that you do not plan on staging. Interested buyers will want to check out as much of the space as possible, even if the rooms are empty.

Touring a home that is full of family photos, trophies, and monogrammed linens may be off-putting to potential buyers. It gives buyers the feeling of entering someone else’s home, which is the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve through staging. Remove all decorations that reflect you and your family’s lifestyle. This will allow buyers’ imaginations to run wild as they consider how the home will accommodate their life and belongings.

The decor should be rather neutral, with no overly dramatic patterns and designs. Any paintings should reflect the flow of the space and the buyer you are trying to attract. Luxury home buyers know refined art when they see it. Choose decor that is chic, simple, and functional, and try not to style the home in a way that reflects too much of your personality.

New bedding and fresh hand towels, in particular, can make your home feel like something out of a magazine. For bedding, keep things simple and opt for neutral tones with pops of color. Do not overwhelm buyers with jazzy patterns or loud neons, as this can be distracting and draw more attention to the furniture rather than the space as a whole. Fluffy pillows and a comfy duvet give bedrooms an inviting, homey vibe, so investing in these aspects can be worthwhile to give buyers that extra emotional connection. Another benefit of DIY staging? You can take all of these items to your new home and enjoy them for the long-term!

When staging your windows, you want buyers to take in the natural beauty of the outdoors while admiring the construction, function, and attractiveness of the actual windows. Decorate your windows with simple drapes in pastel or neutral colors to let plenty of light in during daytime showings. However, for windows with impeccable trim, don’t be afraid to go bare to show them off, as long as the outdoor area is just as beautiful as the window itself. Be sure to clean all windows well before showings and open up a few to allow fresh air to circulate the room, especially for crowded open houses.

Giving your walls a paint refresh or adding a lovely accent wall is a great investment that can yield a good return on investment. White and cream-colored walls add freshness, with 81% of interior design professionals opting to paint the interior of a home these colors to leave room for personality with the decor. Coming in second are warm neutrals like tan and beige, which make a home feel cozy and inviting. At the end of the day, your home should appear to be well-maintained, and painting the interior is an easy way to make your home feel new without resorting to a pricey remodel of key areas like the kitchen or master bedroom. This is a worthy project to invest in.

Mirrors are a great optical illusion for the interior of a home. For home buyers, there is truly no such thing as too much space. You want buyers to feel comfortable navigating the room, and mirrors allow you to turn a cramped space into a work of art. Small rooms can benefit from a proportional mirror, as it creates depth and space that the room doesn’t naturally have.

For larger spaces, hanging a mirror opposite a window can bridge the outdoors with the interior, reflecting your well-manicured landscaping. When attempting to convey elegance and class, a stately mirror above a fireplace mantle often reflects the outdoors and allows you to take in the entirety of the room. This is ideal for sitting spaces that are oriented toward one specific wall.

Even with a wonderful staging job, a house requires much more to be sold successfully. It can be fun to stage your home yourself and explore a variety of DIY projects, but having someone to guide you through the home-selling process can make for a much more enjoyable, profitable experience.

With Ingvild Brown, you’ll have a real estate professional at your side that knows what it takes to get your home sold quickly and for the highest possible price. You’ll never be subject to accepting a hasty offer or holding open houses yourself. Ingvild knows the greater Boston real estate market well and will use her expertise to get you the best offer for your home. If you have questions about selling or buying a home — contact Ingvild today!