Staging a House to Sell

When considering how to sell a house, you want to make sure that prospective buyers aren't turned off, turned away or tuned out by getting the wrong 'picture' of your home. It's important to note that staging your home to sell is the step AFTER all repairs have been made and is best if done with a professional stager or home organizer. But if you have to do it by yourself, use DMD's 'staging your home to sell tips'.

Staging a house to sell is exactly that: 'staging' is like putting on a 'play' in which your house is the star and, at the end, you want your prospective buyers to be giving it a standing ovation! A well staged house will not only invite home shoppers to buy, they'll tell others about it, too!

To get our star ready, we will need to make sure that the marquee, scenery, set pieces, lighting, makeup, costume, story and spectacle are all onstage!

Let's start with the marquee and scenery: The outside approach that invites people in.

• Directions: if you have the opportunity to give driving directions, which route is the prettiest that they can follow. It may take a little longer, but routing them the right way can give a good 'warm up'
• The 'for sale sign' should be in excellent repair, visible to drivers going either way on the street, not too 'busy' and it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a few flower pots around it to make it more pleasing to the eye
• Curb appeal: Staging a house to sell starts at the street. As they pull up to the house, what do they see? Stand at street level and cast a 'critic's eye' at your property. Judge the sidewalk, grass, flowers and shrubs, walkway and steps, general appearance of facade, windows, doors. What needs improvement, maintenance, upgrade or 'sprucing up'
• Add some 'icing' to the cake — but not too much. A couple of colorful flower pots on either side of the stairway, for example, add a touch of beauty and luxury for very little cost

Set pieces: how much furniture is too much?

Well if you're staging your home to sell; less is more. A room should only have the furniture it needs to function.

• Foyer — a small table to put the mail and keys. No coat rack unless it's the time of year for coats
• Hallway — one decorative table, max, with fresh flowers, not books, bags or mail (stash them!)
• Living Room — couch, coffee table, side chair, carpet, art as appropriate (consider packing all the art except for one piece per wall), rug or area rug, empty or nearly empty mantel or bookcases. No TV in the living room unless you use it as a family room
• Kitchen — Is there a kitchen table and chairs? If they are size appropriate, highlight a lovely nook. If you use them daily they can stay, otherwise they've gotta' go! The kitchen is a 'hot' room for most families so empty is best
• Bedrooms — bed, dresser, nightstand lamp, nothing else. TVs have to leave the bedroom; it may be more convenient to leave it there but people don't buy homes if the bedrooms seem too small
• Bathrooms — no personal items, cosmetics, etc. on counters. Towels should match color scheme, be clean and folded and the overall idea here is a clean, sparsely adorned, spa feeling
• Attics and Basements — best if left empty and items moved or stored. You want them to see all the room they have for storage, not all the stuff you have packed in
• Move furniture away from walls to give a less crowded feel — just a few inches will do
• Social groupings, like a couple of side chairs moved to suggest a cozy chat is better than 'soldiers standing guard' in a corner of the room

How to sell a house with Lighting: Brighter, airier and open, versus dramatic and dark.

• Lights need to be bright! If you're using lower wattage, energy savers, you're used to them but the truth is they give off less light and take longer to warm up. While you're showing the house, use full power!
• Outside lighting is very effective at night and, even though most home showings occur during the day, someone who is not sure or 'thinking about it' might drive by at odd times to look at the house — plan for it by lighting the shrubs, using up-lights to give height to the eaves and make sure the house number is well lit
• Lights in each room need to remove any dark corners and a light in each corner of a room will show a room much better than a single, bright, cold center fixture
• Lights should be left on in the day if it's possible that people will come through while you're not home; adjust the lights for open, airy, light and clean
• Windows should be open and drawn to let in natural light. If you have a 'problem' area outside a window, like an ugly neighbor, add a sheer drape to mask the details but still let the light in

The makeup in our how to sell a house process is the paint colors and quality

• Paint should be fresh and professional looking
• Dark colors can be used as accent colors but should be avoided otherwise
• Bathrooms need light, light, light colors
• Popcorn or other texture paints are out of date and need to be removed!
• Egg shell finish is easier to clean and gives just a little reflection for walls
• Ceilings can be any color you want as long as they're white. Flat white is best except in bathroom and kitchen ceilings where egg shell is ok on the ceiling
• Door and windows get semi-gloss and are white, off white, antique white, etc. only
• Patched or imperfect walls can be hidden with techniques like 'ragging', etc. but only in light colors and not too much or too 'artistic'
• No cracked or peeling paint anywhere and if you patch and paint, don't try doing a small section because a sharp inspector or homeowner will notice — paint the whole wall for best effect
• Painting comes before staging but it needs to be handled as it's the 'backdrop' of a sale

Costume your home: How to sell a house through linens? Yes.

• Bathroom towels need to look like a spa — light, matching, bright and luxurious
• Bed linens should be light, pillows sparse and neutral
• Curtains should be open, light colored, clean and without heavy floral patterns
• Curtains that go to the ceiling give the room added height and that is GOOD
• Beds need to be made each and every morning — no kidding
• Clothes — your own 'costume' should be hung neatly and closets clutter free. Consider storing all out of season clothes in a storage facility to make closets look bigger

Story? What can't they see that would be fun and interesting to know?

• Does your home have a famous or well known former owner?
• What celebrities were born in your town or neighborhood?
• What seasonal or local events happen nearby? Block parties?
• Did you make a major improvement or add a health feature like air humidifier?
• Tell the story, keep it short, maybe even have a small story page to hand out.

Spectacle! This is the 'other' stuff that can trigger an emotional response to the house.

• Smells — open the windows and get fresh air in — no room deodorant; it's usually overpowering and says 'we're hiding something'
• Smells that are good are home baked goods — try heating a roll in the toaster oven right before a showing
• Cookies on a drying rack with a note 'Take one' are welcoming and image creating
• Music is a 'no no' as you can't please all tastes or cultures and it can make people hurry as if they're interrupting you
• Flowers need to be fresh, real and changed often. At least the kitchen and dining room, but they could be overpowering in any other room
• A puzzle unfinished in the family room is a nice 'hint'
• A stack of books on the floor by a comfy chair and picture window suggests 'comfy cozy'
• If your garden is a selling point leave your muck boots by the back door for 'action'
• Towels and accessories should be plush, clean and spa-like
• Winter and fall it's nice to have a fire in the fireplace and a stack in the summer to say 'it's real'.

Remember in staging a house to sell, your home is the star, not you, so don't let your personality get in the way. What you see is not what you get — what they 'imagine' and 'envision' is what they buy!

Ask a professional home organizer or home stager and they'll tell you: even on a limited budget, people want bigger, higher, cleaner, brighter, warmer, lovelier and all the 'ers'. Do a review of every room and consider how can you improve it, even just a little, and then what more can you do? It's not always what the room is now, ask yourself: what can you, as any good actor can, give the illusion of so that the 'audience' believes'?

Figure out the best 'stage' and you'll know how to sell a house.