How To Stage A Home For Sale

Looking to boost your chances of a quick sale and even increase your sale value? Staging your home is a fantastic option that can make your property stand out on the market and demonstrate its full potential – but what precisely is home staging, and how should you do it?

What does it mean to stage a home?

In short, home staging is the thoughtful styling of your property to have maximum impact and appeal for photography and viewings. This can take many forms: adding furniture to unfurnished properties to make each room feel more homely; decluttering and generally tidying your home; reconfiguring your furniture or adding a selection of items to your home to create a more cohesive sense of style. Ironically what you, we or I might enjoy from a practicality perspective doesn’t always translate into a visually appealing or eye-catching vista – which can turn buyers off before they’ve even made it through the door.  Home staging can boost your sale price by up to 10 per cent, and can even contribute to a far quicker sale when compared to un-staged listings.

So how do you stage a home for a sale? We’re bringing together years of property expertise to share ten top tips to guide you to creating the perfectly staged property that has broad appeal to increase the likelihood of a quick sale for the best possible price.

1.     Consider Market Trends

By understanding trends, specifically in your area, you can begin to implement popular features into your staging. Since the pandemic, the two trends that continue to appeal to buyers are open plan living spaces and well-maintained garden spaces – these trends revolve around making the most of your space, especially as working from home has made our homes double as our offices in many cases. As such, we recommend that you spend time looking at what trends are popular in your area by scrolling the depths of Rightmove and Zoopla, and by consulting with your local residential sales experts.

2.     Sensory Optimisation

When it comes to viewings – especially in-person viewings – it’s important that your property staging takes into consideration the value of the extrasensory experience. Your potential purchasers won’t just be judging your property based upon its physical appearance, but by the overall feel of the viewing. That could mean opening windows to let fresh air in, refreshing flowers or air fresheners or making sure that parking spaces are free to avoid unnecessary stress in viewing.

3.     Plain And Simple

When choosing décor, opt for neutral colours and avoid any patterns that could be jarring. Think of this as a blank canvas approach by choosing items and colours that are universally appealing. We also advise keeping each room light and bright to contribute to an illusion of more space, which ensures that buyers can really see the value that they’re potentially getting for their budget.

4.     Keep It Clean

According to RatedPeople, dirt, clutter and bad scents can drastically reduce the perceived value of your home, which is why it is so imperative to ensure that your property is as clean and tidy as possible. Seeing other people’s mess can ruin the vision for some buyers, making it more difficult for them to imagine themselves living in the property – show your property in its best light to ensure you get the best price and make the best first impression.

5.     Feels Like Home

When staging a property, it’s important to make sure your viewers can feel at home within your space. By taking away any personal items, such as family photos, you can create a more ‘blank canvas’ effect which encourages your viewer to imagine themselves within your property. To create an aesthetic that feels welcoming, we advise changing any cold, clinical lighting in exchange for warm light – this creates a cozy atmosphere and can help put your viewers at ease. Our top tip, especially for the garden is to create spaces that invite your viewers to take a seat at, think about staging garden furniture with flower on an outdoor table, perhaps with coffee cups or cafetiere to complete the scene.

6.     Optimise Your Space

Reconfiguring your furniture is a great way to optimise your floor space, especially when it comes to open plan spaces. We advise shifting your furniture around, leaving the room, and re-entering – what impression does this give? Does this layout feel more spacious? Can you move throughout the room uninhibited by tables, chairs and seating? Utilise every square foot in your home – implement functional office spaces in spare bedrooms, add useful shelving units to nooks in your home that are otherwise unoccupied, and keep clutter to a minimum to ensure that movement around your property is as easy as possible. Remember that whilst you may be moving out for more space your viewers don’t want to feel claustrophobic in your home, so it may be worth considering storage whilst you market your home to ensure you get the highest value possible.

7.     Don’t Neglect Your Garden

Having a garden – or any outdoor space for that matter – is a great selling point that can add value to your home. In fact, 70 per cent of buyers stated that they would pay more for a property with outdoor green space, which is why it’s so important to make the most of this asset! Make sure your garden furniture is clean before viewings, your lawn is free of pesky weeds, and that any pet messes have been disposed of. Add a pop of colour with hanging plants, herbs and flower beds to bring your garden space to life, and create a space that feels vibrant and welcoming.

8.     Designate Purpose

When you stage a home, each room within your home should have a distinct purpose which inspires your viewers to imagine themselves in specific scenarios in each section of the house. Make it clear which room is your living room, dining room, or study to create a more structured and cohesive feel to your property. This is why property staging is a fantastic option for those selling otherwise unfurnished properties, as designating purpose to each room allows viewers to superimpose themselves into your home rather than viewing it as a blank canvas that would undoubtedly take plenty of time, effort and money to make into their home.

9.     Find Some Foliage

Oftentimes, staged houses can feel a bit too… well, staged! Properties can feel too pristine to the point that they become unattainable ‘show homes’, which can be off putting to the average purchaser. This can be mitigated by adding some well cared for plants to your property – this gives your home a new lease of life and can make the space feel more occupied. Plants, whether they are real or fake, add fresh vibrancy to your home and make a wonderful addition to otherwise generically staged homes.

10.  Ask For Help

If you’re looking to stage a home, especially your first one, it can be hard to know what to change to have maximum impact. Some homeowners choose to hire a staging company to handle the process for them, with many choosing to hire soft furnishings and design packages for viewings and photography. This is a great option if you don’t want to buy an abundance of furnishings that you don’t want to keep when you move. Alternatively, ask the advice of your estate agent to better understand local trends and which changes will be most beneficial to your sale.

Want your property to take centre stage?

Centrick have been working with sellers for 18 years to get their homes market-ready in style. With our astute understanding of what’s happening in the market, we are able to advise sellers on the best way to market their property so they achieve the best possible price in the best possible time. For more information on how Centrick can give your next property listing a boost and help you stage a home for sale, contact our friendly, expert sales team below: