Staging Tips: Part 1
When you are prepping your house for sale, you may have the urge to throw away everything you own/rent a storage unit/buy all the things from Target/basically… PANIC! We here at the Tucker Team are here to remind you:
Don’t Panic. We got this.
The goal of staging is to leave each room feeling as welcoming, spacious, and light-filled as possible. We want your home to say, “Hey! I am cozy and you could live here too potential buyer.”
We’re trying to show off the actual house itself. And no matter how awesome you think your style is, a buyer also will think their style is awesome too. Overfilling a space will take away from all the good things that will actually go with the house when a buyer buys it (floors, large windows, storage, trim work, countertops, did i mention storage?).
Any accessories or furnishings should simply help buyers imagine how they might live there.
So, where do you start to get this more open, lovely, light feeling space?
Step 1: Clear Off your Kitchen and Bathroom Counters. Completely.
Yes, I said completely. We can always add small things back in when we come in to stage it, but just seeing how open and light your counters feel without a ton of clutter tends to give clients the nudge to keep going on this simplify the space goal. And for some, finally seeing a clear counter or two in the house they are selling means that they will live a more clutter free life in their next home too.
Step 2: In Each Closet, Pair down by half.
People open closets and pantries and cabinets. They want to see if the closed doors are hiding the fact that this house has no storage. If you open a linen closet and every shelf is packed with towels to the top of the next shelf your eyes instantly tell your brain: alert! there is no room in this here closet. A good rule of thumb is to make sure that any stack of things stops halfway up the shelf.
Step 3: Stay away from the Container Store Until You’ve decluttered.
I know that shows like The Home Edit make you think that you should just buy all the clear acrylic containers and everything will look great. But if you are organizing too much stuff, you’re still going to have too much stuff in your house. Declutter first, contain what’s left.
Getting your house ready to sell can feel stressful and we’ve got more tips on where to start with that process coming soon. As always, please reach out to us with any questions about your home’s value, selling timelines, and or any other ways we can help. We love this stuff!