Basically, home staging is the art making the interior of your home look as appealing as possible so that when potential buyers enter, they say to themselves, “Wow, this really looks nice! It looks like it’s worth the price.”
There are two ways to do home staging. If you have an eye for interior design, you can do it yourself. If you don’t (or don’t have the time), then you can hire a professional home stager.
Think of pro home stagers as being like set designers for a play. They know how to “set the stage” in precisely the right way to impress any potential buyer visiting your home.
In general, when a home stager comes into your home, he or she will eliminate any clutter, arrange furniture, and help you enhance interior (or exterior) appeal in every way possible.
The charges may be on an hourly basis or a flat fee.
For information on home staging professionals, google “Home Staging Professionals” to see who’s available in your area. Or, check out these sources on the Internet:
STAGEDHOMES.COM and The Real Estate Staging Association
Now, what if you want to stage your home through your own efforts? Well, I have some tips for you.
Unfortunately, I don’t have enough space in this article to cover every room in the house, so I’ll talk about one of the first spaces potential buyers see – the living room.
Staging the Living Room
Arrange the room in a manner that makes it feel spacious and open. If it’s cluttered and hard to walk through, remove furniture or other items and put them in storage.
And speaking of furniture, if it’s old or worn, consider renting furniture to temporarily replace it. At the least, buy slip covers to hide any items that are slightly worn.
Also, put away any family portraits or personal items. You want buyers to feel like they could live in this space immediately.
If you have a fireplace in the room, definitely make it the “star of the show.” Fireplaces conjure up images of warm, cozy times with the family gathered around for a nice evening. To emphasize this image, arrange the furniture so it faces the fireplace.
You’ll know you’ve achieved your home staging goal when people just naturally want to sit down and spend time in your living room!
Now, I know you’ll want more tips on how to stage the rest of your home, and I’d be happy to discuss them with you. To learn about those tips, contact me today at 402.305.4335 or at sclark@deebrealestate.com, and we’ll have a great chat about how to arrange your interior for maximum effect upon potential buyers!
I love that you ran this article Susan! In fact, I'm looking for a roommate for my home and I used your tips in 'staging' my kitchen and living room. The pictures in your article are of MY living room and kitchen! I thought they would compliment that a little bit of good advice goes a long way. They look good, don't they? Remember, always use a professional photographer!
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