Home Staging That Looks Like the Magazines

Perfecting your home’s appearance when selling can be tricky. Staging is an important part of selling that includes rearranging furniture, boosting curb appeal, and ensuring that every room in your home is as appealing as possible. If you aren’t a professional stager, an honest effort to stage your home can land well off the mark from any magazine inspiration. Here are some tips to help you stage your South End real estate, Jamaica Plain real estate…or wherever you call home.

When people visit JP homes for sale, or tour South End condos for sale, the first part of the property they see is the exterior. Leave buyers with a good first impression by staging your home’s exterior. Start by trimming trees and bushes, washing off walkways and the driveway, mowing the lawn, and removing any weeds. Hire a professional landscaper to save you time and energy doing manual labor.

Potential buyers will enter your house through the front entryway, so make sure it appears inviting by cleaning away any dust or dirt, wiping off the front door and hinges, and replacing the house numbers if they’re hard to see. Also, consider adding some extra décor like a pot of fresh plants or a new doormat to make your home look just like the glossy cover of a magazine.

When staging, clean all areas of the home. A messy home isn’t appealing to buyers and makes for a bad photo when marketing the property. Even if the number of properties on the market decreases, that doesn’t mean a buyer will jump at a house that doesn’t meet their standards. So, keep your large Brookline home or smaller South End condo looking fresh by sweeping and mopping floors, vacuuming carpet, and dusting off all the nooks and crannies in each room.

Also, declutter your home to maintain an open and spacious appearance. Start with donating, selling, or throwing away items you no longer use or need. For items you intend on moving to your next home, rent a storage unit instead of filling up your closets and cabinets. A buyer will look in these areas, and if they’re overfilled it can seem like there isn’t enough space in the home to meet their needs. Decluttering small spaces like those found in efficient Back Bay studios is especially important for maintaining an open appearance.

Wherever in Jamaica Plain, Brookline, South End, Newton or elsewhere that you’re selling your home, it’s important to depersonalize the interior to appeal to as many people as possible. Take down any family photos, artwork on the fridge, or unique decorations. Loud statements can detract from a buyer’s ability to reimagine the home space for their lifestyle needs.

Another way to prepare homes for sale is to paint and decorate them with neutral colors. A room that’s super bright, painted a dark brown, or a zany accent wall can detract from the house as a whole. Cover them up with light and neutral colors for a spacious and inviting look. Start out with gray, white, and beige, and incorporate small accents of color with decorations like pillows and wall art.

A quick way to make your home staging look professional is to focus on lighting. Take advantage of Brookline’s sunny days by opening up curtains and blinds to bring as much natural light into the room as possible. Wash the windows and the window screens to increase the natural light shining in each room.

For stormy days that darken the inside, amp up the artificial light in each room to make it appear larger. Lighting can also highlight a room’s features like a beautiful architectural design. Replace any broken or dim lights with new bulbs, and make sure all the lights in your house are the same wattage and color temperature. Now is also a good time to replace any outdated light fixtures, or dust them off for maximum effect.

Every furnishing in a picture of a home magazine looks like it belongs exactly where it is, which is what you should aim for when staging your home. Work with a professional stager or real estate agent to figure out which pieces to remove or shift around the house. Find the correct balance of couches, tables, and empty space to make it appear livable and inviting.

Also, think about how best to arrange your furniture. One technique to use is a floating design, which is when you arrange furniture so it doesn’t touch the walls. Connect couches and chairs with a coffee table or rug to complete the look. Orient pieces around a natural focal point, like a television or a fireplace, to make the room look cohesive.

The last thing to do when staging your home is to fix major and minor repairs. Even if your home looks picture-perfect, making sure it’s functional is just as important. Hire a home inspector to uncover any serious problems, as a buyer wouldn’t want issues with something like heating during the cold Brookline winters, or roofing problems when it rains or snows.

When you’ve decided on which major repairs to act on, finish up any small repairs that affect the aesthetics of the house. Tighten up a leaky faucet, fill holes in the wall, and repair any cabinets that don’t close all the way or are difficult to open. Repairs also have a positive impact on your home value. It shows the buyer that they won’t need to pay for the repairs themselves when they move in.

After following these home staging tips, your house will look as good as any cover of a home magazine. When you’re ready to sell your home, contact one of the experienced Boston real estate agents at Prism Real Estate Group to guide you through the process.