How Shopping Can Help Give You Ideas to Stage Your Home

You've heard of retail therapy but shopping can help you to stage your home better. And without spending any money.

What? Yes - it's all free. The ideas anyway. Department stores spend a lot of money to make their wares look good because they want you to spend some serious cash - and that's what you want from buyers...to open their wallets and buy your home.

Stores like Pottery Barn, Anthropology and Restoration Hardware are places where you can see how you can merchandize your dining room and get ideas on how to dress your bed and other places in your home, Take notes on how appealingly they style their spaces.

You may be tempted to spend a few bucks - but then you'll know that what they did worked!
Here are some images from some shopping trips I've done recently.

The above photo shows a bed that you would love to sink into.  The takeaway?  A white fluffy comforter, a pile of pillows and a tray with coffee or tea cups and napkins give you the impression that this is a great home to wake up in.

Bring the outdoors in:  This may seem like a well-worn phrase but florals in rustic vases add some needed texture to a plain home.  Add other outdoor items to your home with exterior lanterns, shells, sand and other seaside elements.

So take a trip to a nearby high-end department store.  They will always give you great ideas that you can copy inexpensively.

 

If you are having trouble selling your home, please give me a call at 631 793-1315. I can help you make it a buyer magnet. 

What Not to do When You are Selling Your Home

"Uninvited Stager" Saturday

Here are some "what not to do when you are selling your home" helpful hints.  If you want to entice more buyers to knock on your door - you need to have the online photographs to be enticing!  Simple enough, right?   But, more often than not, it's just not the case!

1) Always Close the Lid! Seems like an easy thing to do - but most homesellers forget to do this.  I would have closed the doors to the laundry for one picture and angled it differently. Then  I would have staged this bathroom simply and nicely: a picture above the toilet, a faux orchid on the lid, bath soaps and a guest towel on the sink vanity. Then I would have taken another shot of the laundry doors opened - but staged with some clean, fluffy white towels folded, some laundry soap and a plant - plus a nice picture (artwork with a laundry theme).  Make it seem like it's fun to do laundry in this space!

2) OK - it's new construction...but could someone please remove the boxes and close the garage door!

3) Remove Excess Furniture and the Date Stamp on Photos: This room is nice but it looks a bit cluttered. There seems to be very little room between the wing chair and the coffee table. I would think about moving the wing chair to another room. It's also a little too cutesy - looks like my Grandma's house. I would remove some of the floral accessories - it's dated and distracting.  There's no reason for the green rug on top of the carpet (unless they are trying to hide something!) Also - remove the date stamp.  On your camera's menu, you have the ability to turn off the date stamp. 

4) Remove Unnecessary Clutter:  This is a really nice kitchen - but the clutter is distracting. The kitchen table is also full of clutter. It seems as if this is where the homeseller pays the bills.  Just remove it - it's not relevant. When you are selling, you want to show off the countertops - have the buyer think there's a lot of space here to create some wonderful meals.  Also the angle of this photo isn't right.  I would have stepped to the left and then taken the picture.

5) Buy New Bedding and Re-arrange Furniture to Show Off the Best Aspects of a Room:  I would have switched the bed to where the dresser is and vice versa.  Then for a few extra dollars, I would have purchased a neutral duvet cover to hide the polar bear comforter.  Ad a few nice pillows and you have a welcoming look in this bedroom.  I would have de-cluttered the dresser and then I would have taken down the silly window treatments.  This only draws attention to the fact that you have awkward windows in this room - and that you didn't know what to do to them.  Always accent the positive - and eliminate (or rather...disguise) the negative! Also, pet peeve of mine - shut off the flash!

6) Try not to Sell your Home When it's Vacant: There are many reasons why you should always sell your home furnished - one being you see every thing that's wrong with the house...including your bad taste in window treatments!! This picture doesn't make a prospective buyer salivate!  And it looks like there's something wonky going on above the baseboard heating! Buyers have little or no imagination when it comes to figuring out where to place their furnishings.  Having furniture in a room gives them a reference!  In this photo, you don't know what kind of room it is - looks like a living room maybe.  Always sell your home with furnishings - you will sell it faster and for more money.

These tips may seem like small, unimportant things but they do make a difference in getting more people to come and take a look at your home or listing. Nearly 90% of home buyers start their search for a new home on the Internet today. You want to entice the buyer from the moment they see a photo online.

If you are having any trouble selling your home and you need some advice, call me at 631 793-1315 or email me at Linda.Leyble@gmail.com.