Home Staging Secrets

The idea of “staging” a home to make it look alluring to buyers has become a necessity. The goal of home staging is to create an increased demand for your home selling it faster and for more.

Home staging is a must if you are to sell your home in this current tough market.

What is Home Staging?

First, let’s discuss what home staging is NOT. It is not interior decorating!

Home Staging is different than interior decorating in that home staging strives to appeal to a wide range of potential buyers and not specific styles and tastes. Interior decorating takes into consideration the personal tastes, personality and preferences of the home owner whereas home staging focuses on creating a valuable marketing commodity so that it appeals to the general home buyer who is trying to visualize themselves in the home.

One of the primary steps to home staging is the removal of anything that could be considered extraneous or might get in the way of the buyer’s viewing experience.

Not only does this make rooms appear larger, it also helps buyers form the necessary emotional connection to their potential home.

A successful home staging works with the personality of the home rather than against it in order to get best results and you know that better than anyone.

Chances are you can do most of the steps outlined yourself. However if you find that you still cannot get your home just right, ask your realtor to refer you a home staging expert who can lend you a hand.

Here are my do-it-yourself home staging tips…

1. Clean, clean, clean. I don’t mean just pick up I mean no dust, spotless bathroom, spotless kitchen.

2. If you have wallpaper you have to peel it off or get some primer and paint over it. I wish wallpaper was illegal….but what can you do. And don’t think your wallpaper is fine….I am here to tell you it isn’t….sorry.

3. Along with wallpaper any other offensive color on your walls. you know that southwestern look that was so popular….paint over it immediately. I was a teenager in the 80’s. I know ugly when I see it and pink, robin’s egg blue, and mauve just need to be put out of their misery….like my hairdo and makeup back then. Find a neutral color like beige but I like to go a little darker than your standard beige. Something you can tell the difference between the wall color and the trim. I like the trim to stand out.

4. Smell. If you have pets, get that smell under control. Even if the potential buyers have pets themselves, you have to keep up the illusion of a perfect house. I found that a thing called Zero Pet Odor works to neutralize pet smell. And don’t think having your carpet professionally cleaned will eradicate the smell….it supercharges it.

5. My other pet peeve is electronics. TVs, stereos, video games. etc. I know we all love these things but most are so ugly. Again you have to go back to the builder. They don’t have a TV in every room do they? Get rid of those massive entertainment centers. Do I have to bring up the ugliness of the 80’s again? Also, those big screen TVs have to go. Nothing says you aren’t going anywhere more than a TV the size of a Hyundai. Invest in one of the new plasmas….they have just as big a screen and are gorgeous.

6. Hardwood floors. I bought a house once by walking in, pulling up a corner of the carpet to make sure it had hardwoods, and proudly exclaiming “I’ll take it!” Turned out the toilet was almost rotted through the bathroom floor and the electrical was done with several rolls of duct tape. I know…not the smart way to buy a house but people don’t do what you think they should. Hardwoods are a big selling point. Even if your floors are not in the best shape, pull up that disgusting carpet and display the hardwoods.

7. Take down any pictures of you or your family. Take down any personal items that may hold meaning for you but to another it’s just crappy, dusty, knickknacks. The builder doesn’t have pictures of themselves or their kids in the model home.

Many of these things don’t cost much and it’s a small price to pay to beat out your neighbors with a contract on your house and not theirs. You have to play to win in this market. You may think I’m crazy but you have to mentally be moving when your house goes on the market. I think people can sense if you haven’t mentally moved yourself out of that home.

An existing home has so much appeal with the mature landscaping all you need to do is make the inside match the appeal of the outside. Your house will sell and those stubborn folks (your competitors) will sit week after week getting more frustrated without a contract…trust me.

Home staging before a house hits the market is being used more often. But many real estate agents never speak to their clients about home staging because they erroneously believe home staging means major renovations and therefore major cost outlays. In actuality, home staging costs are almost always lower than the cost of the first price reduction.

So don’t depend on agents to recommend home staging. You’ll need to attack this yourself. If you don’t feel up to home staging alone, zip over to

You can look up a few home staging professionals for free!

Happy Home Staging!

Terri Ewing

Author: Terri Ewing
Published January 7, 2008

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