The Do’s and Dont’s of Home Staging
When it comes to selling a home, first impressions are everything. And with stellar home staging, sellers can immediately catch buyers’ attention and showcase their listing’s full potential. From manicured front lawns to spotless kitchens, home staging can transform a home into a buyer’s dream.
By working with the expert listing agents at Mark Spain Real Estate, you can stage your home to highlight your property’s best features and maximize your buyer appeal. With valuable industry insight, our team offers top-performing home-selling strategies with the most effective home staging methods. Below, we’ve compiled a list of do’s and don’t of home staging to follow as you prepare to launch your listing.
The Do’s and Dont’s of Home Staging
Do: Declutter and Deep Clean
The most essential step of the home staging process is to declutter and deep clean your space. If you’ve lived in your home for an extended period, chances are you’ve accumulated some clutter over your tenancy. From bulky sports equipment to stacks of old magazines and newspapers, clutter can easily collect over time and distract from a home’s aesthetic features. When beginning the home staging process, consider ridding your home of unnecessary clutter or putting it in storage while your home is on the market. 
Along with decluttering, home staging also involves deep cleaning your space. Once all the clutter is cleared, take this time to clean your home from top to bottom. From scrubbing surfaces till they shine to tackling larger jobs like cleaning carpets, a home requires extensive cleaning before it can make its market debut.
Don’t: Neglect Your Curb Appeal
Like your interior, your home’s exterior should also be considered throughout the home staging process. Your home’s curb appeal can significantly impact buyers, as this will be the first thing buyers see when touring your home. Consider ways to enhance your home’s exterior with fresh accents and renovations as you go through the home staging process. From trimming hedges and trees to improve your home’s visibility to adding outdoor seating or a grill to your patio or deck, there are several routes you can take to improve your curb appeal and wow buyers before they even step foot in your home.
Do: Stick with Neutrals
A general rule of thumb when it comes to home staging is to keep things neutral. As you prepare for showings, you’ll want to transform your space into a blank canvas, as this will allow buyers to envision themselves in your home. Utilizing neutral color palettes and contemporary furnishings can achieve this ‘blank canvas’ look and make your space attractive and cohesive. Fill your space with tasteful accents and colors, highlighting your home’s best features and brightening a room without overpowering it.
Don’t: Keep Personal Touches
As a homeowner, it’s natural to add personal touches to your space. However, when it comes time to sell your home and showcase it to buyers, these personal touches must go. From family portraits and kid’s drawings on the fridge to monogrammed accessories throughout your home, constant reminders of your presence may distract buyers and hinder them from envisioning themselves in your home. Consider storing personal items away while your home is on the market to maintain a neutral, muted space with broad appeal.
Do: Brighten Up Your Space
Lighting plays a massive part in the home staging process. As buyers tour your home, you’ll want to create a warm and inviting space that makes them feel right at home. As you stage your home, you’ll want to accentuate pockets of natural light by opening all blinds and curtains. In addition, you’ll also want to turn on all of your lights, as this will maximize your home’s brightness no matter the time of day. 
Before welcoming buyers, evaluate your home’s light fixtures to ensure they have working light bulbs. And while you’re looking, you could take this opportunity to replace any lighting fixtures that are dated or unappealing, as they could hinder your home staging efforts.
Don’t: Go Overboard
When beginning the home staging process, it’s easy to go overboard with new pieces of furniture and major renovations. However, these extensive upgrades and expensive purchases are often not necessary to get a home show-ready. Rather than buying brand-new furnishings and fixtures, consider rearranging your existing pieces to transform a space. If some of your pieces are worn down, try decorating them with throws and pillows to distract from imperfections. As for cosmetic fixes, sellers can often get away with basic upgrades over extensive renovations. In most cases, painting is an easy and cost-effective way to give a home a mini makeover. So before completely overhauling your kitchen, try painting the cabinets first to achieve a look that buyers would like.
Prepare for Home Staging with Mark Spain Real Estate
Are you getting ready to stage your home? The real estate professionals at Mark Spain Real Estate are here to help you every step of the way. Our team offers decades of valuable industry insight that will optimize your home showings and impress prospective buyers. And if you’re searching for a competitive cash offer, check out our Guaranteed Offer Program to potentially close on your home in only 21 days. Contact our agents today!
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