You’re getting ready to sell your home and you keep hearing about the value of ‘staging’. What does that mean and how much of a difference can it make?

Staging is designer speak for the way you present the home – the décor, furnishings, accessories and so on. 

It’s all about exciting buyers’ imaginations so they put themselves in the picture living in your home and will jump in to make an offer.

So how do you do it?

1. Choose your property’s big selling points. If it’s a large garden, then focus on the outdoors and everything you love to do outside; if it’s a large entertaining area then play up the kitchen and the dining areas so people can picture themselves having fun in your home.
2. Appeal to your target market. Staging depends who you are trying to attract, so do some research or ask agents’ who your target demographic is and what appeals to them. You might add some child appeal to bedrooms if families are your target market or go minimalist if singles are your buyers.
3. Consider furnishings. That doesn’t mean re-fitting your home but it might mean removing items that don’t suit the styling; borrowing something from a friend to boost the appeal; or investing in a few small pieces (think frames, vases, etc) to enrich the style of the home.
4. De-clutter. Get a head start on packing by removing items that don’t suit your home or which get in the way and disrupt the flow of buyers, especially to the key features of your home. The key to staging is often ‘less is more’.
5. Go safe and neutral. If you’re a novice it’s better to stick with a classic or neutral palette. Furniture, fittings, soft furnishings and accessories should be used to ‘dress the set’ and create the right feel and aesthetic. If you want to add some colour, use a colour wheel to get the right contrasts.

Like most things in life, there are professionals who know how to accentuate a property’s positives and play down any negatives. Not only are they professional storytellers, they can create a ‘lived in’ feel and even supply all the furniture, artwork, décor and other household items you need.   

The bottom line is real estate is an emotional thing. When it comes to styling and presentation you want to evoke a positive emotion – capture a buyer’s heart and imagination and you’re a big step toward capturing the sale.