Styling your home for sale
If you are considering putting your home on the market then here are few of my tips to styling your home for sale as the presentation of your property is a critical factor in achieving the highest possible price. There’s an old saying – ‘first impressions last’ – and nothing could be truer when it comes to presenting your property for sale. That means a tidy and presentable interior and exterior, as many people will drive-by before deciding whether to inspect it on open days.
Keep in mind you are selling the “space” not your stuff. I can’t emphasise enough how important it is to de-clutter a home when it’s for sale. You need to walk that fine line between de-cluttering to make a room look neat and tidy but not going so far that you’re de-personalising. It’s still important that you keep the personality and soul of a home. I do think that it is a good idea to remove all your family photos though.
Kitchen areas and kitchen benches, tend to be natural hording spots in most people’s houses. I personally would encourage you to take away all of the appliances – kettles, toasters, food mixers – and just keep things that are on the benches to an absolute minimum. Everyone is looking for plenty of bench space in their kitchen so do the best you can to maximise the look of yours.
Keep it clean! Make sure there are no pet, cigarette or strong food odours. Consider getting the carpets cleaned professionally if needed. Make sure all the light globes work. And that creaky or sticking door you have been meaning to fix just fix it!
It’s very easy to shoot an empty house however rooms don’t tend to have a sense of purpose or a sense of scale. Potential buyers will generally struggle to visualise furniture in a room and just don’t get a scale of how big rooms are when there isn’t any furniture in there. Consider staging the home although remember that if you fill the place with cheap furniture and accessories buyers could associate cheapness to the house and that sends the wrong message.
Consider hiring a professional stylist. Professional styling is definitely a worthwhile investment and can return dividends when your house is sold. The images used in this post are of a beautiful home that I recently photographed for McGrath Real Estate. It was beautifully styled and furnished by Michelle from Designing Divas based in Port Macquarie. It makes such a huge difference to the marketing of your home when it is presented as well as this and the more potential buyers you can encourage to visit. Visit Designing Divas website >>.
Your property is usually just one in a very long list of properties a buyer will see, so it’s crucial that they see it in the best possible light. The more desirable your property appears, the better your sale price is likely to be.
