Essentially, staging is fashioning it to look as though it’s no longer your home so potential buyers can start to see it as their home. It can be challenging to step back and look at your home from someone else’s perspective, but if you stage your home effectively, it will go a long way towards selling your home. Your realtor can help with tips for reaching a broader market or covering staging costs. Here are a few tips to make sure your staging is a hit and helps potential buyers fall in love with your home:

Start Outside

When people think of staging, they often think of the living room, entryway, or maybe the kitchen and dining area. But the first thing potential buyers will see is your curb, so you want to work on curb appeal first.

Keep your siding and walkways clean and neat, power washing if you need to. If you have a flowerbed, make sure it’s neatly trimmed and cared for. If not, consider planting a few flowers to stand out. Mow the lawn and repaint if your paint is starting to fade a bit. Add friendly, welcoming elements like potted plants or a welcome mat to your porch. Perhaps most importantly, take a look at your house numbers. Are they easy to read from the street? If not, fix that right away. Buyers need to be able to find your home in order to consider it.

Clean House

Before you give the interior of your home a makeover, you want to clean. Wipe down all surfaces, pick up any toys, put any dishes in the sink or dry rack back where they belong, and make sure every bed is made. And keep the house clean throughout the selling process. This is also a good time to remove any personal items like family photos or make any cosmetic repairs that you might have let slide while you lived in the house.

Opt for Lighter Colors

When you’re designing the room for yourself, it’s only your personal taste that matters. If you like deep burgundy walls or darker curtains, suit yourself. When staging, however, you have to think of the wider audience. Lighter colors typically go over more successfully because they help the room to look lighter, airier, even larger. If you have dark curtains, you especially want to make sure to replace them with lighter curtains to let in as much sunlight as possible.

Keep It Uncluttered

Every room in your home should have clear walkways for potential buyers as they tour, and it should feel spacious enough for them to move through comfortably. Removing personal elements like family photos and toys will go a long way. So will removing any unnecessary furniture. Your realtor may pay for new furniture to be brought in for staging and for old furniture to be removed. You may not need to go with a fully minimalist look, but the more space, the better. It will not only make buyers more comfortable but make your home appear more spacious.

Your best resource when staging your home is your realtor. Contact a Santa Rosa Beach or Tallahassee Realtor today to get started on the process of making your home ready for its new owners and making you ready for a successful sale.