By: Ashley Keihn
Writer for Shawn Smith
While staging your home might seem like an unrealistic way to garner attention for your home, it can actual be an effective way to market your home and it doesn’t take a ton of work for the most part. You want potential buyers to imagine themselves living in your home, without the clutter of your stuff and without a completely blank canvas; that’s where staging comes in handy.
Even if you have the nicest furniture, the best paint colors and the cleanest home a little bit of staging can go a long way to showcasing the very best of your home and it can be affordable. We’ve laid out 5 options for staging that you should consider when listing your home on for sale.
One-Time Consultations save money
Since most stagers are designers they understand what looks good while showcasing the best aspects of a home to help it sell faster. A designer of this nature will be able to point out the areas of your home that could use some sprucing up such as paint color, new carpeting, landscaping updates, and lighting fixture changed. They will be able to give you professional feedback on your home as it stands and what they think would help make it better and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg. In Coral Gables, Florida, for instance you can typically find a designer of this kind for around $100/hour starting out. Since this is a service that will help you sell your home, this is a cost that will be money well spent.
Fluff Staging uses furniture you already own
If you already own nice furniture and décor but aren’t sure how to stage it in a way that shows off what your home can be, then fluff staging may be for you. In this option a stager will come in and help you to move your furniture around the home to best show off how great your space can be. They will use furniture that you already own and may have hidden away or mismatched to bring out the space without costing you a fortune. You can typically pay them by the hour to come in and redesign your home with what you already own.
Partially Staging can make small rooms seem big
The next step up would be to partially stage your home, adding small updates to each room. A stager would help by bringing in newer/updated furniture, art for the walls, throw pillows, carpets, and anything else that would add to each room to compliment it and make it stand out to buyers. The right designer will know how to make are bare room seem bright and welcoming, or a small room seem larger by adding a few simple touches. While you’ll spend a little more for this service than the one-time consultation it will help to give your home a welcoming feel without breaking the bank.
Fully Staged fills in empty spaces
You don’t want to show potential buyers an empty house, so if you’ve already moved out and you haven’t listed yet a full staging is likely a great option for you. Since your listing goal is to help the buyer picture themselves living in the home you want to make sure that there is furniture that will help them to picture what it could look like. An empty home is unwelcoming and hollow and can leave a buyer feeling overwhelmed because they can’t picture anything. With a full staging the designer will bring in a moving truck of furniture and bring the home back to life, while this costs more than the other options it is one of the best options if your home is empty at the time of listing.
Fully Staged and Renovated is an investment
While this can be the most expensive option, if your home could use some updating and you’ve got money to spend hiring a stager and contractors can be a great investment for the home. Most stagers will choose contractors that aren’t overly expensive and that can get the work done quickly. Typically updating appliances, lighting fixtures and cabinets can go a long way to bringing your home new life. If you want to go a bit further you can update countertops, floors and sinks to give the rooms a new look.
The goal of staging your home is to show the very best that it has to offer, while giving potential buyers an idea of what the home can be and will look like if they move in. You should work closely with your agent to determine which type of staging will be work with your home and your budget to get your home the attention it deserves for the listing.