When Staging your home, avoid these mistakes!

When staging your home avoid making  mistakes. There are many home owners who think they can stage their own home. But many make mistakes that can cost them dearly. They think that staging is basically accessorizing, de cluttering and cleaning their homes. But there is a lot more to it then. Here are some of the mistakes home owners make.

1)Defining the room- I have walked into rooms and have ask myself ”Is a bedroom? office? playroom?” Clearly defining a room helps the buyer understand the purpose of that room. Define the space to one use only, if possible. There are times when a spare room will act as a bedroom and office. Define one and down play the other. Keep it clean and simply.

2)Vacant rooms- Buyers can not visualize how to use a vacant room. And without furniture the buyers will focus on all the imperfection in the room. Most home owners have way to much furniture. Look around to see if you can pull furniture from another room. Ask family members if they can help. Don’t forget rental furniture. Even just a few pieces can help.

3)Too much of the owners personality- Think collections. Or outdated decoration, that powerfully take over the room. Think big flowers on walls, curtains or sofa. The owners needs to pack away the collectionand seriously tone down the decor. In some instances taking down wallpaper, painting, and bringing neutral accessories will help.

4)Too much furntiure- I’ve been in homes where there was so much furniture in the room I didn’t know where to look first! Less is more, but not to bare. There is a fine line. Try to create a focal point and work from there. If it’s taking away from the focal point, get rid of it. Also be careful with the accessories. Group in three’s or one. Be careful not to add too much or scattered across the furniture like a straight line.

5)Not enough charm- When a room has been too cleaned out, it’s devoid of charm and personality. Think of it as adding some furniture in a box with none or very little accessories. It’s missing that WOW factor that make buyers fall in love with your home.

6)Down playing the flaws- Although you can’t hide the flaw, you can detract from it by drawing your eyes elsewhere. For example: an outdated kitchen cabinet can have a more updated look if you replace the old handle with more modern one. I once did a kitchen that had chocolate brown formica cabinets. The color of the cabinet wasn’t so much the problem since expresso chocolate is a very popular color. But the doors had a grooved out pattern that the paint had started to chip. I got the home owner to paint the groves black, on all the doors, then I switch out all the handle and put nice stainless handle. When it was all said and done, it was still the originally cabinets but with a more updated look.

Although staging may look simple , there is a lot more to it. Staging should be left to the professional. This is the only way to ensure you will get the most profit. Our Home is probably our biggest commodity, when so much is stake, shouldn’t you hire the best?