Below are pictures of a redesign we did of a living room, dining room, and the front hallway.

Before the redesign, when you walked into the front door, you saw the before scene.  The couch completely cut off the room and took over the view.  By simply changing the angle of the furniture, the room opened up completely.  We also removed some of the clutter of accessories, we were able to achieve a clean design the client was just absolutely ecstatic about.

before after

As for the front entry way, the small wicker loveseat and shelving unit were a great idea for the inset area by the door.  However, something was off balance about the area.  There was too much negative space between the top of the loveseat and the bottom of the pictures.  By swapping out the tiny portraits with larger wall art from another location in the home, the balance was easily achieved making it much more pleasing to the eye.

before after

The dining room did not really need much, other than cleaning out the clutter and realigning the table and chairs.  But you can easily see the difference, even for a home staging situation.  Before, you weren’t quite sure what the room was used for.  Now you definitely know it is a dining room, and even though the table and chairs may be out of date, you hardly notice because the room looks fantastic.

before after

Did you ever think that what your house looks like on the outside can make a difference in whether or not a buyer is interested in seeing the inside?

Your goal should be to impress the buyer with the exterior of your home to urge them to want to see more!  Ever heard of the expression curb appeal?  You want to entice the buyers immediately with the look of your home from the outside.

Make sure the outside of your home is:

• Tidy and clutter free, meaning bikes and toys and garbage cans are hidden away
• Driveway and walkways are swept and cleared of debris
• Lawn is mowed and watered and leaves raked
• Flowerbeds are cleared of weeds, and new mulch is added
• Bushes are trimmed back
• Front Door is painted and any glass cleaned

Around the front door, all leaves and debris should be removed.  The door should be cleaned and/or freshly painted, and any glass panels around the door should be cleaned until they shine!  Is there a front door knocker?  It should be gleaming and look brand new.  The front door is where the buyer stops right before they walk in and HOPE your house is the house out of all they have seen that will take their breath away.  Start that impression off “right” at the front door!

What about the overall exterior of the home?  Is any of the paint faded or peeling?  Are any windows cracked or broken?  Are their any shutters missing?  Is the roof missing any shingles?

How does the mailbox look?  I can’t tell you how many houses up for sale that have a mailbox that is falling off its post, or a mailbox that looks like it has been hit by a car.  I have seriously seen a house that is up for sale that the owners have secured the mailbox to the post by wrapping duct tape around it.  I know duct tape fixes everything, but come on.  What kind of impression does that make about your house?  That you skimped out on anything you fixed and it was probably a inferior job.  No one wants to buy that house.  It is all about impressions with buyers.

What about the landscaping?  Weeds and overgrowth should be cleaned up and new mulch applied where necessary.  Again, all these are signs that your house has been well taken care of.

Even the trash cans, toys, bikes, etc.  All these things should be neatly stored away out of site to present a clean and tidy exterior (to go with the tidy interior).

If the exterior of the house is in disarray or not kept up, a buyer may wonder how much they will have to spend and do themselves.  That is usually less money they are willing to pay.

You would be surprised how little things can give the buyer the impression that a home has not been taken care of.  And who wants that?  That perception can easily turn thoughts into “what else could be wrong with this house?”

If the exterior of the home protrays a negative image, your 6 seconds could start right there before the buyer even enters the home…they could decide they have seen enough and ask their realtor to move on to the next house on the list, not even stepping foot in your house!  That is NOT what you want.  You want every opportunity to get every buyer inside your home so you can WOW them into buying your home and not the competition down the street.

Basically put, Home Staging is emphasizing the positives and downplaying the negatives of your home.  The goal is to create that WOW Factor to put your home at the top of the competition, getting it sold quicker!

Home Staging is the:

• Decluttering
• Depersonalizing
• Cleaning
• Painting and Minor Repairs
• Setup of Furniture and Accessories

Your home for sale is a product for potential home buyers.  You want to make your product appeal to the most possible buyers so that when those buyers walk in, they go “WOW!  I love this house!”  By the way, that is the WOW factor mentioned earlier!

Have you ever watched HGTV?  I think HGTV has defined Home Staging for the average consumer and showed exactly what home staging can do to set a house apart from the rest.  And because more people know what a staged home is and what it looks like, they know they can be pickier about what they expect in a home.  If they walk into a house and it just doesn’t do it for them, they quickly move on to the next house.

Saavy realtors have known for years that homes that are staged sell quicker and usually for more money than homes that are not staged.  They also know that when a buyer walks through the front door of a home, they have 6 seconds for that home to make an impression.  6 seconds is not a long time.  In addition, they know that even though a buyer may have a list of wants in a new house, they almost ALWAYS buy with their heart.  In other words, they buy a home they connect with emotionally - how a home makes them feel.

It can be a big job to repaint your entire house.  And I’m not suggesting that everyone who puts their home on the market for sale should do it.  Many houses may not really need new interior paint, as it seems many people are afraid of color and may still have the neutral colored walls that came with the house.  But sometimes a house really really really needs new paint.

Who should repaint?

If your home has an old coat of paint that has become worn or that has scuff marks or hand prints from everyday wear, you should seriously consider repainting.  Buyers may see this wear and tear as a sign that your home was not maintenanced or well taken care of.  That can deter many of the buyers looking at your home.  Sometimes the paint will allow some light cleaning with a wet washcloth and a little soap without taking the paint off.  It also can depend on the type of paint that was used.  I myself have had great luck with one of those cool little Mr. Clean Magic Erasers.  They really do magic!

If your home has rooms with really bold paint color or even paint color that doesn’t match well with the furniture, you should consider repainting.  Prospective buyers want to walk into a room that is comfortable and inviting, not distracting enough that they pay more attention to a loud or bold color on the walls or furniture that stands out because it doesn’t match.  That doesn’t mean that you can’t have color on your walls at all when staging a home.  You would be surprised sometimes how neutral colors can be when chosen correctly to blend with the furniture in the room.

One of the best things you can say about a new coat of paint is that it makes the house smell as if it is brand new.  That can also go a long way to mask musky or unwelcoming odors.  Of course, that in itself is another article.

In closing, sometimes painting makes sense, even if it is a big job.  But remind yourself that you are staging your home to put it at the top of the crop and make it more appealing to the largest group of prospective buyers possible.  Get several of your friends together and have a painting party!  It can go a long way to selling your home quicker!

These before and after pics are from a redesign done in East Huntsville.

A few changes were made to the kitchen to open it up a bit and give it the illusion of more space.  The table was originally out in the middle of the room.  By turning it and sliding it up against the wall, the rest of the room looked more open.  Also, by moving the picture on the wall down, the light fixture is no longer hiding it.  A simple floral arrangement added a pop of color to an otherwise neutral room.

before after

The living room was a different story.  All of the furniture in the room hugged the wall.  When the furniture is all against the wall, the room looks empty and uninviting.  The only way to get through the room was to walk right through the middle of it!  See how we made conversation area out of the recliner and the sofa?  Now they can both see the TV and the path to walk through the room does not cut in front of anyone’s view.

before after

One weekend, we trekked to Birmingham, Alabama to stage the home of a friend of the family.  It was an all weekend job, but below are some of the results.

As you can see, the living room was in quite a state of disorder.  Staging is not only about getting out the clutter, but also arranging the items so that it produces a welcoming environment for potential buyers.  As you can see here, we moved out the large pink recliner because the color just wasn’t quite right in the room, not to mention there was too much furniture in there already.  We replaced it with a smaller chair, creating a small reading nook by the window.  We also drew attention to the beautiful fireplace by clearing out out all the junk that was hiding it and adding a few accessories above the mantle.  What a difference just clearing out and rearranging can make!

before after

before after

Sometimes, it just seems that there is not alot you can do in a bedroom.  In the master bedroom of this house, the accent pillow on the bed was just lost because the colors were too light, so we found a pillow that had a little more color.  Boy does it pop!  We also found two pictures lying around in another room, so we hung them over the bed to fill out the empty space.  I don’t know if you can see it or not in the before picture, but there was a cat condo in the corner that just had to go!  We replaced it with a quaint chair already in the room.  You sure don’t want buyers to imagine any pet smells just because you have “showed” them you have a pet!

before after

Here is one of the spare bedrooms we took on.  After cleaning out all the junk that had collected, we rearranged a few of the items and ended up with the most charming little room.

before after

before after

This house was an older house, and the bathrooms told the tale with the style and avocado green tile on the walls.  The bathroom was in immaculate condition, so all we needed to do was take the buyer’s eye away from how the tile aged the house by throwing in a few modern accents such as the candles and lamps.  In the after photo you may can tell that we also added a black frame to the mirror over the sink.  Framed mirrors are all the rage these days, and the easiest and most inexpensive way to “update” a bathroom.

before after