With such a sluggish real estate market, staging is an important part of the home selling process. Not only does it help you sell your home faster, but it also allows you to fetch a higher price. A well-staged home will stand out from the competition and appeal to a wide range of prospective buyers.
Now that you know the importance of staging your home for sale, let’s provide you with a comprehensive home staging checklist to help you cover all the key areas of your home before you start showcasing it to buyers.
Preparation
- Get a pre-listing appraisal to determine your home’s current market value
- Perform a comprehensive inspection of your home to understand its condition and decide if you should make repairs
- Hire a real estate agent to help you through the home selling process
- Perform a visual inspection of all the rooms in your home and evaluate each room from a buyer’s perspective
Clean and Declutter
- Go through every room and get rid of items you no longer use or need. You can hold a yard sale, donate items in usable condition, and call a junk removal company to haul away trash
- Remove bulky pieces of furniture and rearrange the remaining pieces to maximize space
- Deep clean the entire home—this may include scrubbing the tiles, steaming carpets, deep cleaning floors, and power washing the exterior
- Organize room closets, cabinets, shelves, and other storage options
Depersonalize Your Rooms
- Paint your walls neutral colors like beige, cream, white, grey, or light pastels
- Put away personal photos, kids artwork, toys, certifications, and personal collections
- Keep clothes hidden away as much as possible
- Put away makeup, toothbrushes, bathrobes, and other items in your bathroom that may be personal
Show off Your Living Room’s Best Features
- Thoroughly clean your living room—this is where buyers visit first and spend the most time, so you want the space to look well maintained
- Remove bulky and unnecessary furniture to create more space
- Space out furniture and ensure there’s a natural traffic flow through the space
- Depersonalize your living room by removing family photos, magazines, personal documents, remote controls, and knick-knacks
- Add house plants or fresh cut flowers to add warmth and make the space welcoming
- Accent the sofa and chairs with pretty accent pillows
- Hang curtains in neutral colors
- Declutter the shelves and surfaces
- Stage the coffee table
- Install new hardware on built-ins
- Add a new area rug
- Apply a fresh coat of paint if necessary
- Open the drapes and blinds to show off large windows
Pay Attention to Kitchens and Bathrooms
- Deep clean the floors and other surfaces
- Clear the countertops, organize the pantry, and get rid of rarely-used items
- Organize your appliances so that your kitchen doesn’t look crowded
- Replace cabinetry hardware and light fixtures
- Remove personal items that can be distracting to potential buyer
- Add a bowl of fresh fruit in the kitchen
- Make minor kitchen and bathroom improvements—for example, you can repaint older cabinets for a modern look, fix any scuffs, and paint the walls
- Clear off bedside tables and dresser
- Keep closet doors closed—if you have a walk-in closet, keep it free of laundry and clutter
- Choose a neutral color palette like white, beige, cream, and brown
- Keep toilet seat lids closed
- Remove stains from sinks, bathtubs, and toilets
- Create a spa-like appeal with elements like a soothing palette, mood lighting with dimmer switches, luxurious white towels, and bathrobes.
- Polish the mirrors—the last thing potential buyers want to see is stains and smudges on your bathroom mirrors
Maximize Curb Appeal
- Trim back trees and shrubs in your yard to give buyers the impression that your home is well taken care of
- Paint the home’s exterior—a fresh coat of paint can impact sale price when selling a home
- Clean your yard of fallen branches and leaves
- Clean your windows
- Clean out the gutters
- Use outdoor furniture to create inviting spaces.
- Sweep all walkways, patios, porches, and decks
- Stage the front porch potted plants
- Show off your outdoor space’s best features
Other Helpful Home Staging Tips
- Hire a professional home staging company to help you with the process
- Consult with a professional realtor for suggestions on how to stage your home
- Prioritize the most important rooms such as the living room, the dining room, the kitchen, and bedroom
- Keep the current season in mind. For instance, if it’s winter, add throw pillows and warm blankets to your bed and strategically place fluffy area rugs in your living room
Effective Home Staging Is Essential To Selling A Home
If you’re planning on selling your home, then staging your home is a worthwhile investment. For many, home staging results in a higher selling price and a quicker home sale. We hope this home staging checklist will help you sell your home quickly and for the highest price possible.
