Staging A Vacant Home For Sale

My husband and I sold a little rental house

we have owned for over 20 years. 

Hi friends, this last year has brought a lot of changes to our family. My husband retired 

from the Police Force after 27 years of service and with that, some  changes had to be made. 

Since Real Estate prices in our area have been through the roof, we decided it was a

good time to let go of a little rental property we have owned for well over 20 years. 

We had to give our tenants notice, do a bunch of repairs which always takes longer

than expected (especially during COVID times). After all was done, I shopped our 

house & garage for any decor items I could use to stage with. Since I have a hoarding pile

of decor in our garage, I ended up only having to purchase a couple of little things, 

like a pair of Target curtains and a coat rack. 

Here is the first load I took over to the rental. CLEARLY, I have a

 love affair with wicker (don't judge)! 

Since I work for a Real Estate Company (as a bookkeeper), I know how much a 

professional stager costs in our area which is between $1,000 - $3,000 for an empty home. 

But I didn't feel it was necessary to actually furnish this home, I only wanted

to use what I had to make the home feel cozy & loved. 

Staging a home will:

• Make the property photos stand-out on-line
• Demonstrates a home's potential
• Helps people better imagine themselves living in a space
• Makes a space seem bigger 
• Helps to connect a potential buyer to the home emotionally

Here are some BEFORE's 

 

Here are the AFTER's

 

TIP #1 STAY NEUTRAL FOR BROAD APPEAL

Although color and pattern adds much personality, you need to tone it

 down when staging. Neutrals keep spaces gender neutral and

 work best for broad appeal.

I was lucky & still had our old kitchen table stored in our 

garage which I had planned on selling. It came in super handy

to use for staging. My friend let me borrow some EXTRA chairs

she had at her house, we set the table and VOILA now the 

dining area went from BORING to SWEEEEET !!!!

TIP #2 SETTING THE TABLE 

It's a nice finishing touch that can help the buyers

visualize living there. 

TIP#3 INCREASE LIGHTING EVERYWHERE

Staging a home is no time for mood lighting. One of the things potential

buyers comment on is the amount of light in a home. Replace

any burned out lightbulbs, swap out for higher wattage bulbs,

clean your windows, open the blinds, and don't forget to 

turn on the lights before any showing. 

For the living room I borrowed the wicker chair, pouf and

vase from our living room at home. 

TIP#4 ARRANGE IN ODD NUMBERS  

From throw pillows to accessories, professional stagers & designers

swear by decorating in threes, fives, and sevens, which gives

some visual interest to otherwise symmetrical spaces.

Here is the little kitchen, we put down a new vinyl floor and 

new counters, but the cabinets are still the original ones from

the 80's. I hung a beaded macramé plant holder (World Market)

from the ceiling with some fake greens.

 

I actually did purchase this wall rack from World Market

and was excited to use it in our house afterwards.  

This is the master bedroom. I hung some curtains and leaned

this cool wall art against the wall with some twinkle lights.

Here is the master bathroom. Hanging a nice shower curtain

makes a huge difference.

This little bedroom is my fave ..... A giant basket tipped over 

served as a little side table. 

TIP#5 USE EXTRA ROOMS DELIBERATELY

Never leave a room empty. Instead, make that unused guest room feel usable.

This is the hallway bath. 

TIP#6 Don't forget the Exterior

Your home’s curb appeal is the ultimate first impression. Mow your lawn, pressure wash any dingy areas, repair chipping paint, plant some flowers, 

and tidy up any patio furniture.

Out on this little cement deck, I simply placed a couple of 

plastic Adirondack chairs with pillows and an old crate with

a cool rusty candelabra and some flowers. It instantly turned

into a cozy little place to hang out. 

Well, we quickly had an offer, the house is now SOLD and we are happy campers!

And just for giggles.... here are a couple of the neighbors 

that couldn't wait to come over for a snoop.....LOL

I's amazing what a HUGE difference a little bit of staging can do.