Top 3 DIY Home Staging Tips for 2023
Getting ready to take the leap and sell your house in 2023? Don't think of listing your home without doing the 3 D's!
The 3 D's of Home Staging
If you're old enough (like me!), you remember when preparing your home for the market consisted of picking up your dirty clothes, putting away dishes, and generally tidying up a bit. Potential buyers were left to just "take it or leave it", as is. They can look past my stuff, right? WRONG! I could write an entire blog post on that subject alone (stay tuned).
In today's market, no matter your location, the fact remains the same - you only get one chance to make a first impression with your MLS photos online, so better make it a good one.
So, before digging in and worrying about all of the fun stuff, you have to do a bit of housekeeping - literally! Which brings us to our first D:
Step 1: Declutter
As my good friend and fellow stager, Karen Otto of HomeStar Staging in Dallas, TX always says - "There's a difference between selling and dwelling." When selling your home, less is always more. One more time for the folks in the back: Less. Is. More! Potential buyers aren't going to be able to look past your collection of knick knacks, Funko Pop! characters or your fridge magnet collection. These items can distract a potential buyer from the positive features of your home.
My general rules of thumb for decluttering include:
If it's smaller than a cantaloupe, just say NOPE! Small decor items are distracting.
If you haven't used it in the last year, it needs to go. Consider donating to a local charity or selling your items online. If it must stay, pack it away & move to garage, storage or attic. PS - Don't wait until the last minute to declutter your home as this can be a time-consuming step depending on how much stuff you have.
If you need help in deciding what stays/goes - reach out to a professional home staging company (eh hm! *raises hand*) and they can help you determine what furniture and items can stay for staging, should you be residing in your home until it sells. We don't just help clients in the Austin-area - we help clients all over the US with our Virtual Home Staging Consultations, which you can learn more about here.
Step 2: Depersonalize
No ifs, ands, or buts - all personal photos must GO! Not only can personal photos be distracting to a potential buyer. We want buyers to notice the features of your home, not say, "Oh, look how cute that little baby is - he looks just like my nephew!" The focus is now on your personal photos and not your home. We are selling your home, right?
I once had clients who had risqué/boudoir and body building photos displayed in their home. These clients chose not to take our advice to remove their personal photos and it ended up intimidating potential buyers and making them uncomfortable. Spoiler alert - their house was on the market for awhile :/
(HomeCraft Staging mascot, Norris)
Ok ok, so the ONLY "but" to this situation are pet photos! Pets are neutral and cute and can set your home apart from the competition. "Oh, honey, remember the house with the cute little Pomeranian picture? I think that one was my favorite - let's put in an offer!"
Step 3: Deep Clean
By this step, you've already put in a lot of hard work in preparing your home for the market. Now it's time to deep clean your space so it's sparkly fresh for your MLS photos & potential buyers. Personally, I hate to clean so I would hire this task out & leave it to the professionals. I don't know about you, but I'd rather relish in my hard work with a glass of wine and trash TV, but that's just me! #90DayFiance? Yes, please!
Preparing your home for the market can be a lot of work, but remember what we said in the beginning? You only get one, single chance to make a first impression - make it count! Need a hand? Don't know where to start? We can help. Contact us at the links above.
