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1. Stage Your Cabinets and Closets

This one may seem unnecessary since these areas are not visible, but buyers who are really interested in your home will be looking in these areas. So, it is important to make them as attractive as the rest of the home. Start by removing at least half of the contents and packing them away. Next, clean, organize and beautify the items as if they were all on display. You will be amazed how much more attractive your clothes closet becomes with half the amount of clothes. Take it a step further, and update all of your hangers so they match. It’s all about the psychology of the buyer–everyone wants to live in a well organized house.

2. Update Your House Numbers

Have you ever spent 20 min looking for an address? This type of situation can really be frustrating and can pretty much set the mood before a buyer even arrives. Or even worse–potential buyers may even give up entirely and move on to the next house. So, make sure your house numbers are visible from the street. Are they more than ten years old? Maybe it’s time to invest in some brand new ones. Small details like this can make a big difference.

3. Repair the Driveway

The driveway can be an important feature of a home for some buyers. A dirty, cracked, damaged driveway can be a real turnoff. If you can’t replace it, then at least power wash it or re-seal it.

4. Remove the TV from the Master Bedroom

The master bedroom should be a peaceful sanctuary where buyers can imagine themselves escaping from the world. When there is a visible TV in the room, it becomes difficult to envision such a sanctuary. So, put it away in storage until the home sells.

5. Bring in Some Uplighting

If you have rooms with dark areas or florescent overhead lights that are too bright, purchase a few accent uplights. These can be easily purchased at most hardware stores and cost between $10 and $20, and they make such a huge difference. They work especially well behind plants and furniture, giving the room a soft glow.

6. Give the Home Some Curb Appeal

The exterior of a home is the first thing potential buyers see so it is important that it looks its best. Walk across the street and look at your home from a distance. Is there anything that stands out? When I did this with my own house, I saw an old satellite dish that needed to be removed, gutters that needed to be replaced, a rusty electrical pipe that needed to be painted, and some trees that needed to be trimmed. This allowed me to eliminate any negative aspects that may turn off buyers.

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1. Bring in Elements of Nature

I think this is the most important tip, especially when it is so hard to leave your property. Where we live, city officials have closed many trails and parks to help stop the spread of Covid-19, while other nature spots are so packed it’s difficult to enjoy them. Under these circumstances, I am a big fan of bringing nature inside. And any type of greenery instantly makes a space feel more healthy and alive. Even if you don’t have any on hand (and you can’t run to you’re local nursery) you can still cut flowers or greenery from you’re garden, have plants or flowers delivered or order a faux plant online.

2. Don’t Forget About Creature Comforts.

This is such an easy one because there are so many ways to do it. Blankets, pillows, rugs, baskets, furniture, and décor are just a few items that can have such a huge impact and instantly warm a space. Take your small blankets out of the closet and add them to a basket on the floor or simply throw them on a sofa. Or cover your sofa with tons of pillows. One of my favorite tricks is to buy new covers instead of new pillows. That way, you don’t end up with more pillows than you have room for. And one of the easiest ways to add warmth to any room is to bring in some wood. Wether it is a piece of furniture, a bowl, wall décor, or even a small piece of driftwood placed on a shelf, wood always makes a room more cozy.

3. Lighting Is So Important

Lighting is such an important element and is often the most overlooked. Candles and lamps can instantly make a space more inviting and calming. Who doesn’t feel more relaxed in a room filled with flickering candles? And if you have a fireplace, use it—the flame from a fire is the ultimate coziness creator.

4. Bring Out the Books and Games

When we have been ordered by city officials not to leave our house (to do activities that we love), it can be depressing. So, displaying items that can be useful and perhaps enjoyable, can make a room more inviting. A small shelf full of books or a few magazines on a coffee table always adds a bit of warmth (and style!) Even a deck of cards or a chess board can have the same effect. Just keep it minimal—as too many of these items can easily turn cozy into clutter!

5. Make Your Home Smell Nicer

This last one really brings everything together to complete the experience. Smell is such a powerful human sense that can instantly change your mood, make you more relaxed, or even help you fall asleep.  Bring out your scented candles, air fresheners, or diffusers to create the ultimate cozy home.

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Forget about any one-size-fits-all approach. It is more than likely that buyers will have seen a dozen or more homes before they reach yours. So, it’s possible for them to see the same look (grey sofa’s, grey and black wall-art, white dining tables) over and over again. By this point, the staging loses its effectiveness.

How do you avoid this generic look? Be distinctive (while following the basic rules of staging, of course) by using eye-catching artwork, unique textures and textiles, and one or two pops of colour, which allows the eye to circulate around a room. For wall-art, combine different mediums, such as photographs and metalwork, or even a chalkboard panel.

2. Leaving personal effects

Lesson #1:  A home purchase always begins with an emotional connection. How to guarantee that connection doesn’t happen? Leave too much evidence of the homeowners personal tastes, photographs, and religious views, because it makes it really difficult for a homebuyer to envision themselves living in the home.

3. Not enough lighting

Unfortunately, lighting is often forgotten in the home staging process, but it has the most impact than any other element. Walk into a room bathed in cozy, warm lighting and you’ll feel a sense of calm. Walk into the same room glowing with harsh fluorescents, and you will be overcome with anxiety.

So, it is important to assess the lighting situation and change it accordingly. To brighten up a dark room, remove window coverings, and incorporate mirrors, reflective surfaces, and light coloured furnishings. To make a room feel warmer, use incandescent bulbs instead of LED. To make a room feel larger or more interesting, add layer different types of lighting such as ambient (brightens the entire room), accent (to accent a special feature or space), and task (for functionality).

4. Forgetting about objects of desire and comfort

These extra touches can elicit a powerful visceral response, from luxurious fur throws and decor pillows scattered on a living room sofa to an ultra-soft, white bath robe hanging in the bathroom.

Hotel-style bedding, fresh-looking faux flowers (or real ones) and spa products in the bathroom can also have the same effect. Just don’t go overboard, which can make the space feel contrived.

5. Passing up staging entirely

Many people understand the value in staging, but don’t want to pay for it. Quotes from staging companies that are in the range of $3000-5000 upfront, can sound daunting. Many buyers just don’t have that type of cash laying around. There are affordable ways, however, to work with a staging expert.

A professional stager is trained to help buyers identify their priorities, wether that is having someone come in for a consultation and offer advice or just redo one or two rooms. And for a vacant home, simply staging the main entryway and living area can be very effective. It doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing.

And in the end, staging will save you money, with staged homes selling for 6-25% more than the non-staged home.

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