The Art of Staging

The art of staging may be defined as: getting your home ready for showing potential prospects. This does not mean that if you recently redecorated the house, you have had it properly staged. Quite the contrary; decorations implies you have a relative tie to the house; and staging is about getting your prospective buyer to the point of seeing themselves living in the residence. They are not going to be able to envision that if all of your clutter and personal belongings are sitting around your place. In this regard, you are going to need to break ties as the owner of the house, and step inside the shoes of the investor.

In order to stage the house properly, you must remove all of the clutter and personal mementos that are lying around. However, on the other hand, you do not want to make the house look as if it were deserted. The following list provides you with some steps in getting rid of clutter with respect to staging your house.

In the kitchen; make absolutely sure that all excess china dishes and pots and pans have been packed in boxes and moved to a different location; maybe the cellar. This is the important rule number one. Potential buyers must have the opportunity to envision how their own personal possessions will fit into the allotted room in the cupboards.

There should be matching or coordinating hand towels and rugs in both the kitchen area and the bathroom. Any spice jars that may be on display in the kitchen should be arranged in alphabetical order. All wood cabinetry should be wiped with an oily dust clothe in order to make the wood shine. A fresh baked loaf of bread or muffins will provide an aroma that will automatically make the buyer like the home. Bathrooms cabinets should contain only the things that are absolutely necessary. In fact, keep all cosmetics to a bare minimum. A nice basket full of good smelling salts and small bars of fragrant soap is appropriate.

All excess living room furniture should be moved to another place. This will make the room appear to be larger than it actually is. Window curtains should be light and airy; definitely not made of any kind of heavy material. Bed linens, curtains and throw rugs should all match. It is a good idea to replace a queen or king size mattress with a simple full size version; thus creating the sense of a lot of extra space. Do not forget about the garage. Most people want to be able to park their automobiles in it; at least when they first move in.

If you follow the above guidelines, you should have a very successful open house tour; hopefully one that results in someone making an acceptable offer for the purchase of your home.

John is the owner of Chicago Flat Fee MLS, a Flat Fee MLS company that specializes in placing For Sale By Owner (FSBO) properties on the Realtors® Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for a low one time flat fee. Please visit Chicago For Sale By Owner to learn more about their services and the Flat Fee MLS packages they offer.

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