The First Thing You Need To Know About Home Staging Is Where To Begin
DIY home staging is a great way to save money. If this is the first time you are home staging on your own it’s hard to know where to start. Have no worries! I will help you. In this post, I will give you tips on where to start and get your home staged. You can call the real estate agent and get your house on the market before you know it.
Let’s get started!
Start By Cleaning Up Clutter
This step will probably be the hardest step in home staging for you. Start by cleaning up clutter. Clutter doesn’t mean your house is a mess. The reason I say it’s the hardest step is that we don’t see our treasured items as clutter. Clutter can be items we have collected and put on shelves to display paperwork on a desk, or even small kitchen counter appliances. All of this needs to be cleared so the house can show what it has to offer.
Too many items on counters or shelves take up visual space and that is where the eye will go. We want the potential buyer to see the house, not the beautiful collectibles or the wonderful toaster oven.
Too many items will also give the impression that the house is too small and has no storage. Definitely don’t want that to happen.
Helping With The Move
I learned about Home Staging DIY in 2006 when my house wouldn’t sell. Looking through all of the other listings like mine I saw the differences between the homes that were selling and mine. The first thing I noticed was my house had too much stuff so I started packing up and donating items to help it look better.
This can be overwhelming at times. Don’t get discouraged.
Just think of this as a bonus. Decluttering is helping you by having less to move. Here is a post on “Where To Start Decluttering” that will help you get started.
This decluttering step doesn’t necessarily mean you are throwing out items either.
For example, the bookshelves below are filled with books you want to keep but the shelves are overfilled.
To home stage right they need to be cleared. Go ahead and pack them up into your moving boxes. This helps you get started packing for the move also. Check out this post with great moving tips.
Step back and take a look at what you have and go ahead and dive into the first step of DIY Home Staging.
Remember to set enough time aside to not get discouraged. It will take more than a day.
Not sure what is clutter? This post “Ideas For Home Staging” will help you see where the clutter might be.
Make Some Changes
Now that the clutter has been cleared it’s time to make some changes to the layout of the furniture. Choose one room to start with.
Preferably the living room or room that will be entered first when a prospective buyer comes to look at your house.
Choosing one room at a time will help make the home staging a little easier for you.
Go ahead and look around.
Look at the furniture like you did with decluttering. Notice if there is any unnecessary furniture or accessories in the space, remove them if there are. Use a minimal amount of furniture so the space will look spacious. Just make sure not to take out to much where the prospective buyer won’t know what to do with the room.
Remember you are home staging to sell your house. Removing the furniture will clear up space. It might be less space to sit for you and your family but it is only temporary.
Make sure to put the accessories in a box that you might need so you can get to them easier.
Also if there is any furniture that is touching each other you probably have too much or too big of furniture for the space. Keep the pieces that define what the space can be used for. This helps the buyer imagine themselves in the home.
Make areas like the picture above. It suggests to the buyer that it is a great space to relax and read.
Once this room is done move on to the next room. Each room should get easier to stage as you go, the more you do it the easier it is.
Keep going until you have finished with the whole house.
Even the kids’ rooms need to be done. They are probably the hardest room to do. Explain to them that it is temporary and they are moving to another room with the items.
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The Next Step In DIY Home Staging is Deep Cleaning
A deep cleaning by far is my least favorite thing to do. Even if you follow a weekly cleaning schedule there will be cleaning to do. There are always things to be cleaned that we miss.
What I mean by deep cleaning is cleaning everything. From ceiling to floor. Every crevice of the house. This includes the sliding area of your windows. We all think “Oh, no one will look there.” Think again, someone will.
You want the house to sparkle. Make it look as new as possible and well cared for.
Here’s a great article from Molly Maids on how to clean a house.
Helpful Items
Add Color And Style
Now the cleaning up has been done it’s time to start the fun part of DIY house staging. Adding color and style to the house.
Let the house help out with the style. For example, if it’s an old Victorian-style home make sure it’s not decorated with too many modern touches. Add some victorian touches with furniture and accessories. Just don’t overdo it. Show that some modern touches look good in it also.
Choose colors for your furniture and accessories by looking at what you already have.
What color stands out in most of the accessories?
To make it more budget-friendly choose that color as the pop of color.
The furniture needs to be more of a neutral color.
In most cases, you can use the furniture you already have. If it is worn or the furniture is mismatched try using slipcovers. They work wonders to pull a room together.
The same goes for the style of decor. What do you have the most of that will look good in the area? Use what you have before buying new.
This is where that box of accessories I asked you to set aside earlier comes in. Go through that and see what you can use. Even if you used something in the bedroom before. It might be a perfect thing for you to home stage within the living room.
Add the accessories to add interest to the room but make sure not to use too many items. Home Staging is all about setting the stage for a perfect home for that potential buyer.
Read my post for “Home Decor For Home Staging On A Budget” for more ideas. It will help guide you.
Lighting Is The Next Step To Your Home Staging
Make sure there is enough light in each room. The rooms being dark will make the house seem small and depressing.
Go through each room and check all light fixtures. Make sure each one has a working bulb in it. This will help with the showings.
If there is no ceiling light add a tall lamp that reflects towards the ceiling to lighten it up. Place some lamps in dark areas. You can also add some uplights behind furniture to brighten things up.
Standing lamps
Sometimes the rooms seem dark because of the window coverings. If the drapes make it dark make sure you remove them. If blinds are missing and it needs something over the windows try using lighter curtains—both in weight and color. Take a look at these curtains they would work great.
Add Some Life Into The Staging
Adding some plants into the decor of your home staging DIY helps bring life into the house. Place some plants throughout the house but don’t go overboard. You don’t want to clutter up the space with too much. The plants can be real or artificial.
Live Plant
Take into account that real plants need watering. If you are living at the house while you are selling real plants is great. If not go artificial.
Dead plants can tell the potential buyer that we don’t take care of things. Which can lead to them thinking the house is uncared for.
Concluding DIY Home Staging
This article will help you start your journey to selling your home. Don’t get discouraged. You can Home Stage your house on your own if you are willing to put in the time. Follow the DIY home staging tips to help make selling your house easier.
There are professional home stagers out there that can help you if you wish. They do charge a fee but they do most of the work for you. The post on DIY Home Staging Versus Professional will help answer your questions.
Any More Questions On Home Staging?
Visit my other posts on home staging here. You will find great ideas and DIY home staging tips on how to DIY Home Stage.
