It’s no secret that staged homes sell quicker and at higher prices than homes that aren’t staged. But (you may be protesting) you don’t have a bunch of money to spend on new furniture, rugs, and drapes or on a professional staging service. Never fear – there’s still a lot you can do on your own without shelling out a lot of cash to stage your home and make it look its best. Here are 5 easy ways to stage your home in Kauai on a budget.
1. Declutter and Depersonalize
Your best first step – and one that costs almost nothing – to stage your home involves decluttering and depersonalizing.
“A junky home is a sign of a homeowner that doesn’t care about their home. It doesn’t require any money to declutter your home. Clutter is an eyesore and causes buyers not to focus on what’s important. It also makes a home appear small. Get rid of everything you don’t use or need. Don’t put it in the closet. Buyers love inspecting closets, and if yours are cluttered, they may deter a sale.”
But don’t stop there: you should also depersonalize each and every room. So get rid of all the quirky art and knick-knacks, take down family photos, and paint over walls with weird or outlandish colors. The goal here is to make your home a blank palette that will allow potential buyers to envision it as their own home with all their belongings in place.
For more tips on depersonalizing, you can contact a Kauai agent at 808-634-4518.
2. Move Furniture and Place It Strategically
Strategic placement of furniture is another effective, no-cost way to stage your home in Kauai. Do it right, and you can make rooms look larger.
When people enter a room they typically scan from left to right. So, in your strategic furniture placement, put the larger, taller items on the left (as you enter) and place progressively smaller pieces as you move to the right. This will have the most pleasing visual effect while doing the most to make the room seem more spacious.
Mixing and contrasting styles also help. “To prevent your interior from looking plain, you should mix furnishings, fabrics, and colors. For instance, mismatched dining chairs can make a dining area look more visually appealing. You can also replace end chairs with others in a contrasting style. Move furniture that is cramping one room to another room to add visual space.”
3. Add Natural Elements
A big part of staging involves making your home feel warm and welcoming. So when you stage your home, be sure to add natural elements and features.
According to staging pros, “[a]adding natural features in your interior decorating is a great way to make your home feel warm and welcoming. Choose elements that reflect your home’s geographical location. If you live in the countryside, use features like twigs, dried flowers, wood, and wheat. If you live on the coast, integrate elements like sea-grass, seashells, and coral rocks.”
4. Add Some Accents
Adding thought-out accents in the right places can make your home look and feel much more appealing to potential buyers. You can probably find the pieces you need in your home, but even if you have to buy some, it won’t cost a lot.
Some possibilities here include:
ATTRACTIVE HAND SOAPS
Luxurious-looking soaps, both bars and in containers, can add appealing splashes of color in bathrooms and kitchens. Just make sure you don’t use the bar soap to keep it fresh-looking.
FRESH FLOWERS
Fresh flowers are always a win, especially when their colors complement and strategically contrast with the color scheme of your home. If you’re extremely budget-conscious, you could use a bud vase filled with greenery from your garden or yard.
NEW SHOWER CURTAIN
A brand-spanking-new shower curtain in the bathroom can work wonders. Professional stagers recommend white for the clean, serene feel it provides. And white doesn’t have to be boring – you can spice it up with a shower curtain with an interesting texture.
NEW TEA TOWELS
Something as easy and affordable as new tea towels can really spice up a kitchen. And you can often pick up a set for under $10. Staging pros recommend that you fold the new towels in thirds to hide the seam before you drape them, say, over the oven handle.
5. Don’t Do Too Much
And when you stage your home, don’t do too much, don’t over-stage. It’s a temptation we all have to fight. If a little staging is good, a lot more will be much better, right? Not so according to the experts.
“Don’t get carried away when staging your home. Going overboard with anything, even flowers or decor can be a mistake. After all, you don’t want potential buyers to get so distracted with what’s in your home that they forget to look around at the home.” For example, “[t]o strike the right balance between a staged home and a lived-in home, avoid setting your dining table to perfection. Over-staging and over-styling with a full table setting can make the house look inauthentic and overly formal.”
And Consult Your Local Agent
Finally, you should keep in mind that preferences and tastes vary from area to area and from market to market. That’s why you should consult your local Kauai and get her input on what will work best in the local market. When you’re ready to sell and want to effectively stage your home in Kauai, be sure to contact us today at 808-634-4518.