Budget Friendly Staging Ideas

Everyone wants to get top dollar for their home when they sell here at the Lake of the Ozarks and there are several things you can do to make sure your home shows well to potential buyers. You hear a lot about staging when selling your home, but you also know that hiring a professional to stage your home can get pricey. What most people do not know is that there is a lot of things you, as the home owner, can do very easily on your own to make sure you get the most out of every showing you have. Below are a few tips for staging your home so potential buyers can picture themselves making your house their new home!

DECLUTTER!!

Clutter can be one of the biggest turn-offs to potential buyers, so while your home is on the market you want to pack away anything that could be considered “extra” to the functionality and the design of your home. Start with your
closets. You may think that’s a weird place to start since people do not see closets, but let me assure a home buyer will look in your closets, because storage space is at the top of most home buyers priority list. So if your closets are so packed full of stuff, the buyer will see a storage problem even if there is plenty of space. Your goal is to have a closet about half full, so the closet appears to be large enough to grow into.

Furniture Arrangement!!

Another important aspect of getting rid of clutter in a home, is removing unnecessary furniture. Often times too much furniture can make a small room look smaller. According to HGTV another common misconception is that placing furniture along walls makes a room appear larger. They suggest grouping furniture together, or floating furniture in conversation pods, and create a clear flow of traffic in the room; and by doing this it makes small rooms seem larger. Another design feature you can use is adding color to your furniture groupings, and according to paint companies purple hues are the color of year (Dittman). So find some purple and accent your living spaces. Also make sure small spaces are made functional. You can do this by adding shelves and small desks to odd places (HGTV).

MAKE SMALL ROOMS FEEL LARGER!!

On top of rearranging furniture and getting rid of clutter in small rooms, you can also paint the walls to match color of the larger living area closest to the space. This is most commonly applied to kitchen dining combinations or smaller living spaces (HGTV). Another tip is picking a color that matches the window drapes and preferably is a lighter neutral color to make the space seem larger (HGTV).

NEUTRAL IS IN!!

Many people assume neutral colors mean beige. Let’s bust that myth now. Neutral colors can be warm tans and honey colors or soft greens and blues (HGTV). A warm neutral color can make older dated furnishings look new, especially when you add color accents on the furniture and drapes. Never underestimate the power of a good neutral paint color and accents throughout the room.

LIGHTING!!

Lighting is another really cheap item you can check off your list. Most homes have improper lighting, which can cause spaces to seem smaller and dingy. Change out your light bulbs and increase the wattage in light fixtures (if it is safe), and add accent lighting (like lamps). “Aim for 100 watts of lighting per 50 square feet of living space” (HGTV). Adding light is another way to add color pops to your room designs.

Here at Jacobs Real Estate Partners we hope these five staging tips will help your home at the Lake make a good first impression to buyers, because everyone knows you only get one first impression. We want to partner with you in the entire buying and selling process and if you would like additional staging ideas below are some links you can follow to find more ways to make your home ready to show. Also be sure to follow us on Pinterest for more decorating tips.

All of these pictures came from HGTV the links are below please click on links for more staging tips.
http://www.hgtv.com/decorating-basics/15-secrets-to-selling-your-home/pictures/index.html?i=1 
http://www.hgtv.com/decorating-basics/12-simple-home-staging-tips/pictures/index.html?i=1
http://realtormag.realtor.org/home-and-design/staging-tips
http://www.pinterest.com/jacobsre/