Home Staging on a Budget

By Karen F. Cormier, REALTOR/Accredited Staging Professional

What’s a person to do when money is tight and they want to stage their home as best they can by themselves? The answer is to start by using the basic techniques any proficient home staging professional would use -

Purge

Remove all of the clutter on floors, counters, shelves, and closets (yes people are going to peek inside.)  Pick up toys, make sure books are vertical on the shelves and in the kitchen, try to corral your pots and pans. If you can’t bear to part with your items then get some boxes or tubs and pack it all up. Try to get rid of absolutely everything that you don’t immediately need (including junk mail and magazines that may have piled up in a kitchen corner) and anything that might detract from your house’s potential.

Clean every thing

Clean everything.  Make sure rugs are cleaned and vacuumed and wipe down walls. Clean all appliance surfaces clear of hand-prints and kitchen grime. Get out your duster and take to every shelf and light fixture. In the bathrooms, scrub that grout and wipe down all shower doors and mirrors. Karen believes that if you think its' clean do it again! Also, don’t forget the laundry area, close up and throw away empty bottles and boxes and get rid of those socks that you will never find the mates to. When cleaning use a mild cleaner, but choose one that is guaranteed to leave behind that “clean smell.”

Remove all extra furniture

Over the years, you might be surprised at how much extra furniture you accumulate. Chairs are added for extra company, couches are fit in because they have been replaced but are still too good to get rid of. Using a critical eye, go through each room and remove those extra additions. Again, if you don’t want to part with them, put them in storage, but often you’ll find that the extra furniture that served a purpose in earlier years does nothing more than take up space now.

Bring the Outdoors in

A sunlit open house is a welcome house, get rid of old heavy window treatments and keep curtains open to allow the sun in (this of course assumes that you’ve already washed those windows from the inside and from outside.)  Consider having a few green plants strategically placed in open areas and if the season is right, arrange a few flowers from the garden in a strategically placed vase.

First Appearances

Don’t forget the exterior of your house.  Keep your lawn mowed and raked.  Contain the driveway and outdoor toys and get rid of any that are no longer used or are showing age (sandbox toys in particular come to mind here.)  Make sure that bushes are pruned back and that gardens are tended. Some bright flowers either in a garden or in pots on a porch always make a positive impression. Using these basic home staging techniques, you’ll find that even when on a budge you can still present your home in its very best light for others to view.