1 Designed to Sell: Dining Room Before & After

Many times, homeowners use a space to best fit their needs instead of abiding by the intended purpose of a room. And why shouldn’t they?

As a homeowner, you need a space that fits the functionality of your life. However, this line of thinking won’t always work in your best interest when it comes time to sell.

Take for example, this dining room turned living room. The owners needed a larger living space and opted to use the dining room as their main hangout. However to buyers, looking for that dining space, this layout could become a bit confusing…

Now, returned to it’s original use, buyers can see that there is indeed an excellent dining space in this home. Extra credit for the wall color…

-Cara

Photos courtesy of HGTV.com

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0 Designed to Sell: Update With Paint

Paint is one of the easiest—and most budget friendly—ways to prep your home for a speedy sale, but where to start? Below are three excellent tips from Realtor.com … 

Make Rooms Gender Neutral:

Paint Neutral, Healthy Colors:

Camouflage Dated Paneling:

-Cara

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0 Designed to Sell: Condo Before & After

Before, this condo looks fresh and clean but also cold and stark.

Now, with contemporary furnishings and neutral wall art, this condo will be more appealing to buyers and most likely receive a higher offer. Sold!

Photos courtesy of HGTV.com

-Cara

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0 Designed to Sell: Living Room Before & After

Eeek! I know you also cannot look past all of the clutter, so I won’t elaborate on the mess, but the mustard walls and furniture placement aren’t helping this room sell either.

  

The freshly painted neutral walls and contemporary furniture bring this living space to a new level. Now buyers can envision how they can utilize this space when it is their own. Sold!

  Photos courtesy of HGTV.com 


-Cara

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1 Designed to Sell: Bathrooms

When potential buyers enter your home, one key feature they look for are appealing bathrooms. When staging your home to sell, put a little extra effort into those areas. Think clean, fresh and luxurious.

• If the fixtures in your bathroom are outdated (spigots, handles, mirrors, etc.), consider replacing them with sleek, modern fixtures.
• Adorn the towel rack with high-quality plush towels in subtle colors. When buyers come to visit, always remove your daily towels.
• If you have a shower curtain, be certain it is 100% clean.  If not, replace it.  Choose a solid curtain and keep it simple. White is always a safe choice.
• Check the tub and shower to make sure there are only necessary items in there.  No messy bars of soap and shampoo bottles. Place items under the sink after using them each day.
• Hang neutral art in your bathroom to transform it from hum-drum to something special.
• Fresh flowers and candles suggests a spa like atmosphere.
• Make sure your bathroom is squeaky clean. Many buyers will not be able to look past dingy grout and filmy shower doors.

 

 

 

   

 

 

This bathroom is nice and new, but a few neutral pieces of wall art and plush towels set the stage for a speedy sale… 

 

 
The bright walls and under-the-sea inspired shower curtain may be fun for the kids, but buyers are adults and looking for a neutral, peaceful retreat…

 

-Cara

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0 Designed to Sell: Kitchens

The kitchen is really the heart of the house and the one room that demands the most attention.

Actually, staging the kitchen is one of the easier rooms to do. There’s no re-arranging furniture, but there are still several guidelines to stick to:

Countertops

Clear every appliance, utensil, gadget, spice jar, knickknack that you own from the countertops. Then, add a few (3-4 max) to add color and shape without being distracting. For example, a bowl of fruit or a flower arrangement in an attractive vase should do. Clearing the countertops allows the eye to focus on the functional space of the room.

This kitchen in on point with clean countertops, matching hand towels, and a few neutral accessories…



Appliances
The front of the refrigerator needs to be free of all refrigerator magnets, children’s artwork, post-it notes, photos, everything! Stoves, ovens, microwaves, and dishwashers should all be spotlessly clean inside and out. They require no staging other than to be clean and free of fingerprints.

Cabinets
As with everything else in the house, cabinet exteriors and interiors need to be absolutely clean.

Remove as many items from the cabinets as possible. Most cabinets have an assortment of everyday glasses and plates, plus lots of everything that only get used occasionally. Remove everything that you don’t need for day-to-day living.  

Home kitchen offices
If you’re fortunate enough to have a small home office in your kitchen, make sure it is neat and tidy. Remove all personal items (calendars, date books, planners). People want to imagine themselves working away, not you.

Etc…
If there is anything else in the kitchen that can be removed (shelves, non-built-in cabinets, etc.) and they are not necessary for the function of the kitchen, remove and store them someplace else. Make sure all light bulbs are in working order to keep your kitchen light and bright.

Before & After:

Before this kitchen looked bare and impersonal. By staging an eating area, buyers can now imagine themselves gathering around the table with family and friends…

What a difference clean counter tops and a smaller table makes in the eat in kitchen!



-Cara

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2 Designed to Sell: Dining Rooms

Every room in your home has a traditional purpose that it must be returned to while your home is on the market. You wouldn't want to put a treadmill in the dining room or have your office in the kitchen. That would definitely send a confusing message to potential buyers.

To prepare your dining room for tip-top selling condition, clear out everything except the dining room table and a few chairs. Depending on the size of the dining room, for small to medium, have no more than 4 chairs. Even if your dining room table will seat 16, for the time being you will want it collapsed down as small as possible.

The only other piece of furniture in the room (if you must) is a china cabinet, sideboard, or buffet--but only one. Everything else goes into storage. Just a couple of furniture pieces will be enough to define the space and make the room feel as large as possible.

There should also be a nice light fixture centered over the table. If you have a chandelier that was installed when the house was built in the 1950s, it's probably time to upgrade to a more stylish fixture. Luckily, replacing a chandelier is a relatively easy and inexpensive fix.

The table should always be clean and decluttered. Don't go overboard with place settings. Neutral plates and napkins are fine, but aren't necessary. An attractive, yet modest centerpiece is welcoming, and fresh flowers are always a great option.

Below are a few examples of nicely staged dining rooms with just enough furniture and decor to define the space...

Now buyers are ready to enter your home and can immediately imagine themselves entertaining guests in their new dining room.

-Cara

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1 Designed to Sell: Closets

Buyers will want to see every nook and cranny of your home. Not only are they considering the number of bedrooms and bathrooms offered by your house but also the amount and condition of storage space. Don't be tempted to stuff clutter into the nearest closet and call your home ready to show. An overcrowded, disorganized closet only sends one message to a potential buyer: this house does not have enough storage space.

Here are a few simple rules to help boost your closets from drab to fab.

Rule #1: A visitor should be able to see at least 50% of the closet without any items.

Before: This rule may be hard to follow in all closets, but for a coat closet or laundry room, it should be a breeze. This coat closet was filled to the brim with the owner's personal items. Buyers looking to entertain may not get the impression that this home has enough storage to accommodate for guest.



After: By removing nearly all personal items and tidying up the overhead shelf and floor area, this welcoming closet is ready to party.

Rule #2: Empty closets of all clothing items expect those that you'll need for the next two weeks.

Before: This rule does require a bit of planning, but as shown by this closet, cramming every item of clothing you own into a small space doesn't send a potential buyer the right message.



After: By removing unneeded and off season items, this closet quickly transforms into a inviting space.



Rule #3: Invest in matching hangers for every item of clothing, and arrange hanging clothes by purpose and color.

Before: Hmmm, not sure where to start with this one. It looks like they attempted to get organized at one point but stopped a bit shy of the finish line.



After: By installing an inexpensive closet system and organizing hanging clothes by color and purpose on matching wooden hangers, this revamped closet projects a lifestyle of success.



Now for a little daydreaming...

Before: This space wasn't quite large enough for the owner to use as an extra bedroom.



After: Now transformed into any girl's dream closet, this space is fun, functional and would make any buyer's jaw drop in amazement.

Closets should not only look clean but smell clean as well. If your closet has even the slightest hint of must, mildew or any other unidentifiable odor, thoroughly clean the closet. Once your space is sparkling, place a block of cedar in the closet in an out of the way location to keep it smelling fresh.

-Cara

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0 Designed to Sell: Bedrooms

Here's the good news. It's fairly simple to stage a bedroom, because most bedrooms have only limited furniture. So home staging in a bedroom will normally involve the simple tasks of painting the walls a neutral color, rearranging furniture and adding light decor.

Remember, potential buyers are not coming into your house to see how you live, but to see how this house might allow them to live. Most buyers are also looking for something larger than what they currently have, so one of the main goals is to make the bedrooms appear as large as possible. With a few staging tricks, you can bring your bedrooms to their maximum potential.

Before, this bedroom was overcrowded with too much furniture that covered the beautiful hardwood floors. By removing all unnecessary furniture and swapping the old comforter with new, luxurious linens this bedroom is transformed into a relaxing retreat.

This empty bedroom does little to inspire a potential buyer, but by adding a bed adorned with plush pillows and a neutral comforter, this room becomes an excellent spot for guests to unwind during their stay. The simple conversation set added to the courtyard brings attention to the outdoor space accompanying this bedroom.

By removing the toys and "unbunking" the bunk beds buyers are offered the option of a lovely guest room instead of a space defined for the use of children only. I probably would have recommended painting the blue walls a more neutral color as well...

By raising the window treatments, removing a few large pieces of furniture and centering the bed with the windows, this room becomes a light and bright space. It is also important to note the difference a nicely made bed makes. Again, I would have also opted to tone down the pink walls, but still a major improvement!

Once your bedrooms are staged and ready to show, be sure to keep them tidy. Dust under and around the bed to keep your floors shining, and be sure to clear all bedside tables of everything except for a few necessary items such as your alarm clock. Now you're ready to bring on the buyers!

-Cara

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0 Designed to Sell: Living Room

The moment a potential buyer enters your house--no, rewind. The moment a potential buyer pulls into your driveway, they begin to ask if they could see themselves making your house their next home. Hopefully, the answer is "Yes! I cannot live without this amazing house. Let's make an offer immediately!" Your home sells and all are happy.

We all know that this is not always the case. Not every buyer falls in love with every home they see. BUT you can make your home more appealing by staging your home in a way that appeals to a larger number of buyers. Let's check out a few staging before and afters that make a living room more "buyer friendly":

This stale living room, with window treatments blocking natural light, was transformed into an inviting space. Tall window draperies now unify the color scheme while adding dramatic height and light. A few simple accessories tie the look together.

Soaring cathedral ceilings and a cozy fireplace were emphasized in this room with improved furniture placement, properly scaled artwork, and vertically-striped window treatments that call the eye's attention to the height of the space.

What a difference the right furnishings made in this townhouse! A living room can be created in even the smallest setting. This space took on an entirely new look with just a few small furniture pieces and colorful accessories.

A note from the Realtors:

There is no need to rush out and spend a fortune on items to stage your home. Many times what you need already belongs to you. Decide which furniture pieces are most presentable, properly scaled to the room, and fit the purpose of the space you are defining. Nothing makes a room feel smaller than a sofa that occupies half of your valuable living room space.

-Cara

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