Simple Dos And Don'ts When Staging A Small Home For Sale
When you and your real estate agent prepare your home for sale, you are sure to want the house to appeal to as many local home buyers as possible. With a small house, it's a good idea to stage the home in a way that accentuates the appeal of a cozy home while showing off the space in central areas of the house. Follow these dos and don'ts to best showcase a small home to buyers.
Do Establish Boundaries in Open Spaces
A small house that has open spaces may look bigger than it is, so you may be tempted to leave as much open space as possible in your home. However, if the kitchen is open to the den or living room, try to differentiate between the different living areas when staging your home. Otherwise, too much open space in one room can make the other seem too small. For example, if the living room is wide open but attached to the kitchen, the kitchen can seem small in comparison.
Differentiating the space can be done in a subtle way that still retains a lot of openness to accentuate what space your small home has. You can even use furniture to break up the space, placing a sofa as a sort of wall between the kitchen and a living room.
Don't Create a Storage Room
One thing that many people do when they're trying to get rid of clutter is simply designate a "storage room" within their house. However, that is not the answer when you're staging a home. Potential home buyers will want to see your entire house, and they may get suspicious is you have designated one room as "off limits".
On the other hand, never show a house with a storage room full of boxes in it. Instead, declutter your home and store your extra stuff somewhere else before you ever let home buyers in to see it.
Do Get Rid of Personal Stuff Before the Showing
It's a good idea to keep overly personal things out of your home during a showing. When preparing to stage your small home, your real estate agent will likely advise you to refrain from displaying religious items, sports memorabilia, and a lot of personal photos. That's because it can be hard for home owners to imagine the house as theirs if it so clearly marked as someone else's in a personal way.
When showing a small house, home buyers may be especially looking for a "home-like" feeling when they walk in the house. Therefore, it can be especially important to put personal stuff in storage.
Finally, keep in mind that placing a small home on the market can have some advantages. When staging your small home for sale, be sure to follow the above dos and don'ts. Take the home staging seriously, and you may find that you use some of the tips and tricks learned when decorating your next home. Making the most of a small space can have advantages for staging a home as well as living in it.
