Depersonalize! Picture this… walking into a beautiful home to view and possibly buy. As you saunter through the house in awe of the natural light, the room layout, and the light fixtures, you turn a corner and boom – your co-worker’s sister’s wedding photo up on the wall. Almost life size canvas for all to see. From that moment on, the mindset of the viewer has changed from picturing themselves in this beautiful home, to walking around the home of an acquaintance. This shift in mindset can be detrimental to the selling process. Those potential buyers are no longer looking at that home with the same open-minded perspective as they had when they arrived. To avoid all of this, let’s get those personal photos and certificates off the walls and tucked away. And while you’re at it, take down all the personal cards and photos from family and friends that are stuck on the fridge.
Furniture Placement Furniture placement can make or break a home viewing. Since the main goals of staging are to maximize space and showcase the home, the fur - niture placement can have a profound effect on how buyers receive your house. Too much furni - ture screams ‘This house is too small!’ Too little furniture can leave buyers with mixed feelings: the house is too big, the layout of the house is bad, or possibly it leaves them with that cold and empty feeling. Either way, all of these unneces - sary doubts can be shaken with optimal layout! Living rooms, bedrooms, and the main areas of a house are where we tend to overdo furniture. We place furniture in our homes mainly for con - venience, but style is up there on the list too. When prepping your home to sell, convenience is still at the top of the list, but it needs to shift to the buyer’s convenience, instead of your own. When you’re staging a space, start with an empty room – physically and emotionally. Separating yourself from that space and the way it func- tioned for you is step 1. Often, furniture is pur-
chased in sets. When you pur- chased a full living room set with a couch, loveseat, and chair, or a full bedroom set with a bed, a dresser, and a vertical chest, you are limiting your ability to make the room more spacious. Your optimal layout should encompass the following: First impressions, open traffic ways, easy access to doors, windows, and hallways, and most importantly – space. The key is to make sure there is space available for buyers to see the full potential of the room and its possibilities with their belong- ings in there. When buyers are in the trenches going from house to house for viewings, they tend to take ‘snapshots’ of each space instead of taking the time to fully analyze the room. So as a seller, it’s up to you to make sure that their ‘snapshot’ leaves them with a good impression.
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021
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