Real Estate Expert Shares Staging Tips To Sell One's Home Faster

First impressions can make all the difference. When a potential buyer walks into your home, that first impression should be a lasting one. Realtor Bonnie Love says it starts with home staging – so here are three tips to set the stage to sell your home!

When asked how important staging a home is in general, Bonnie Love says, “Staging a home is hugely important. A staged home sells 78 percent faster than an unstaged home.” When asked whether a homeowner should do their own staging or if the realtor should, she states that the person’s “realtor will be the one who can help with resources in staging.” Many sellers may not know how to properly stage a home, so this is one of the many areas where the realtor comes in handy with solutions. These people are much more experienced and know what they are doing, so sellers should not be hesitant to lean on their realtor for help in this process.

When staging the living room of a home, Love suggests that sellers should stick with lighter furniture. She says that she also may have one or two pieces less than she would in a home that she would actually be living in. Having less pieces, but still enough to fill the room comfortably makes this staging process a bit easier. This also helps rooms to feel light and airy, and sometimes actually makes them seem bigger than they really are. She also suggests using an ottoman with a tray, possibly containing a tea set up. This shows a look that is still feeling somewhat lived in, but not too much.

When it comes to the dining room, the little, small details can be the finishing touch on a well staged room. The video shows a beautiful dining room table set up containing several different pieces. The viewer will notice that the table does not just include the typical plates and dishes set up. The table also contains attractive and decorative pieces like napkins, little planters with herb like plants, and a fruit centerpiece with bright color. The only outstanding colors in this example are with the centerpiece, giving a very organized, light, and planned look and feel. Bonnie Love says that her number one rule for staging is to “go all the way, or not at all.” What this means, as she explains further, is “when setting up the dining room table, go all the way like you really are inviting someone over for dinner. Use the placemats; do a centerpiece; do all the finishing touches.”

However, she does say that the “fake plant” in the video is not something she is a huge fan of, but she would like it if it were a real plant. I think it actually looks quite cute, and it gives a more rustic feel, which even though I am not a huge fan of the rustic style, it goes very well with the wood work and detailing present in the dining room table. Love recommends to try to stick to only real things though: real fruit; real plants; etc.

The final tip given is to create an inviting space in the kitchen. Don’t keep it just empty because that can come off cold; you want the potential buyer to be able to see themselves cooking in this kitchen. One piece of advice for this is to have a cookbook on display, even possibly opened if it can be displayed in a neat and orderly and pretty fashion.