Staging Your Kitchen and Home for Buyers

What is home staging? It’s simply the act of making your home look as attractive as possible to potential buyers. Think about it this way: When people walk into your home, they don’t want to see how you live there. Instead, they want to see all the potential for their life within the space. Highlighting the best features and making the space “pop” often means just rearranging the things you already have. However, even if you have to invest some time and money on home staging – trying to deal with something like mismatched cabinets, for instance – it’s all worthwhile if it leads to a higher offers in less time. Make the most of what you have to work with by following the same home staging secrets used by realtors and designers.

Focus on the right rooms

Your house needs to look good from top to bottom, but you only need to stage some of the rooms. Don’t worry about spaces like the laundry room or the guest bathroom. Instead, focus on the most-used and most-loved spaces in the home. The kitchen is at the very top of the list because it tends to be the hub of the home. The master bedroom and bath are always important since these are “sanctuary” for the potential home buyers. Finally, spend some time making the living areas look great, especially the spaces buyers see when they first walk through the door.

Remove yourself from the space

You’re trying to sell your home, not your stuff. Make it easier for buyers to imagine putting their own mark on a space by removing your personal possessions. That means taking down photos, cleaning up the front of the refrigerator, putting away toothbrushes and other toiletries, and making sure clothes are out of sight. You don’t have to drain the space of style or décor, but it should feel like a space where anyone could live rather than a space where someone already lives.

Clear away clutter and clean like crazy

Your home should look better than it has ever looked before. Start by getting rid of as much clutter as possible to help the space feel cleaner and bigger. Strip away everything (without making the space feel empty), even if that means putting the coffee pot you normally store on the kitchen counter inside a cabinet. Next, give everything a deep clean, at least as rigorous as you do each spring. Don’t spare an inch, and use the opportunity to give your home a close inspection. You have probably noticed obvious issues like mismatched cabinets, but you may have missed more subtle ones you will want to address during home staging.

Check the neighborhood

One of the hard parts about home staging is knowing how big to go with the design and what kind of design to choose. Get some ideas by checking out online listings for other homes selling in your neighborhood. You shouldn’t necessarily imitate what other sellers are doing, but you can try to match the general scale and style of their staging effort. That way your home is just as attractive as the other options potential buyers are touring.

Choose neutral designs

If you decide to make permanent changes to a space – like painting a wall or swapping out mismatched cabinets – make sure to choose neutral designs. You might think a space looks great in a bold red or with a signature flourish, but buyers might disagree. That’s why you should choose colors like white, gray, and beige for the walls as well as any new furnishings. Neutral designs might look a little boring, but that’s exactly the point. They don’t overwhelm a space, which helps buyers imagine all the things they could do differently.

Don’t neglect the lawn

Your front lawn is the very first thing potential buyers see, so make it look enticing. Rake up any leaves and clutter, clean up the landscaping, and address any issues on the facade of the house. You may even want to install some additional lighting, paint your front door, or spruce up the window shutters to add some additional curb appeal. You don’t need to be quite as careful in the backyard, just make sure it looks tidy and organized.

Stretch your investment

Ideally, you want whatever you invest on home staging to deliver even larger returns in terms of the selling price. Some improvements deliver larger dividends than others. For example, designing with mismatched cabinets can be a challenge, so some homeowners install custom-built replacement cabinet doors to fix the problem. Replacement doors let designers give a fresh, clean, and neutral look to a space. Plus, they make the cabinets themselves seem new, giving the impression that the kitchen or bathroom has been recently renovated. There are other investments that can help boost sales prices, but few with the impact of replacement cabinet doors.

It’s never too early to stage your home

Make sure your home is ready for buyers whenever they appear by getting started on home staging. Once you begin, you will probably find lots more you need to do. If replacement cabinet doors are on the list, depend on The Door Stop to custom build them for you. We have options to fit any style that are priced to fit any budget. Our craftsman build each door to your specifications and ship them right to your home about two weeks after you first order. Explore our extensive online selection at your convenience, and please email us at sales@cabinetdoors.com if you need more information about anything.