Spring is right around the corner, so if you are thinking of putting your house on the market, now is the time to start preparing it for sale, which includes staging your home. When you’re selling your home, how you stage it is key. Unfortunately, hiring a professional staging company may not be within your budget. Luckily, you don’t have to spend thousands to reap the rewards. Good staging can come at a very small price: a few alterations, a handful of minor investments, and a little effort can go a long way toward making your home more appealing to prospective buyers.

1. Freshen Up the Furniture You Already Own

While buying brand new furniture to stage your home may be ideal, it is also costly. There’s a lot you can do to the furniture you already have that will give it a fresh look. Adding a slipcover or paint can breathe new life into your old favorites. Moving furniture around will make a difference as well; pull your furniture away from the walls and make sure there’s room for potential buyers to walk about freely during showings and open houses. If you do decide to purchase new furniture, buy a few strategic pieces that show off how your space could be used. If a room isn’t a normal shape or has a nook or a pillar, give buyers an idea of the room’s potential. An end table, hanging lamp, or an indoor plant can also make a room more appealing to a buyer.

2. Update Your Hardware

This is a small change that can make a big difference when staging your home. If your hardware is dated, it could give off the impression that you haven’t kept your home well-maintained. Instead of installing entirely new cabinets, you may just need to swap out the old knobs and handles for ones that breathe new life into your space. Focus on the kitchen and the bathrooms since these are often the greatest selling points in your home. You’d be surprised by how much value a new showerhead can represent when seen by a prospective buyer.

3. Create the Illusion of Higher Ceilings

This is a trick that comes straight from the professional stager’s handbook: make small rooms look larger by making your ceilings appear to be taller than they actually are. Use your furnishings to create height across walls in rooms with lower ceilings. Hanging floor-to-ceiling drapery can be a big help as well.

4. Add Charming Vignettes

Because you should’ve already cleared away the clutter, you now have the space to stage a few small areas to make your house look more like it could be someone else’s home. Fresh flowers and a bowl of seasonal fruit add life to a room. You may also want to arrange an area in your living room that welcomes agents and prospective buyers to have a seat and discuss the details of their offer.

Staging Your Home Doesn’t Have to Break the Bank

For more ideas about staging your home on a budget, read this article.

Prime Home Inspections offers Seller’s Inspections as well as other home inspection services to Western Washington. Call us at (253) 678-8910 or request to schedule your inspection online.