Art of Sale

Lena Preje, Certified Accredited Home Stager
Graduated from Haverhill Institute of Staging & Design

STAGING YOUR HOME

Staging is anything you do to prepare your home for sale. Staged home sell faster, for more money and make is sellable staging helps show a home in the best possible light, more attractive to potential buyers and look better than the competition.

Staging includes cleaning, de-cluttering and arranging furnishings. It’s different from decorating, which is personalizing a home. It’s selling your space, not your things. Buyers need to be able to mentally move in – to picture themselves living in this home. Creating the illusion of the space most people can’t visualize. Staged home looks lived in.

Even in slow worked staged homes sold faster and for higher price. House staging is considered to be one of the best ways to make a dramatic impact by focusing on what prospective buyers can see on the first visit. First impression is a key. Photos of the staged home look more appealing on the internet for potential buyers. Staging is a proven system of arranging furnishing to create a positive impact on buyers and increase the value of the property.

Just Get it Staged!!!

Home Staging and Decorating

Comfort and Function, Flexibility and Beauty

Create an Inviting Entrance

• Placing a new welcome mat and a group of seasonal potted plants and flowers
• Cleaning and /or replacing the screen door, bell, porch lights, and home number

Light Up the House

• Opening shades and drapes to let the sun shine warm and lighten rooms
• Installing brighter light bulbs in rooms that tend to be dark.
• Adding additional lamps for ambient lighting adding tables, floor lamps, as well as overhead fixtures.
• Add a decorative street lamp or an attractive light to a front porch.

Stage Furniture

• Moving couches and chairs away from walls in your sitting and family rooms to “cozy conversational” groups.
• Creating a reading corner in the master bedroom and around furnishings is important.
• Pieces that compliment the décor contribute to a more dynamic space than furniture that “matches” consider mixing end tables and a coffee table in varying heights and finishes that work together harmoniously and tell an interesting storey.
• Play with symmetry. Dress commodes with pairs of lamps or vases filled with scented flowers, to create balance, and off numbered combinations in triangular formations to add interest.
• Add pleasing components from artwork looks, flowers and candles. Final touches bring a room to life and make all the difference!

Add Natural Touches

• Placing fragrant arrangements in the entry, master bedroom, and bathrooms
• Placing bowls of bright colorful fruit in the Family room and kitchen
• Filling an empty corner with a potted leaf plant
• IF you have room, go for the traditional two large plants, one on either side of the walls or walkway. Fill them to overflow with flowers if it’s spring or summer, or even in the cooler months. This will create a focal point, forcing home buyers to focus on the area rather than the whole home at once.

Color and Unity

Color is a form of creating self-expression and for most of us, a big part of our every day lives. Favorite hues that inspire you to live comfortably, for example, black soft white and yellow should also flow gracefully from one room to another. This technique can be accomplished by painting colors and progressively lighter tones on ceilings, doors and trims, applied as wallpaper and integrated onto fabrics and furnishings.

Fabric Patterns and Textures

One of the best ways to create tactile interest in a room is to combine a mélange of fabric patterns and appealing textures. Designs like modern floral prints, stripes and paisleys that are upholstered onto occasional chairs and accent pillows provide an instant “wow” factor. Textures and embossed leathers, microfibers and laser-cut velvets are stunning on contemporary and traditional sofas alike. Area rugs make an important aesthetic contribution to an environment. Choose rugs that provide comfort, reflect your design style and incorporate colors used in the space.

De-Personalize

Don’t overpower a room with collectables on display. Every personal treasure doesn’t have to be in view. There is a fine line between accessorizing and clutter.
Remove objects that your potential buyers won’t be able to identify with. For example, photos and religious items may turn off whole groups of buyers because they cannot imagine the home as their home. Buying a home is an emotional decision, and you want potential buyers to make an emotional connection with your home by being able to “see” themselves in it.

Preparing Your House for Sale

First impressions really count with home buyers. A small investment in time and effort can provide a big advantage when your Re/Max Sales Representative shows your property to a prospective buyer.
Here are some suggestions for preparing your home for showings:

First Impressions/General

• House exterior in good repair
• House number easy to see
• Eavestroughs, down-sprouts and soffits painted and in good repair
• Garage/Carport clean and tidy
• Litter picked upCracked or broken window panes replaced

Depending on the season:

• Lawns cut and raked; hedges and shrubs trimmed; gardens wedded and edged
• Leaves raked; walks swept; decks and patios cleared of leaves and debris
• Snow and ice cleared; walkways sanded or salted

At the Front Door

• Doorbell works
• Door hardware in good repair
• Porch and foyer clean and tidy

Interior Maintenance

• Cracked plaster repaired
• Chipped paint touched up
• Door knobs and cupboard latched tight
• Furnace wiped down and cleaned
• Burned out light bulbs replacedSqueaky doors oiled

Bathrooms

• Mirrors, fixtures and taps cleaned and polished/li>
• Leaky taps and toilets repaired/li>
• Floors cleaned, waster containers emptied/li>
• Inside of cupboards and cabinets clean and neat/li>
• Towels clean and matching/li>
• Clutter put away

Creating a Buying Atmosphere

• All lights turned on
• Air conditioner turned on in warm weather
• Fireplace lit in cooler weather
• Closets neat and tidy
• Halls and stairs cleared of clutter
• Drapes opened during daylight
• Background music played quietly
• Carpets freshly vacuumed
• Fresh flowers in various rooms
• Fresh air in house

Pets

• Pets contained or absent during the showing

Valuables

• Jewelry and valuables locked safely away or taken with you
• Valuable property (such as objects of art, vases, figurines, mementos) are safely situated, out of reach or locked away

Maximize the Resale Value of Your Property

It is widely accepted that making the right renovations and upgrades to your home improves the resale value. Here are the 6 smartest renovations priorities to maximize the resale value of your home as discovered by Canada’s leading Real Estate companies.

1. Landscaping the front and backyard of your home will give you a 7% better return on your renovating dollar over the average return of other popular renos. Increasing your curb appeal can be as simple as adding containers of brightly coloured flowers.
2. The kitchen is the hub. Kitchen upgrades can really deliver, with a 44% higher return on investment than the average return on other popular renos.
3. Installing or upgrading the fireplace in your home will generate an 11% greater return on investment than the average return on other popular renos.
4. Try a fresh coat of pain. Simple repainting of walls gives you a 29% better return than other popular renos. Whether you go neutral with splashes of colour, or warm and dramatic.
5. Making your bathroom the best is can be will generate at 56% better return on investment than the average popular reno. The goal should be to create a spa like environment in your bathroom.
6. Great ideas underfoot. Great-looking floors are a strong feature of any home. This upgrade can generate a 22% better return on investment than the average reno. Sand your existing floors down and refinish them, or choose one of the many easy-to-install affordable laminates now available.