How Staging Can Work For You

By Ann Bingley Gallops

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I've been watching some of the real-estate shows on TV and become very intrigued with the work of professional stagers, who set up and "stage" a home that's for sale so it will appeal to the widest range of potential buyers.

Selling a home motivates people to make big changes in their environments because they're trying to create a place where prospective buyers can picture themselves living.

For me what's interesting is the reaction of many sellers once their home has been staged. The clutter is cleared, old furniture replaced, and walls repainted in an effort to sell the home faster and for a higher price. But when all is said and done, they end up saying "Gee, why didn't we do this earlier? It's so nice in here now!"

Here's the point: why wait until it's time to sell? Using a few ideas taken from staging, you can make your home a more comfortable place to live, right now. Taking a stager's point of view is a great way to get motivated about de-cluttering and organizing your home.

So whether you're getting ready to move or planning to live in your home for another 20 years, here's how to put staging tricks to work for you.

Looking At Your Home Through "The Eyes of a Stager"

Stagers look at your home with fresh eyes and make recommendations based on their ideal vision of making it its most appealing. Very much like Feng Shui, it's all about creating a space that's comfortable, uncluttered, and easy to live in. You can do the same by detaching yourself and taking an objective point of view of your space.

Begin by giving yourself the chance to see what professional stagers see. Starting outside your front door, walk slowly towards your home and make mental notes of everything you see, with no judgment attached. Go through it slowly, observing. You may want to write down your thoughts as you go.

In the act of observing you will naturally start to make changes. Let this process unfold.

Staging Your Home for You and No One Else

Here are some specific staging "tricks" I've picked up from a wide range of staging resources, to use as a guide as you take this new point of view. Think of yourself as staging your home - but for you, not the next owner!

1. Make room. Clear out as much furniture as you can. Hallways and doorways, in particular, need to be clear and open.

2. Go through the house and clear off horizontal surfaces like kitchen and bathroom countertops.

3. Follow your nose. A home should smell good. Have a friend whose judgment you trust give your home the "sniff test."

4. "Remember, the potential buyer is as lazy as you are," says one stager. If a home needs work -- dated wallpaper, ratty carpet -- have it taken care of.

5. Make your home ageless. There's a difference between an old house and a classic home. "If a home looks 40 years old with 40-year-old paint, 40-year-old appliances and 40-year-old carpet, that's a hard sell."

6. Let there be light. "People buy space and light, for the most part." So make sure every room has sufficient lighting, open the blinds & curtains, and let the sun shine in!

7. Take a close look at the carpet and get it shampooed to get out stains or smells. If that doesn't work, replace it.

8. Clean your closets. Partially empty closets look roomy, and space sells. Do the same thing with kitchen cabinets. Donate extra clothes and surplus food to a shelter or food bank.

9. Put flowers around to bring in a feeling of fresh air and color. Fresh flowers are great but so are silk flowers or even small shrubs.

10. Keep it clean. No dust, cobwebs or trash.

And finally, keep it real. You don't want your home to look so staged that it's artificial. What you want is for a buyer to walk in and say "I could put myself here."

This list contains a lot of great reminders of what an objective viewer sees when they enter your home. When you do it for yourself I guarantee that you'll begin to transform your space - and your life.