What NOT To Do When Staging Your Home For Sale

Heidi Ross Design, the premier home staging agency for luxury homes in Memphis, Germantown, Collierville and the surrounding area, knows the in’s and out’s of staging to get your home sold! While staging might seem like a simple matter of bringing furniture and accessories into a space, there’s more to it than a simple arrangement of furniture. Like with other things in life, it’s important to make sure your home looks its very best, and more importantly….make sure you don’t lose a potential buyer’s interest—or scare buyers off.
 
So what are some of those things to avoid when staging a home? Here, we’ll break down some of the big buyer turn-offs to avoid when staging, and let you know how professional staging helps get a home sold. 
 
1. Don’t expect home staging to work miracles
 
One important thing to remember is that home staging isn’t about concealing issues with your home or misleading buyers.  All homes usually have at least a few maintenance issues that need to be addressed. A professional home stager will work with you on what repairs should be prioritized depending on the repairs you are willing and able to make, and will work out a plan to highlight your home’s best features depending on this selection. 
 
2. Don’t leave clutter in place
 
While lots of people stage and sell their houses while still living in them, you’ll need to pare down before staging for sale. A home that’s crowded with clutter and personal items can prevent buyers from seeing their own lives situated in the space, which can make it hard for them to make the emotional connection to a house that leads to a sale.
 
For example, in a bedroom, staging might involve removing personal or intimate photos or paintings and clearing the closet, taking down heavy drapes, and removing extra furniture that is used in normal everyday life. Reducing the amount of items in your home can create an airy, open feeling that appeals to buyers. It also creates a neutral feeling that will help to appeal to a wider range in your target market.
 
 
3. Don’t leave your house too empty
 
A vacant or sparse house doesn’t have the clutter problem, but can pose its own issues. A cavernous, empty space can be off-putting to buyers, and might leave them unsure about how to use some areas of the home. For a buyer to purchase a home, the home needs to make sense to them. Choosing strategic rooms to stage can help buyers envision themselves living there, and this is what helps get a home sold quickly.   
 
There’s more to this than furniture, too—using enough lighting and a few well-chosen accessories can help reach your potential buyer. Heidi Ross Design staging services strikes the right balance between a house that is open and inviting, but with just enough luxurious furnishings to make you never want to leave. 
 
4. Don’t let mess creep in
 
When staging your home, it needs to be spotless. A deep cleaning before is a good step, but it also requires thorough maintenance and discipline. Putting away day-to-day items like purses, backpacks, keys and wallets while keeping the kitchen sink clear of dirty dishes are important maintenance tasks. When staging a bathroom for sale, for example, don’t leave your toothbrush, toothpaste, and towel in sight. Hiring a temporary weekly or bi-weekly cleaning service can also be a big time saver when you have your house listed for sale. 
 
A clean, fresh-smelling home can go a long way to attracting a buyer. If your paint or carpet are too worn to look really clean, a professional stager will advise steps to take—like a fresh coat of paint—to make sure that the space is ready for staging before you get started.
 
 
5. Don’t list too early
 
Working with a Heidi Ross Design professional is essential to staging your home successfully. DIY staging and poorly lit photos for internet listings can easily scare off potential buyers, so make sure to find a trusted pro to work with before you take steps on your own, and avoid the risk of making a bad first impression.
 
How can Heidi Ross Design help with staging my house for sale?
 
At Heidi Ross Design, our local home staging team works with real estate professionals and their home selling clients in the Memphis Metro Area, Olive Branch, Germantown, Collierville, and Arlington. We practice the key principles of interior design and professional home staging that will bring in buyers so that the real estate sales professional and homeowner can easily and quickly get the home sold for the best terms possible. We’re proud of the work we’ve done for our homeowner clients—and they’ve honored us with a Best Of Houzz 2022 Award for our team’s work.
 
Staging is more than just arranging accessories—it’s a full process of planning, photography, marketing, education, and more. We’re here with you through the whole process. To make sure that you always know what to do and how we’re working for you, we even offer a FREE quote to ensure that you know how the home staging process works and see if our services are right for you. When you’re ready to start the home sale process (staging for sale near me) take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions or call Heidi Ross Design at (901) 361-7419 or use our online contact form. Additional value added information can be found in our free online article library.

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