So you’re selling – and you’ve dutifully ticked all the boxes to get your home to market, including having your property styled for the all-important open house. Yep, putting your property on the market can be an extensive process, but before you up and off to a day spa to recover, make sure you pull off the essential final touches for inspection day first. Because once the stylist has worked their magic on your property, it’s up to you to ensure these final few boxes are ticked so your home staging is a success:
1) Clean (Of Course!)
Making sure every room is squeaky clean will instantly create an inviting environment for viewers coming through your property on inspection day. This one’s a given (we hope!) but it’ll definitely pay to go a little beyond your weekly vacuum-and-sweep routine (think giving the cupboard doors a wipe-down, thoroughly dusting surfaces and tackling that mysterious brown spot that’s been growing legs on the carpet in the spare room).
2) Home Staging 101: Add Scent
As you probably know, smell is highly emotive and has serious psychological pull (think of every time you’ve bought a second coffee because it just smelt so good – even if you didn’t actually feel like one). For this reason, adding scent is an essential part of home staging. Just be sure to go with one that evokes the right response in potential buyers (we want them falling in love with your home, not wanting to duck out to the café for coffee). For home staging purposes, go with a universally appealing scent like lime, grapefruit or peppermint.
3) Perfect Your Front Of House
All this focus on the interiors can have you forgetting about the exterior of your home – but front of house is crucial, as it provides the very first impression potential buyers will take in as they arrive on inspection day. So be sure that the lawns are mowed, garden beds are tidy and weed-free, hedges are trimmed and there’s no overgrowth at the entrance or on pathways. And even if you’re heading off on foot while the punters are descending on your home, be sure that there are no cars in the driveway!
4) Add Flowers
Grab a couple of bouquets on the morning of the inspection and place them in the entryway and main living area. These don’t have to cost a bomb (many supermarkets do great flowers these days, or try your local farmer’s market) and will add significantly to the vibe by adding colour, scent, a ‘done’ feel and ultimately, a welcoming energy to your home.
5) Let There Be Light
Dark, shadowy interiors are instantly off-putting to buyers, and can make rooms appear smaller, so aim to flood each space with as much natural light as possible on inspection day. We can get into habits when we’ve lived somewhere a long time, but try to take a step back and view your home as if through a stranger’s eyes – even if you never normally open the blinds in the TV room, yank them up if you can now see it will add an abundance of natural light (prospective viewers aren’t actually going to be settling in for a Netflix sesh today, after all). You can also remove heavy window dressings altogether if it will make the place seem airier, and don’t forget to open a few windows for that breezy, fresh-air feel.
Have more questions? Give our interior stylists a call and we’d be happy to share some more tips.
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