Top 9 Staging Tips to Take into 2021

It’s no question that the year 2020 was one for the books. A variety of industries were affected on so many levels and the home and real estate markets were at the top of the list. With these influences, change has come for the New Year, as many people look to move out of the city and create the perfect at-home environment as they spend most of their time within. From work to play and everything in between, our homes are being used now more than ever before.

When it comes to buying or selling your home, the year 2021 is already noticing some shifts and trends that weren’t as prominent last year. Thoughtfully renovating and staging your home can be the most effective ways to sell quickly and successfully, especially during these unprecedented times. There are eight specific rules and tips that you can follow in order to refresh, stage and sell your home seamlessly.

Tip 1: Paint

First, a fresh coat of paint can make all the difference. Adding a fresh coat of paint to the inside of your home can have a huge impact. Fresh paint not only brightens a room, but it can also make the space feel much bigger than it actually is. It also gives an overall appearance of a well-kept home! In addition, adding colorful throw pillows and blankets that work together with the paint color can give a home a well-balanced look too.

Tip 2: Kitchen Upgrade

Next, it is crucial to look at upgrading your kitchen. A new kitchen has the most impact on potential new home buyers because it demonstrates to the buyers that the home has been updated. Although it can be costly to do, you always recoup your investment from the upgrade.

Tip 3: Sloppy Furniture & Decor

You will also want to remove stained furniture and decor before showing your home to a potential buyer. Get rid of any and all stained furniture, rugs, etc. It gives an overall bad feeling to prospective home buyers when they see stained items in your house and it makes the house look beaten up. Since it can end up being pretty pricey to replace multiple items in your home, there are a few ways you can still do this without breaking the bank. Instead of spending the money on a brand new rug, for example, you can buy an inexpensive sisal rug to place on top of the existing rug.

Tip #4: Paint the Cabinets

In a kitchen, instead of completely replacing worn, stained, and beat up cabinets, painting the cabinet fronts can give a kitchen a huge facelift. Another option is to reupholster furniture instead of replacing it altogether, which can still make a big difference. If you like the shape of a piece, reupholstering the item can really revive it and as long as you choose a moderately priced fabric, it doesn’t have to break the bank. However, if you can, buying new fresh-looking furniture can really elevate a space.

Tip #5: Smart Tech Upgrades

Ultimately, it’s important to focus on investments that will make an impact. A built-in coffee maker, such as the Miele coffee maker, can be a great addition to your kitchen. Another wonderful kitchen investment is a steam convection oven which reduces cooking time. For the bathroom, investing in a steam shower and wall mount faucets in black matte can be wonderful additions as well.

Tip #6: Look Your Best

Another strategy to focus on includes arranging rooms to look the best, not the most practical. Always try to arrange a room in the best way possible — not necessarily for practicality sake. For example, sometimes a table may be too close to a cabinet for proper opening and closing. However, that is because we are after a more balanced look rather than a practical one. The same goes for television placement as well. The TV does not necessarily have to be viewable from different furnishings as long as the placement looks balanced and the best in the space. These things do not matter for selling purposes, because no one is going to be watching the TV while viewing the home!

Tip #7: Color Wheel

It’s proven to be beneficial to use color as well! People tend to like to see pops of color in throw pillows or in an occasional chair when viewing a home. It is also nice to add an element of surprise through art with color. The psychology of color says that individuals tend to gravitate towards items that are the color blue, so this is also something to keep in mind when staging your home. Color also depends on the style of the home as well. For example, in more modern style homes, we will use a neutral palette with more black than we would in a Farmhouse style home.

Tip #8: It’s in Season

Furthemore, keeping the seasons in mind is crucial. In Southern California, for example, the look of a staged home may not change too much with the seasons, however, there are still some changes we like to make. For example, we tend to use more subdued colors in Fall and Winter. We may also add a chunky throw and more organic materials to add texture to the design during these months. Since Summertime is always a more happy time, we try to throw in some bright colors in our design, especially in the outdoor spaces.

Tip #9: Add Functional Office Space

In the end, the most important thing is to make your home feel warm and inviting. You want to make sure buyers can really see themselves living in your home and feel comfortable in your space when they come to view it. One way we like to do this is by using real plants and flowers as much as we possibly can. This makes your home feel less like a hotel and more like a place they can see themselves living in. Buyers also like to see up-to-date furnishings that do not look too cold. There was a trend a while back for everything to be white, but you also want to make people feel like their lifestyle could fit in with this on a daily basis. That means it is important to try and not give any space an impersonal, hotel look.