Home Staging Tips

This is a little different from my usual food/family posts, but since my kitchen is currently in a handful of boxes in the garage getting ready to go to our new home, I figure I might as well let you in on what I've been so busy with lately (aside from the kiddos - see previous posts for their updates!).  Selling a house is sooo much more involved than buying one.  I had no idea what we were in for when we stumbled upon our dream home and two weeks later listed ours. 

Anyone who's watched HGTV knows the basics of home staging.  Declutter, declutter some more, clean like crazy, put fresh flowers everywhere, and create an overall inviting experience for potential buyers.  For us, the trickiest part was the time of year.  We listed our house in January, so curb appeal was a big challenge.  The grass wasn't green, the plants looked dead, there was snow everywhere (alternating with ice, of course), and frigid temperatures.  How on earth was I going to spruce up the outside of the house?!  Well, with some creativity and advice from friends, we were able to have our house open house ready, inside and out.  Here's a few of my home staging tips:

1. Declutter - get rid of as much extra furniture, toys, and personal decorations as possible.  This was not at all easy with two little ones, but we managed to keep toys only in the nursery and a couple hidden places in the house (like a kitchen drawer, some baskets in a bookcase, and a reusable shopping bag that went with us during showings).  We stored our extra furniture in the garage, but there are all kinds of long and short term storage options you can use.  We even went so far as to take the small appliances and the knife block off the counters to show off the spacious kitchen.  It was amazing how open it looked!  Before we listed the house, I went through every single closet and purged as much as possible.  Honestly, it felt really good to get rid of all the stuff we hadn't touched in years.

2.  Clean - make it sparkle!  Clean every surface, every wall, every little tiny space you never knew could get dirty. Clean under furniture, fan blades, window treatments, you name it. Remember, to your potential buyer, this is going to be their "new house" and they don't want any reminders that someone else has been living there.  This is especially true in bathrooms and kitchens.  Put a fresh coat of paint on any walls that need it (opt for neutral grays, creams, and tans if you do repaint).  Just before the showing, vacuum the carpets.  Who doesn't love freshly vacuumed carpets with even little lines all going the same direction?  Yes, it's exhausting.  No, it's not what you want to do until 3am after working a 13 hour shift.  But it will pay off.  Don't forget the outside, too! (Pay close attention to the front door, it will be their first impression of the home.)

Selling our first house

I suppose it's no secret at this point that we are in the process of a big move!  We have been looking off and on for a couple of years now, until we finally found the house that made us pull the trigger on listing our house.  It's been a roller coaster of emotions, and believe me, it won't be easy to leave this place for the last time. 

There is so much about this house that we love.  It has so much character, the best neighbors on earth, and an awesome open kitchen.  I will truly miss this kitchen.  It's been really hard not cooking like I normally do these past couple months while we were showing the house, and even harder packing up my kitchen this past weekend.  Obviously, I will be thrilled to be in my new kitchen and start cooking/blogging again!