Five Things Not to Do When Staging Your Occupied House
Here at Shamrock Hill Design, we often focus on the positive. Specifically, ways to enhance your house when getting ready to sell. This month, we’re switching it up a bit to bring you some “Don’ts” instead of “Dos” so you’ll know what not to spend your time and energy on. Selling a house is hard work! Don’t make it harder by doing things you don’t have to.
Five Things Not to Do When Staging Your Occupied House
An occupied stage means you’ll be living in the house for the duration of the sale process. You may need a few extra items to stage, but mostly you’ll use what you already have, usually in a variation of the room arrangements you currently use. This is different from a vacant stage, which is a house that is empty and everything is brought into it to get it ready for the market.
1. Don’t cover damage in hopes buyers won’t notice. Staging is all about “guiding the eye” to help the buyer see the best features of your house. Placing an area rug over a rug with a stain doesn’t work. Buyers will check. Instead, hire a professional carpet cleaner. Covering damage make a buyer wonder what else (think: big things) the seller is trying to conceal. You can, however, use decorative items to detract from imperfections. For example, if there’s a crack in a piece of kitchen wall tile that you’re not able to replace, a well-placed vignette of some beautiful cutting boards with a unique rolling pin could put the focus on the cooking center instead of the cracked tile. You’re not hiding it, you’re just making sure it’s not the first thing a buyer notices.
2. Don’t clean your closets yet unless they will be photographed. As you’re hustling to pack items, paint, and repair, it’s easy to be overwhelmed as you prepare for photographs. Closets are usually a space that can be taken care of after photographs, but before potential buyers view your house. Focus your time and attention on everything that will be photographed. Some closets might be included in photos if they are spacious and a selling feature. This is especially true of primary bedroom closets, so that’s one exception. So please DO include primary bedroom closets on the list of items to tackle before photos. After photos, when there are fewer of the “big things” to do, you’ll have a few days to organize closets and pack as much as you can. A few hints for closets: Keep closet floors clear. It makes the closet look bigger. Organize clothes on hangers by color, if possible (dark in the back, lighter colors close to door). Be sure to use bins, baskets, and containers on shelves to make closet look orderly.
3. Don’t do a deep cleaning. Not yet. Sure, do a surface cleaning: vacuum, dust, sweep, and get rid of visible dirt, but save the deep cleaning for just before buyers start to tour your house. That’s when they’ll be doing an up-close, in-person inspection and deciding whether your house has been taken care of over the years based on how clean it looks and smells. The one exception to this is bathrooms. DO deep clean bathrooms before photos (and probably again after if they’re used often). Bathrooms should project a look and feel of sparkling clean. This includes not only the floor, sink, and toilet, but also the tub and shower. Some photos are taken with the shower curtain open so be sure personal products are out of this area and that all surfaces are as clean as you can get them.
4. Don’t pack so completely that you pack away things we could use for staging. It’s great that you’re on top of the decluttering! So much that you’ve packed items we could have used for staging. We run into this all the time. If you’re having the Shamrock Hill Design team come back to stage your house, it’s not a problem because we can bring those items. If you’re looking for ideas and solutions during the consult and plan to implement the stage yourself, you’ll need to go unpack some items. Frequent items people pack that could be used for staging include hardback books (great on coffee tables and nightstands), art (updated art is a must, and personal photos/documents, etc. should stay packed), and pretty items like clear China for a lemon display, cake stands, etc. When in doubt, keep possible staging items in a pile that you and the stager can go through together at the consultation.
5. Don’t wait until the last minute to schedule your occupied staging consultation or to complete the stage. Sometimes, the suggestions could take weeks to accomplish (i.e. painting, stripping wallpaper). The idea is to make your house as market ready as possible, as close to a model home look as possible before photos are taken. Even when you’re still living there. Many times, we get frantic calls from sellers whose houses aren’t getting a lot of great feedback after hitting the market. Yes, we can go in at that point and help, for sure! Happy to do it! But why not have it ready by the first day your photos go live and when all attention is on your “new listing?”
6. Cheating and adding a sixth item because it’s quick. Don’t try to do it all by yourself. Moving is hard. Hire a professional rug cleaner, handyman/woman, and cleaners. Don’t overwhelm yourself.
At Shamrock Hill Design, we help you get your occupied or vacant house ready to stand out on the market. If you’re selling your house and need a stager, we, along with your realtor, are ready to help you get the most money and a quick sale with styles that highlight the positive aspects of your house. We’ll help you decide how to stage on-trend with your own items, or even bring in items to help you stage.
Contact us today at 410-474-5523 or kerry@shamrockhilldesign.com or visit our website at www.shamrockhilldesign.com