how to stage when your house is for sale during the holidays

With decorating, shopping, baking, and parties to attend, the holidays are already a busy time. What if you’re selling your house, too? Extra busy! We’ve got some great tips that will help you to celebrate as well as keep your house photo ready for buyer tours.

Of course, you should be able to celebrate, show your spirit, and have fun at the most festive time of the year. When your house is for sale, though, the “rules” of how your house should appear are still the same. The furniture and décor need to show off your house’s best features. Buyers visualize themselves in the house when it’s staged neutrally. It’s worth repeating: It’s best not to display religious, political, or personal items that could take the buyer out of the feeling that they are the ones who could live there. You don’t want to alienate or limit your potential buyers. Another reason to limit your decorations is that clutter makes a house look smaller. We’re not calling your beautiful holiday heirlooms clutter, just recognizing that the more items displayed on tables, walls, and floors, the more cluttered the area will appear. The scents of the season can make a difference in what your potential buyers experience, too. The sweet smell of cookies and pies is a great scent. The pungent odor of onions, garlic, and sauerkraut are a little too overpowering.

So, here’s a holiday-by-holiday tip list to ensure you can celebrate your holidays as well as keep your house tour ready.

Hanukkah

Evening of December 18-Evening of December 26

Try to get your listing photos before festivities begin. The winter “Festival of Lights” lasts for eight days and nights so it’s also important to keep all religious items out of sight when selling a house, tuck decorations and supplies away during the day. While the lingering sweet scent of Kugel and Challah would likely be an enticing smell for buyers, the strong smells from latkes and brisket could take buyers out of the home experience. We don’t want potential buyers sniffing the air to figure out what that smell is. We want them getting excited about the great things your house has to offer.

For this year, think about eliminating outdoor lights and decorations. Or at least wait until after photos. Nothing dates your online photos faster than weather and seasonal décor.

Christmas

December 25

If possible, wait until after your home photos are taken to decorate your house Christmas. You can still have your tree, stockings, and old-time Santas, but it’s best to keep décor on a smaller scale. Best idea is to limit your decorations to one room, possibly the downstairs. Religious items should be tucked away before any showings.

The bold red and green or gold and silver colors of Christmas are probably too bold for staging purposes. If you decorate, keep it neural—white lights, soft accents of colors—to match the colors and themes of the house. The scent of baking gingerbread or cinnamon is a good scent, but, as we mentioned before, the keep strong smells of seafood or spices out of your home when selling.

Outdoor decorations will date your photos, too. Imagine a buyer looking at your house photos in early spring and seeing Christmas lights.

Kwanzaa

December 26-January 1

While fresh fruit is a good thing to display (if it goes with the rest of décor), the nationality and cultural decorations of this holiday could limit your pool of buyers. If possible, tuck away bold-colored tablecloths, kinara, and paper chain links during showings and bring them out for you and your family to enjoy during non-showing times. Or, take your items to a friend’s house and celebrate there. It’s best to keep the smell of delicious stews and spicey traditional foods out of the house before showings, but sweet potato pie and other popular desserts would be a wonderful scent to fill the house.

As with other holidays, the best plan is to have your house photographed before decorating for Kwanzaa and keep the items to a minimum. Additionally, if you decide to leave items on display, be sure to put away an item already there. You want to be sure your house doesn’t look cluttered. Outside decorations could make your house photos look outdated, too.

New Year’s Eve

December 31

We’ve said it already—parties and guests will mess up your house at a time when you are working hard to keep it nice. Sometimes, buyers will select a holiday like New Year’s Day to look at houses while they’re off work. If you stay home to celebrate, make it a small party that’s easy to clean up and get rid of decorations the next morning.

Do you have any ideas to celebrate your favorite holiday when your house is for sale? Please leave us a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Give us as call to schedule your Baltimore area home staging appointment for the holidays or any time!