sell your baltimore listing by using the right rugs!

You probably already know that Maryland home buyers love hardwood and luxury vinyl floors. They are a classic look that will never go out of style. So, what about rugs? Winter is a time to make everything look extra cozy when your house is for sale, and that includes rugs. To make your house look its best and bring in the most buyers, your rug choices need to be right.

 Here are some tips about rugs that will help make your house look like a model home.

1. Do use rugs to separate rooms.

Open concept is still popular. Using a rug to separate the dining room from living area is a great way to show how each area is its own space. You want to outline the space and visually anchor the furniture to it. At a glance, buyers should be able to see where one room ends and another begins. The right size rugs help ensure this.

2. Don’t use a rug that is too small.

A rug that’s too small can make a room looked chopped up. For our Baltimore home staging jobs, the most popular size we use is 8’ X 10’. In the living and family rooms, the front legs of your sofa and chairs should rest on the rug. Visual flow is important and small rugs interrupt that flow. This is especially true in bathrooms, where we recommend taking up all rugs. Any other small rugs should be tucked away, too.

3. Don’t use bold-patterned rugs

Your home stager’s job is more than “decorating.” We provide a focal point in each room to capitalize on your home’s best features. Neutral rugs help bring attention to an area of each room that will impress your buyers. You’re selling your house. That’s what the attention should be on. Neutral, cohesive rugs are a way to make the room look comprehensive and put together and the décor and accessories that your home stager brings takes the attention to awesome features of each room. The rug color should gently blend with other colors in the room.

4. Do add a sense a style and color with rugs.

As mentioned above, coordinate the rug color with surrounding furniture, pillows, and wall art. For instance, if your color palette for the bedroom is sage green (a very hot color this year!), your home stager might use a white quilt, sage pillows/accessories, and bring it all together with a sage rug.

5. Don’t cover up a damaged floor or stained wall-to-wall carpet by using a rug.

Buyers will look. And if they see you’re covering a problem, they will wonder what else you’re trying to hide from them in the house. Our recent stage of a one-hundred-year-old house in the Hampton area of Baltimore featured original floors. By using a rug to accent the living room, but leaving much of the floor exposed, we were able to showcase the room, scarred floors, and all.

6. Do get rugs professionally cleaned.

Smelly rugs make a house smell bad. Especially if there are animal or smoke odors present. Presenting your house for sale as fresh and clean is important, and rugs absorb smell. You don’t want to turn away a potential buyer with smelly rugs. Using professional rugs cleaners is an option. Replacing rugs is always good, too. And for area rugs, sometimes replacing them is easiest.

7.      Do use rugs to add texture

Sisal rugs bring nature inside, shag rugs bring a cozy texture, and rugs in basements create a warmth in a chilly area. Textures can absorb sound and bring a much-needed sense of relaxation to a room. To create a level of luxury, a plush rug can be used to bring cohesiveness to a set of chairs or a reading nook. 

Do you have other ideas to add about rugs in homes? We’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below and add to the discussion!

Give us a call today to help you make the right choices about rugs when staging or designing your home.