Home Staging Mistakes to Avoid

The housing market can be highly competitive when there are numerous listings in your area. One way to help set your home apart from others is by knowing the right way to stage your home and what mistakes to avoid. 

Far too often, people understand the concept of staging—decluttering, cleaning, and depersonalizing. However, it is easy to make several missteps and common mistakes along the way, which can mean the difference between getting your asking price or accepting a lower offer, including:

Too Much Personalization

You might think potential buyers want to see your photographs, knick-knacks, and other tchotchkes. This is actually a big turn-off because it gives buyers the impression the home is yours, and they cannot picture themselves in it. So, pack those things away. 

Assuming Staging Is the Same as Cleaning

While part of staging is also doing a deep cleaning of the home, they are not the same things. Staging is transforming your home to provide the most appeal to potential buyers while showcasing the home’s features and minimizing its flaws. 

Not Decluttering Closets and Cabinets

Buyers will open cabinets and closets to check their storage space. Unfortunately, many people cram their closets full when decluttering the rest of their house. Instead, rent a storage unit and remove half of the things in your cabinets and closets. 

Not Thinking About Your Demographic

Everyone is different and has different tastes and styles. You want buyers to be able to visualize themselves in your home. To accomplish this, think about the target audience you want to attract, such as families, young couples, or retirees. 

Neglecting the Proportion and Scale

Using oversized furniture in a space can make it feel smaller and cramped. Conversely, using furniture that is too small in an area will not make the room seem bigger. Instead, it will make it appear smaller when the furniture is not balanced correctly. 

Additionally, for open floor plans, it is a good idea to use area rugs to help break up the space. Ignoring the proportion and scale will make other features more noticeable, such as a long, narrow room.

Creating Awkward Angles

One mistake homeowners make is thinking they can give a room a new look by angling their furniture. They do it because they believe it will make the space look more inviting. However, it does the opposite. Instead, only use angles when you need to and ensure the rooms stick with a “lived-in” look and feel. 

Insufficient Lighting

All homes have at least one room that does not have sufficient natural lighting or which lacks multiple windows. Even though you may like a dimly lit room, prospective buyers may not, so you want to ensure they can easily view the room. Make sure you use overhead light fixtures and lamps in these rooms to brighten up the room. 

Too Much Dark Paint

There is nothing wrong with having a room painted a darker color. However, you need to have light accents in the room to prevent it from feeling too small or like a dungeon. If you have numerous rooms painted in dark colors, you will want to repaint most of them in a lighter color to brighten the rooms up. 

Not Staging the Bedrooms

It may be tempting to focus on the living room, kitchen, and dining room and ignore the rest of the house. Yet, you need to take the time to ensure every room has been staged. Otherwise, buyers will quickly see the areas you neglected. 

Prospective buyers want to see how each of the bedrooms in your home will fit their needs. So, it is equally important to stage these rooms too. In children’s rooms, pick up excess clutter and toys off the floors and put them away neatly before viewings. 

Avoid cramming things under the beds where they can be easily noticed. Additionally, you want to remove any excess clutter from the bedroom closets. 

Not Staging the Home’s Exterior

The first thing potential buyers see when viewing a home is the exterior. First, ensure the lawn is mowed, and bushes and hedges are trimmed. Next, add a splash of color with some flowers. Your deck or patio should also be staged, such as removing excess chairs to open the space up or hanging up some outdoor lights to make it more inviting.   

Not Adding a Fresh Coat of Paint

You do not have to repaint every room in the home. However, you should touch up the walls and ceiling to cover up any imperfections. 

Can I Sell My House Without Staging It?

Staging is not required to sell a house. People only do it because they want to get the best offers for their homes when they sell it using conventional methods. However, if you want to sell your house quickly or sell it for cash, then you can skip staging.

Cash investors do not care whether you took the time to stage the home or not. Their cash offers are based on the overall condition of the house plus the cost of repairs and time needed to bring it to a rentable or saleable condition. So, even if your home is in major disrepair with a lot of deferred maintenance, you can get a cash offer without all the hassles of having to hire a realtor, repair, clean, declutter, and stage. 

Plus, you can choose your own move-out date and get up to a $10,000 cash advance when you use 800CashToday to sell your house. Most importantly, you are never under any obligation to sell your home if you do not like the offer you receive. 

To find out how much your home is worth, get started with entering your address on our site today!