Dress To Sell
First impressions are everything when selling your home. It needs to be dressed to sell for your photographs and for your viewings. The art of dressing a home to sell is called home styling or home staging.
If your property has been on the market for a while and your agent is badgering you to drop your price, home styling may be a way around this. It’s one element that can transform your presentation and help your marketing stand out.
If you are thinking about selling your home, dressing your home to sell by styling it should be one of the ways you prepare for sale. So, what’s it all about?
Home Styling
Home styling uses an array of props and accessories to make your home look its best, so it appeals to more buyers. It’s a fact that a well-presented house will sell for more money and in a quicker time frame. Home styling is a way to perfect your presentation. It finishes your home off in a polished manner and shows buyers how they can use the space.
The reason why it works is that a home that has finely tuned its presentation will attract more buyers. The more your buyers find your home appealing, the more viewings you will have. The greater number of viewings the greater chance of achieving multiple offers. A staged home will lead to a higher offer than a home where no care has been given to the presentation. Staging maximises your homes appeal and presents it to its full potential. This can really show through on the property photography.
You can style it yourself or you can call in a professional stylist for a some very helpful advice and assistance.
How much does a professional home stylist cost?
Your estate agent may be able to recommend a ‘home stager’, or the Home Staging Network has a list of home stagers local to you – www.homestaging network.org.uk
Costs will vary depending on the level of service you choose. Generally, you will pay for an initial consultation and an hourly rate thereafter. Some will provide accessories to use for staging, others will ask you to buy your own and send you off with a shopping list.
It is unlikely to cost anymore than £1,000 – £2,000. Renting furniture, furnishing and staging an empty home is going to cost more, however, the benefits far outweigh the costs. Dressing your home to sell could add thousands or tens of thousands of pounds onto the price you achieve.
Can I style my home myself?
There are some simple tricks you can do yourself at home. For inspiration, look at one of the many home interior magazines like House Beautiful or Ideal Home. Pay a visit to your local property developers show home to have a look at how the professionals style.
Before you begin to style your home, make sure you have the fundamentals right first. Take a look at our recent blog to get the basics of presentation right first – 5 Home Staging Secrets to Give your Home a Touch of Glamour.
DIY Styling Tips
Dress your sofas and chairs:
Cushions and throws are a great way of adding comfort, texture and colour. They can lift the look of a tired sofa and hide a multitude of stains and worn out areas. Choose a tone that complements your décor, remember though, keep it neutral with splashes of colour.
Bedrooms:
The bed is usually the focus point of a bedroom. Walk into a luxury hotel room and the first thing you will usually want to do is climb into the ever so comfy, beautiful looking bed. Make your bedroom appear inviting to your viewers so that they want to snuggle down and never leave. Ensure the base bed linen is light in colour and freshly washed and ironed. Add a throw to the bottom of the bed and plump cushions at the top. Again, choose colours that complement the décor.
Adding a table lamp each side of the bed creates a warm ambience and really finishes the look of the room.
Bathrooms:
Invest in some new fluffy towels and keep these for when you have viewings. Put them out each time and pack them away after. Add some luxury toiletries and keep these for best. Think luxury hotel style and you won’t go too far wrong. Ensure you also keep it extremely clean and smelling fresh!
Flowers:
Flowers are the easiest way to add colour and scent. Dot vases around your home for the property photography and for each viewing. A vase on your dining table, in the hallway, living room and a small bouquet in the master suite is perfect. Mix and match the variety of flower depending on what complements each room. If you have a large space, say a large dining table a taller variety like a lily usually work best. Remember, yellow sells!
Accentuate the lifestyle:
Setting a scene using accessorise and props can help your buyer imagine what lifestyle they would have if they were living in your home. This especially works well with the property photography. Here’s a few examples to illustrate the point:
Cosy winter evening – A few champagne flutes and a bottle of champagne in front of a roaring fire along with some lit candles, scented if you have any.
Summer entertaining – a jug of Pimm’s with glasses on the patio table, no BBQ lighting though.
Country walks – Mum, dad and children’s wellies lined up by the front door.
Ambience:
Create an inviting, welcoming atmosphere. Light your fires in winter, play a bit of subtle background music, put your lamps on to create a nice warm glow, light scented candles. Create a warm, relaxed ambience and your buyers will never want to leave!
Outside:
Don’t forget to include outside. Buyers see the garden as an extension to the home so set up your entertaining space, create a romantic atmosphere by adding some elegant outside lighting. Add cushions and throw to garden furniture and help show them how they could use the space.
Is it worth it?
In short – yes. Home styling can put your home above your competition as it complements the photography making your home stand out. Attract more viewers and you will have a greater chance of selling for a higher price in a shorter amount of time.
Styling does require an investment in time, energy, creativity and money but it is exactly that – an investment. Take the opportunity to style your home and the investment should pay you dividends.
If you have been on the market for a little while staging your home could be one of your options to refresh your presentation and give your sale a jump start.
If you are interested in how home styling can help sell your home and would like more information, call us 01283 248 852 or email derby@surepropertygroup.com or burton@surepropertygroup.com
Andrew Sharpe
Sales & Lettings Director