How to Stage Your Home on a Budget

When you’re trying to sell your home, every little thing counts towards getting you a better price. One of the best ways to increase the sale price of your home is to stage it effectively; on average, sellers receive $2 in increased sale price for every $1 they put into staging their home. Even better?

You don’t have to break the bank to stage your home well- just follow these five golden rules to staging your home on a budget.

First, depersonalize your home as much as possible. Your potential buyers need to be able to picture themselves in their house, and they can’t do that if your picture is splashed throughout your house. While your pictures are precious reflections of your life in that house, it’s a distraction to your buyers. Instead, store your photos along with any more unnecessary clutter in your house.

Second, maximize your space in your home by decluttering every room. For example, if your closets are overflowing, use stacked boxes to hold and hide the clutter so that your home doesn’t look like it lacks closet space. You can temporarily store these things offsite.

In the bedrooms, remove televisions and any other items, such as office furniture or power strips, that might take away from the relaxing purpose of the bedroom.

Next, clean everything. A sink overflowing with dirty dishes or grimy shower doors are a huge turn off to a potential buyer. Put some effort and some good old-fashioned elbow grease into giving your place a thorough sanitizing. Spray grimy walls with one part bleach and one part water, followed by a fresh coat of paint.

Clear countertops to make the space look larger. Use white bath and hand towels for a spa-like feel. Pay the most attention to cleaning your bathrooms and kitchens.

Fourth, modernize your home. All homes can benefit from some updating, and if someone feels like your home is dated, they’ll make a lower offer. Some simple fixes might include swapping out gold fixtures for nickel or chrome, and replacing brass or wooden cabinet hardware with brushed silver or stainless steel.

You can also update flat appliances, like dishwashers and refrigerators, by using stainless steel stick-on coverings or specialty appliance paints.

Finally, change the colors in your home to neutrals. Painting is an incredibly inexpensive way to change a home’s look, and it could make the difference in helping a potential buyer picture themselves in your home.

Gender neutral colors are especially effective in the bedroom, especially when paired with color coordinating among the walls, bedspread, curtains, and more.

However, make sure that your home doesn’t appear boring by including visual focal points. For example, you can add a headboard to your bed as well as a few decorative items such as vases to the tops of dressers. In your dining room, set your table and add fresh flowers to the middle of the table for a point of visual interest.

Checkout this infographic for more…