Beautiful on the Outside
They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but many homebuyers do just that: judge a home by its external appearance. If you’re gearing up to sell your home this spring, you need to make sure your home’s exterior and landscaping stops buyers in their tracks and gets them to come in for a walk-through. Here are some easy and effective ways to accomplish that.
* Clean up the yard. Take a weekend and start mowing, trimming, weeding, raking and doing everything you can to make the yard neat as a pin. Trim back grass and other ground coverings away from the bases of trees, shrubs and flower beds for a professionally landscaped look.
* Start planting. If your front yard is sparse, invest in some small, inexpensive trees and bushes from your local home store or nursery. Likewise, plant flats of various spring flowers to add “pop” to your landscape.
* Nix the gnome. It’s time to stow all your cherished lawn ornaments in the garage. That said, you can keep one or two truly engaging landscape features, such as a unique fountain or simple outdoor sculpture, if you and your real estate agent feel they would add a tasteful, designer appeal to the landscaping.
* Get a wash and trim. While painting your home might be out of budget, get the exterior power washed and paint all the trim. Additionally, paint your door in an engaging color that accentuates your exterior color scheme and invites the prospective buyer to knock.
* Make an entrance. Add some design features to your entryway to further draw attention to your front door. If there is enough space, aim to create symmetry in your design elements. For example, two small, flowering trees in decorative pots on either side of your door add a welcoming touch. Just make sure your color choices match or compliment your door color.
* Roll out a clean carpet. Lastly, clean up your concrete and stone driveways and walkways. Besides the standard sweep-up, remove any built-up dirt and grime. If you have stones separated by moss, grass or other ground cover, give the greenery a good trim to help redefine the stones. And don’t forget to eradicate any oil stains from concrete driveways. If you’re concerned about chemical run-off, there are a variety of highly effective cleaners that are environmentally friendly and safe for your storm drains.
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The Beauty of Marmoleum
I LOVE this product!! One of the great perks that comes with home ownership is the ability to customize one’s home. As a 15+ year property owner/investor, I’ve had the chance to try out a few flooring products.
Marmoleum hands down is my favorite for easy clean up, durability, and scratch resistance. It’s held up extremely well to a busy household which includes 2 dogs and 2 cats. There is one scratch in the surface and that was caused by me being clumsy with a cabinet one hour post-installation (uuughhh!!). Otherwise, it’s been scratch free for 18 months.
Not only is the scratch resistance impressive, but Marmoleum is really comfortable to stand on for long periods of time (for those serious chefs!) since there is a layer of cork under each tile . This product is also an easy install for the do-it-yourselfer (I installed it myself with a few basic tools). Lastly, you can’t beat the reasonable price (~$4.50-5.50sf), the great colors and it’s environmentally friendly to boot!
Give it a try for your next project-you won’t be disappointed!
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What all is considered in the cost of home staging?
When we work up an estimate we take several things in consideration.
1. The design time needed to work up a complete design layout – after taking a look at your home and figuring out the target market, we sit down and design an overall plan to stage your home.
2. The furniture rental – We rent from a few local and two national vendors as well as carry our own inventory. This assures we can fit any style or period we need to.
3. How many accessories, rugs, mirrors, plants and linens will be needed. – Small touches make the staging complete. These things also help prospective buyers envision the home in use, rather than have to imagine it because of sparse and unfinished furnishings.
4. The delivery and pickup charges – Furniture is heavy. But, we have our people who take care of moving it all around, and once the home is sold they come in and pick it all up. Clients don’t have to move a thing.
5. The distance – Not everyone lives right around the corner, and heavy furniture and travel time cost man power and gas!
6. The time frame desired – How quickly are you trying to sell your home? How fast does your listing hit the market? These and other factors play into the cost of staging your home.
Having been in the home staging market for many years I can personally attest and give examples of how staging a listing can increase market value and return on investment. Contact me at kerry@decorstaging.com or 650-619-9052 and I can share more information with you!
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If you come in and stage my home, where do you get the furniture? Is that part of my cost?
Home staging is a new thing for many clients. This is a common question and the answer can vary depending on the staging company. However, at Décor Staging we carry our own inventory.
We also utilize the inventory of two national vendors as well as two local private vendors. This ensures that we can meet the need of every home’s style and period. It also ensures that each staging is done without the restriction that a low inventory would create. We also take a look around the home to see if there are any pieces already in the home that can be used before bringing in outside furniture!
So, yes, the furniture does end up being a part of the overall cost, but it’s a minimal part as the furniture is rented.
Contact me at kerry@decorstaging.com or 650-619-9052 and I can share more information with you!
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What’s the difference between home staging and a decorator?
Home staging and decorating differ on one common front: function.
A home staging professional views your home in the same light that a prospective buyer would. They have an in-indepth understanding of what distracts from a listing and what enhances a listing and will create a feel and flow in the home that attracts buyers and distracts from potential negatives of the rooms. Simply put, staging is the visual presentation of the home.
It is not decorating because home staging professionals do not decorate a room with the homeowners preferences in mind, or to make the room functional to live in. They are not concerned with function but to appeal to the target demographics for the particular home.
For example, next time you’re in a model home take a closer look at the window coverings. They make the room they are in look great, but often they are not functional. They don’t open and close, and there are sometimes faux panels flanking a window to represent a beautiful idea, but no actual use. This is staging.
Included in staging are also de-cluttering the home, painting walls, new flooring, garden and patio updating, bathroom or kitchen remodels, new lighting, deferred maintenance, power washing and curb appeal.
All of this helps your home stand out among the other listings and drives foot traffic to your listing.
Having been in the home staging market for many years I can personally attest and give examples of how staging a listing can increase market value and return on investment. Contact me at kerry@decorstaging.com or 650-619-9052 and I can share more information with you!
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