Lighting Tips to Help Sell Your Home

Lighting is often overlooked during the staging process; however, it is a very important element. The right lighting can make a room look bigger, create ambience and draw attention to a room’s focal points (all of which are primary goals of staging).

While stagers can control some lighting issues in the space (floor and table lamps), they are at the mercy of working with existing (permanent) fixtures in the home. It’s important to evaluate each of these permanent fixtures to ensure you are using the proper light bulbs/wattage to elevate the space.

Different kinds of lighting to consider:

  1. General lighting - the kind of light that makes your home functional

  2. Natural lighting - any light coming in from the outside or reflected via mirrors

  3. Accent lighting - this may include floor lamps or wall sconces or task lighting like vanity lighting or a desk lamp in the home office

  4. Ambient lighting - anything from dimmer switches to the right chandelier to help set the tone of a room.

  5. Exterior lighting - critical for that all important first impression! And, statistics suggest that potential buyers are most likely to drive by at night so make sure your home is shown in its best light!

Here’s a useful article that I found via realtor.ca to help shed some ‘light’ on the subject. Enjoy!

https://www.realtor.ca/blog/postpage/5375/1362/lighting-tips-to-help-sell-your-home

Sofas vs Sectionals

  • 3-seat sofas and love seats are still the most common setup for living room areas even though they tend to be more formal than sectionals. In terms of size, sofas and love seats are the same height and width (33” high x 35” wide). The only difference is the length. Sofas can range from 74-84” long and love seats from 55-60” long.

  • Sectionals are great for maximizing couch space and for creating a more casual feel; however, they can be difficult to place in a room (less design flexibility). To make sure the sectional will fit, mark off the area on the floor with masking or painter's tape (and be sure to measure for delivery!). If you’re considering placing the sofa in front of windows, make sure to measure the height of the window sill (the sofa back typically should not extend higher than the sill).

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Did you also know?

Couch is from the French word ‘couche’ (meaning to lie down). They were originally referred to as fainting couches for women in tight corsets to rest on. Generally used in more informal settings.

Sofa is from the arabic word ‘suffah’ which refers a long bench covered with blankets and pillows. Sofas more commonly represent taste and style rather than functionality and are used in more formal settings.

A Chesterfield sofa is a British design classic. The term ‘chesterfield’ was first used to describe a piece of sofa-like furniture in the 1800’s typically made using leather or velvet with a deep-tufted design, high arms and a low back. It was commonly found in the homes of wealthy families and gentleman clubs and can still be found in decorative settings around the world.

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5 Signs That You Need a Stager

One of the best marketing strategies to sell your home faster and for top dollar is home staging. It puts your home in its best possible light and ensures that it has a strong first impression with a wide range of buyers.

While it’s possible to stage your own home, there are a few things to consider before doing so. Here are some signs you would be better offer hiring a professional stager to do the work.

1. It’s been hard to emotionally detach from your home

It’s difficult to look at the home you’ve lived in for years without having all of your memories and personal feelings attached to it. The fact is that, when a home goes on the market, it’s like any other product and it must appeal to a wide range of buyers. When we’re emotionally attached to our homes, it’s hard to see past what we love about it and look at it with a fresh set of eyes.

That’s where a home stager can help. We look at a home from the buyer’s perspective so we can see things as they will see it. We can then suggest the most effective changes that will ensure your home makes a great first impression when it hits the market.

2. You’re short on time

Staging a home takes a lot of time and energy. It includes learning about your target buyer, assessing your home, making necessary repairs, declutter, depersonalizing, space planning, and adding the finishing, decorative touches. If you are like many people, it may be hard to find time to do all that needs to be done to get the most out of the staging process.

A professional stager will relieve that burden so you can put all of your focus on the other important things in your life. We do all the research, assess your home, and then can carry out all of the tasks needed to make your home ready for the market. It’s one less thing for you to worry about!

3. You aren’t sure what the ‘psychology of a home buyer’ is

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Home staging is all about appealing to the psychology of a home buyer. If you don’t know what that is, then you’re not going to get the best results from your staging efforts. Professional stagers have spent years researching and analyzing the buyer’s experience when they are house hunting. We know how to tap into their emotions and encourage them to feel at home when they tour a listing. It informs all of our decisions from the colours we pick to the way we arrange the furniture, as well as every small detail inbetween.

4. You don’t know anything about your target buyers or the market

Knowing your local market is key to staging your home effectively so that it appeals most to the buyers that will be considering it. The more you know about your target buyers, the more you can tailor your home to speak to them and evoke an emotional response.

5. You don’t know how to work with vignettes, colour schemes or furniture arrangement

A number of elements come together to make a home appealing to buyers. The right staging can make a home feel larger, inviting, and highlight all of its best attributes. Things like furniture arrangement, colour schemes, vignettes (small room settings) and other techniques are part of the staging process. If you don’t have a strong understanding of these techniques and how to use them effectively based on a home’s individual needs, then it’s best to leave it in the hands of a home stager to get the best possible results.

I can help! Contact me to learn more …

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What Staging Is (and is not)

One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding staging is that it’s something akin to setting the stage for a magazine shoot or ‘overdecorating’. Nope.

Decorating or designing (the terms most commonly used) appeals to the person living in the home; staging is removing the owner’s personal connection and targeting the buyer who is likely to purchase your home.

Here’s a quick chart that should help:

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Staging focuses on improving a property by transforming it into a welcome, appealing and attractive product for sale.

Remember, timing is everything. Stage your home before you list so that you don’t risk making a less-than-favourable first impression with a potential buyer.

The Best Paint Colours for Selling Your Home

Take a look at the best paint colours for selling your home and which ones you should avoid via the linked article (below) from Homestars.

Quick recap:

Bathroom - best colour is light blue - colour to avoid is white

Dining room - best colour is dark blue - colour to avoid is down

Kitchen - best colour is blue - colour to avoid is yellow

Living Room - best colour is beige or taupe - colour to avoid is blue

https://blog.homestars.com/the-best-paint-colours-for-selling-your-home/

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10 Often Overlooked Tips to Getting Your Property Sold

This is a great article written for Home Staging Newswire by Christine Rae (www.stagingtraining.com).  

Christine Rae, is known as the leading expert, trendsetter and powerhouse authority on shaping the future through real estate staging industry vision, innovation and focused intensity.

The 10 tips quickly recapped:

  1. Don't get personal

  2. Pack and store/dispose of 2/3rds of every closet and cupboard

  3. First Impressions are the only ones that count

  4. Understand staging is about condition more than décor

  5. Update the kitchen

  6. Keep all bedrooms gender neutral

  7. Bathrooms are the second most important room in the house

  8. Odor and Allergens ALERT!

  9. Lighting

  10. 74% of prospect buyers will drive by your property before they even think about viewing it and half of them will do it at night

To view the full article click on the image above or here.  Enjoy!