Even with the help of experts, selling your home requires significant effort on your part especially if your housekeeper has been ‘a-wol for a-while’! Or maybe you’ve postponed general maintenance and repairs in favor of that vacation you finally rescheduled after covid, or you needed a new car. Whatever the case may be, this staging primer will help you with styling, repair and housekeeping tips for selling your home. Or maybe, just for making it a little more inhabitable for yourself!
Above, Phoebe Howard
Ballard Design
Furniture and draperies should be clean and in good condition, but few people want to replace their furniture just to sell a home. Services like Coit Drapery Cleaners will come to the home and clean upholstery provided it’s not frayed. If it’s frayed, cleaning will cause the fabric to further deteriorate.
If the sofa or chairs are especially unattractive, you can spruce them up with high quality throw pillows and throw blankets in neutral colors.
Discount stores such as TJ Maxx and Home Goods have a great selection of fine quality pillows at very affordable prices. I like to use three matching twenty inch down blend throw pillows on an average sized 90-inch sofa and one 18-inch throw pillow per small chair or one 20-inch pillow for a large chair.
Via Ruby Beets
High-quality, cream-colored throws hide a myriad of sofa and chair sins and transfer nicely to your new home.
Keep small tabletop accessories to a minimum. Instead use larger items like stacks of hardbound design books, lamps and faux or natural plants in decorative pots or jardinière.
Keep framed family photos to a minimum. Remove all tabletop family photos but retain wall galleries in hallways and stairwells.
Via La Dolce Vita
Keep all mail and clutter under wrap.
Sanitize bathrooms with a little Clorox here and there. Yes, it is toxic so use sparingly but it gets rid of household germs and smells and gives the rooms a really fresh, clean feeling.
Fluff the pillows and throws. This makes a bigger difference than you might realize.
Open the windows if possible. Nothing beats clean, fresh air. It not only smells better; it feels really healthy upon entering a home. Like a walk in the woods.
Miles Redd
Fluffy white towels, white sheets and white toilet paper give bedrooms and baths a spa feel. Dingy bedding and towels are easy and affordable to replace but do buy good quality.
A few small vases of scented fresh flowers are a nice touch. Scatter them in unexpected places too like the hall, kitchen and bathrooms. I like just one variety of flower and color per arrangement, for instance all white roses or all lavender lilacs.
Via Lonny
Refrain from home scents like scented candles and sprays. Scent is highly subjective. People who are accustomed to high end scents don’t care for cheap scents and vice versa.
Hide electrical cords behind furniture and countertop appliances. Do you best to tuck them away out of sight.
Do clear counters of all but the most basic items. Buy fresh brushes, sponges and caddy for next to the sink and decant your hand and dish soap into matching clear glass dispensers.
Create conversational furniture arrangements with sofas and chairs facing one another, not the television.
Via Pinterest
Clear coffee table and end tables of clutter.
Wash all doors and door frames near doorknobs. Use a damp rag and baking powder.
Spot clean walls with the same.
Mirrors make a nice wall accessory and visually increase space: particularly nice if they are reflecting a beautiful outdoor view!
To get started on a home where you feel healthy, happy and connected grab my complimentary design and wellness download, The Wellness Home, 5 Steps to a Beautiful, Restful Home for Women Who Value their Health and Wellness!
It’s the prettiest little book. It’s a quick read with super easy design solutions that help you lead a beautiful, healthier lifestyle at home, plus my 3-to-5 Things Framework that gives you step by step actions to get started and stay on track.
That’s it for today. Thank you for stopping by!
Shiree’
And for more goodness on this topic, check out “How to Fight New Home Fatigue…and personalize your home’s appearance in five steps”! I think you will love it.