Home staging will make your house more attractive and enable buyers to imagine what it would be like living there. In order to deliver the best results, however, home staging has to be personalised and creative.
Many people opt for staging clichés that give houses a plain and generic appearance. If you want to make your house stand out, you’ll need to familiarise yourself with these clichés and avoid them at all costs.
A Table Set For An Overly-Sophisticated Meal
It should look like a house in which people live, rather than a museum exhibit. Refrain from over-accessorising and taking your best china out, simply because you want to make an amazing impression.
A sophisticated dining table may look as if taken our of an interior design magazine but it will lack authenticity.
Keeping the surfaces clear is a much better idea. This way, you’ll enable the potential buyer to focus and to perceive the space in its complexity. You may want to opt for one focal point like a bowl of fruits or a vase with some fresh flowers. Don’t overdo it, especially if you don’t want the potential buyers to feel inadequate.
Too Many Candles
A candle or two can set the mood. Too many candles will make the buyers feel as if they had just entered the set of a cheesy rom-com.
Candles surrounding the bathtub and flower petals floating in the water can probably be considered one of the biggest clichés. You want the house to look comfortable and stylish but you should certainly refrain from settling for a cliché.
Be extra-careful if you plan to use scented candles. Too many of these will create an olfactory mishmash that can be quite unpleasant. Some people are overly-sensitive to strong scents, so think about that before overdoing it with candles… which brings us straight to our next point.
Fake Scents
Scents can provoke an emotional response for the potential buyer but the response may not necessarily be a positive one.
Freshly-baked cookies are a cliché but a nice one. We’ve all grown up with this scent and it provokes a positive emotional response. This is a natural scent, one that the majority of people will find to be rather pleasing.
Avoid strong, fake and cheap scents. Air fresheners can actually make buyers suspicious because such scents are unnatural and they could be used to mask something else. The same rule applies to the scent of brewing coffee. Some people don’t like this aroma at all and others will simply be left wondering about it.
Opt for light scents like the one of a fresh floral arrangement. Don’t try to use a stronger olfactory “mask” in an attempt to make buyers think something. The result may be the exact opposite of what you’re hoping for.
Painting It Beige
Beige is a neutral colour, which is why it can create an excellent background. Painting everything beige, however, will make your house bland and boring.
Many people dislike bolder colours like orange or bright pink. You can, however, use colour to create visual interest and to highlight certain aspects of each room.
The best colour is not an overwhelming one, yet it has some personality. Pastel blue and green are two such colours. The same applies to light purple. Don’t keep it excessively neutral in an attempt to please everyone. Most people will be bored by such a choice.
Everything Pushed To The Walls
This is probably one of the biggest home staging clichés and a major mistake that so many owners commit.
Many owners opt for this move because they believe it makes the room look bigger. This isn’t true. Such arrangement look strange and they lack focus. Think about practical appeal and functionality.
The best furniture arrangements create a natural “flow” in the room and they make the interior design look dynamic. Take a look at online photographs to understand how the bet furniture arrangements work. If you’re uncertain in your skills, you should consider working with a professional in the niche of home staging.
Doing something innovative and fun in the realm of home staging is the best option for impressing potential buyers. Take some time to think about your house’s best characteristics and how to highlight those. You don’t have to follow too many rules, in order to impress and stand out from the crowd.