Staging Your Home to Sell

By Richelle Villalta, Guest Columnist

Buying and selling a home is stressful enough, but when you add in the factor of home showings, it feels like you might explode! 

Recently, we decided to upgrade our condo to a single-family home. Our condo was so dreamy. We spent most of 2020 doing renovations (who didn’t, right?), so I felt confident it was ready to go on the market as is. 

Our condo was already in great condition, but we spent the three years we owned it painting every wall, upgrading every light fixture, installing new appliances, and adding modern technology touches. So what else could we possibly need to do besides clean?

I was wrong. Our relator connected us with an interior designer who came over to evaluate our home and give us feedback on staging, decluttering, and prepping for listing photos. She provided us with feedback and guided us through the process as to why a home would look better one way or another. 

By the end of our meeting, we had two pages full of notes on changes to make to our 1500 sq ft condo. To say I was overwhelmed would be an understatement.

However, most of the recommendations were simple tweaks and touches and just required us to pack away items that weren’t as aesthetically pleasing. 

Hiring an interior designer who specializes in home staging is super helpful, but it isn’t always possible. So here are a few tips to help you prep your house for an upcoming sale.

Declutter

This may sound easy but decluttering is a concept that is unique to each individual. So what we mean by this is to limit items in certain areas—for example, no more than three items on a bookshelf. Reduce closet capacity to ⅓ full so buyers can see the space inside them. Remove unnecessary items from the floor. Focus on one wall to decorate, and remove items from the rest of the walls in the room.

Show Off Space

Take a look at how each room is styled with furniture. If possible, start rearranging to open up the space to show off more of an empty room. Buyers want to be able to imagine their own furniture in the space, and if yours is overbearing, it will be harder for them to picture it as their own. This may not always be the most functional arrangement, but remember that it is only for a short time. 

Remove Personal Items

As beautiful as your family is, it’s time to take down those family photos. Buyers often report that when they walk into a home with pictures all over the place, they feel like the owner is watching them, which doesn't always sit well with buyers. So pack away those family photos, anything with your name on it, and anything sentimental. This is just a safety measure to ensure your personal belongings are kept safe while you have strangers in and out of the house.  

Hide the Ugly

Don’t take this one too personally. In our home, we don’t have a place to hide our trash can in the kitchen. So it sits out at the end of the cabinets. But this isn’t a pretty sight to buyers, nor does anyone want to smell what may be lingering in the trash. So during staging photos and showings, tuck your trash can away in the garage if possible, or hide it out the back door. Trust me; it makes a difference.

While these are just a few tips to help with a DIY staging process, it is always beneficial to hire a professional interior designer to help out. Remember, this is your home!

Richelle Villalta and her husband, Jorge, moved to Colorado Springs 5 years ago. She is from rural western Kansas. She majored in Business Entrepreneurship at Kansas State University, where she met her husband. Together they have a 2-year-old daughter, Mila Vi, with another baby on the way on the way. She is also a dog mom to two hiking chihuahuas, Pongo & Perdita, who were both rescued from the Humane Society. Richelle owns her own business as a freelance operations manager and works from home every day so she can hang out with her daughter. In her spare time, you can typically find Richelle doing some sort of DIY craft, a home renovation project, or sitting on a patio enjoying a margarita. Richelle loves binging a Netflix series, listening to an audiobook, and hiking her way through Colorado.