FACTS VS FICTION - Staging Your Home

By Fran Campbell - July 23, 2015

Welcome the second installment in our newest recurring blog series, "FACT VS FICTION." This week, we're here to take a critical look at staging your home. "Home staging" is the process of decorating and displaying your home in order to make it as appealing as possible to potential buyers. As with anything else, there is generally a right way and a wrong way to go about the staging process. Fran Campbell Team is here to help you understand what strategies will help you achieve success.

FICTION: I don't need to stage my home; the lived-in look will give buyers an at-home feel.
FACT: You DO need to stage your home, no matter what.
Home staging is a crucial part of selling your home at the Lake of the Ozarks. "Lived-in" is often a euphemism for messy and cluttered, both of which are major turn-offs for prospective buyers. Staging your home is also your opportunity to depersonalize the space - by removing family photos and other personal knickknacks or decor items, you can create a space where every potential buyer feels at home.

FICTION: "Staging" is just another way to say "organizing" your home.
FACT: There's a LOT that goes into staging; it can't be summed up in just one word.
Wikipedia defines "home staging" as "the act of preparing a private residence for sale in the real estate marketplace." It should come as no surprise that properly preparing a home for sale involves a lot of different tasks! Home staging includes deep cleaning, decluttering, organizing, upgrading, making any necessary repairs, and redecorating. The idea is to transform the home into a beautiful, neutral environment that could appeal to anyone.

FICTION: I should push all my furniture against the wall to make the rooms seem bigger.
FACT: Pulling your furniture in from the walls can actually create the illusion of a bigger space.
If you have very tiny rooms, you may find that staging is easier when you line the furniture along the walls. However, if you have even a little bit of extra space to work with, our Lake of the Ozarks real estate agents recommend pulling your furniture in by a few feet. This extra space between the furniture and the walls can make the room seem more spacious. If you have an open floor plan, you can take this a step further by arranging separate clusters of couches, sofas, and coffee tables; using furniture to break a big room into smaller areas can make the entire room seem larger.

FICTION: If I have an old storage room, I should just clean out the clutter and leave it at that.
FICTION: You should give every room a specific purpose.
Prospective home buyers are not just looking for homes - they're looking for ideas for their new home. They love seeing different decor ideas or clever ways to use spare rooms. Transforming your old storage room into a cozy reading nook, a home office, or an exercise room is a fantastic way to jazz up the space and add a great deal of interest in your home.

FICTION: As long as I get the rooms organized, I don't need to worry about the walls, ceilings, or floors.
FACT: Effective staging deals with the bigger picture, not just the little details.
Home staging professionals understand that in order to properly stage a home, you have to look at everything. The walls, the furniture, the ceiling, the flooring, the artwork or other decorative pieces... they all need to work together to create a welcoming, appealing space. If you have wallpaper on the walls, take it down and add a fresh coat of paint instead. If your carpet is worn or stained in a few places, replace it with new carpet or hardwood flooring. Some of these upgrades may cost you a few extra dollars up front, but they will pay off greatly in the long run.

We hope that these insights are helpful to you as you begin to stage your home! If you have questions about staging or would like other information about selling your Lake of the Ozarks home, don't hesitate to give Fran Campbell Team a call. Our capable, experienced real estate agents look forward to working with you!

Contact the Fran Campbell Team to schedule a showing!