Home Staging Tips for Your Washington, DC Home

As most real estate agents will stress, first impressions are the key to selling your home in a timely fashion. From the photos in the online listing to the first showing, potential buyers are making haste judgements about whether or not they want to purchase. Because of this buyer behavior, you want to make the best first impression!

Home staging has become a common practice in the real estate industry in order to make that lasting first impression. If you’ve sold a house in recent years, your real estate agent has likely urged you to store your belongings and set your home for showings – but, what does that mean?
No worries – our moving and storage experts have compiled a list of the best tips and tricks for home staging to help you get your home in the best shape! If you are looking to stage your home, you should:

• Make the clutter disappear. No house looks appealing when you have boxes stacked to the ceiling and dirty laundry on the floor. Potential buyers want to visualize themselves living in your home, and that’s incredibly hard to do when all they can see is a bathroom counter full of a stranger’s junk. In addition to room clutter, disband the clutter in your cabinets. In case a potential buyer wants to open up your bathroom closet or kitchen cabinets, you want to show them how much space you have – not display a lack of acceptable storage!

• Transform catch-all rooms into something useful. If you have a room that serves only to gather odds and ends, repurpose it into something that will add value to your home. Add a desk, a chair, and some soft lighting to an extra bedroom to turn it into a cozy office space. Or, add new bedding and a nightstand to create a clean, welcoming guest room.

• Turn on the lights. Lighting is so important when it comes to creating an inviting home, especially when your real estate agent takes photos for the online listing. A well-lit room can create a cozy atmosphere, but a poorly lit room can cause buyers to beware.

• Avoid overcrowding rooms. Don’t overcrowd a room with furniture that is too large for the space; it will only make the room appear small and cramped. However, don’t leave a room too barren – you want the space to look livable and functional.

• Pay attention to your pets. Even though you’ll clean up after your pets before the move, it’s best to keep your critters under wraps during the home staging process. Potential homeowners may not be fond of house pets, or can be allergic – which could immediately scare them away from an otherwise beautiful living space.

• Finish off the unfinished. Unfinished projects can also scare off potential buyers, so finish them. Whether it’s a garden shed that needs a coat of paint, or an incomplete bathroom remodel, a finished house is going to be more appealing to a buyer.

• Go the extra mile. Make sure your home smells clean, and make sure it is well-decorated. Adding fresh flowers to the dining room table is also a nice touch. Anything that will make potential buyers say “wow” in a good way is going the extra mile!

Are you ready to stage your home for a move? If so, you’re going to need a place to store all of your clutter and moving boxes. Georgetown Moving and Storage Company is here to help with your home staging storage needs in the DC Metro area.

Our storage units are perfect for providing a place to store your belongings while you are staging your home for sale. And, when you’re ready to move, we’ve got you covered there too. Call us today at (703) 889-8899 to learn more!