With Memorial Day weekend here, the summer real estate sales frenzy is officially underway. If you or someone you know is preparing to list property, staging might be a consideration. Staged homes are known to fetch well beyond their listing price. Data from the Real Estate Staging Association indicates that three-quarters of staged homes sell for 5% to 15% above list price.
In the later life of Batch, I staged $1-10 million west coast homes in competitive urban markets where we charged $8,000 to $40,000 for our services. This experience taught me many lessons about how to show spaces in a value-maximizing manner.
A few principles will enhance the look and ROI of your home, regardless of whether you’re preparing to go to market or just tackle some DIY home decor improvements. You’ll find these ideas low-cost and high-impact to adopt, even though they may require some upfront investment of time and effort.
Blanket the walls in white paint. White paint makes spaces feel open, airy, and clean. The color reflects light and photographs beautifully. Colors like gray and taupe, while popular, tend to absorb light and make spaces feel dull and tired.
Fill empty wall space with oversize art. Large-scale art can be expensive. Maybe you have some old canvases around. Give them a couple coats of some solid color paint. Your leftover housepaint might work for this! Or use acrylic. Then paint organic-shaped “blobs” or polygons in a contrasting color. Big blocky-shapes attract our eye and geometric art elevates the space immediately. Don’t have any canvases around? Most thrift stores have lots of inexpensive pieces to get you started.
Introduce symmetry into living, dining, and sleeping spaces. Furniture looks great in pairs. Matching accessories also reinforce the visual cue of seeing double. If you’ve never been a fan of the “matchy-matchy” look, anchor a space with a symmetric furniture arrangement and then take liberty with art, plant, textiles, and lighting.
Have other home design questions? I encourage you to drop them in the comments and I will get back to you with advice.
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