Home-Staging Advice from a Professional (Part 1)

As a Canadian Staging Professional, with Beyond Belief Professional Home Staging Services, I wanted to give home sellers a few tips to help with the preparation of their home prior to being put on the market.

These tips and techniques can help you to secure the best possible price in the shortest period of time. I would advise homeowners to do a thorough walk through going from room to room. You need to do this objectively with the eyes of a potential buyer.

Using a paper and a pen divide three columns.

Column # 1 being: "What to really clean", Column # 2 “What to remove, store or relocate" and Column #3 “What to repair or replace".

When staging a property I look at what Canadian Stage Professionals call the "6F's".

1) Function: The buyer instantly understands the function of the room. Each room should be showcased for its original intent.  (Ex: a bedroom should look like a bedroom, a dining room should NOT be looking like an office space,  etc etc.)

Before

After

2) Focal Point: The place your eyes are drawn to when walking in a room. There are 3 types:

a.Natural-Window

b.Architectural-Fireplace

c.Non fixed-Furniture

3) Floor plan: Where things should go

4) Furniture: There are three basic components:

a.Furniture to enhance a focal point

b.Accessories to enhance furniture

c.Lighting to enhance room

 Before

After

5) Flow of Traffic: No items blocking pattern/flow of traffic

6) Feeling: Lifestyle selling.  (More on creating the right 'feeling' in another article.)

Leesa Johnson is a member of the Canadian Staging Professionals.  She can be reached via e-mail at leesa@bbhomestaging.com