HOME STAGING TIPS

Hello and Welcome to The Lets Talk London Real Estate Blog!

Staging your home for a timely sell doesn’t have to be complicated or stressful, but it will take some elbow grease and time.

First, ask Mellissa Pintao of Let’s Talk London Real Estate, your chosen Realtor, of course! for suggestions about accentuating your home’s positive points. In addition to knowing the overall impression your home needs to make, your real estate agent is in a unique position to know what local home features are in highest demand and what regional tastes prevail.

Next, go through each room of your house, clearing out clutter and removing personal items. Clean your house thoroughly, including carpets, furniture and window coverings.

If you’ve re-purposed some of the rooms in your house, such as using a formal dining room as an office or bedroom, return the room to its original purpose. Changing the use of a room can disturb the flow of your home and may end up confusing home buyers, making it difficult for them to envision living in your home.

Paint

Give your house a neutral palette that will appeal to home buyers and give your home a calm, welcoming feel. Again, Mellissa Pintao has a passion for home decor and can help you decide on the best colours to showcase your homes best features. If your walls are painted a bold or bright color, consider painting them warm, light tones of tan, beige or gray. Those colors encourage home buyers to envision their own personal effects and furniture fitting nicely in your home with minimal work.

Kitchen

Keep only a few appliances on your counters and add in a simple bowl of colorful fruit to introduce interest and brightness to your new neutral palette. Replacing or refinishing outdated cabinets can make a significant difference in how your kitchen appears to buyers. Remember to update cabinet hardware, as well. Mellissa can help you to group the right items in the best areas of your kitchen to make your kitchen show at its very best for the First impression of your potential buyers.

If your appliances are old, replace them with new appliances. Generally, home sellers who replace tired kitchen appliances regain their investment completely. Remember to remove drawings, photos and magnets from your refrigerator.

Dining Room

Remove any bold finishings or heavy accessories. Clear out clutter but dress your dining table with simple, inviting place settings. An uncomplicated centerpiece and updated light fixture can complete the tableau. Remove any oversized furniture that might make the room appear small such as a large china hutch or sideboard.

Living Rooms, Family Rooms and Bedrooms

Remove family photos and personal effects. Clear out collections, knickknacks, themed items and anything that makes your rooms appear too personal. Clear out excess furniture, keeping important light fixtures. Warm up the spaces and give them a splash of color with a few plants, a throw blanket and neutral artwork.

Bathrooms

Make every fixture in your bathroom sparkling clean. If tile grout is still discolored after cleaning, re-grout or use a grout stain. Use a few color friendly or crisp white hand towels, some neutral decorative jars or a basket as accent to hold items. Finally, organize your bathroom drawers, since home buyers will undoubtedly open them to get a feel for the storage capacity. Mellissa Pintao offers the service of introducing on trend staging items to help bring areas of your home together to help de stress the process for you.

Curb Appeal

Although the interior of your home plays to a majority of the weight in the decision process of buyers determining which home to purchase, the exterior is equally as important; as it provides the “first feeling” to your home and how a buyer feels about its presentation and the idea of living there.

Its important to have your garden beds manicured and weeded, some fresh soil or mulch does wonders, and trimming the outlines of your freshly cut lawn keeps the property looking its best. the tidy outdoor is equally inviting to those passing by, who can potentially be a referral source for friends or family they know that are looking to move into the area. Mellissa Pintao has a team of Local Specialists that can help from simple maintenance services to more extensive facelifts to your homes exterior.

Check In

Once you’ve cleaned your home, removed personal items, photographs and layered in neutral accessories, have a friend walk through your house as if they were prospective buyers. Ask them to give you honest feedback about your home and use that information to maximize your home’s appeal.

Stay tuned for more Blogs from Mellissa Pintao Real Estate Services by subscribing to Letstalklondonrealestate.ca and visiting and following Mellissa on Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, and instagram.