Property styling and selling your home is a big process. You need to:
- Research prices of similar properties so you know what to expect. You could consider getting an objective valuation or leaning on your real estate agent to give you an estimation. Which brings me to…
- Choose a real estate agent. The agent will guide you through the sale process. This includes minor renovations, property styling, presentation, photographs and marketing.
- Embark on the marketing process and Open For Inspections. This requires excellent presentation and property styling (also called property staging). This my friends, is where The Decluttering Co comes in.
Property Styling is removing rather than adding
Prospective buyers want to see a blank canvas.
They don’t want to coo over your baby photos and marvel at your memorabilia. They are not interested in your quirky interests. They want to picture themselves in your home. That means removing all personal items and signs of life except for a casually-draped throw rug and some foliage.
Your home should look like an Ikea catalogue. Like a stylish serviced apartment, waiting for the occupant to saunter in, put some wine in the fridge and flick on the remote.
It sounds boring and a bit insulting, but there is no room for sentimentality when you are selling the most valuable item you own. Decluttering and styling sells your home faster and increases the sale price.
“But where can I put all my stuff?”
It needs to be out of the house, because interested parties at Open For Inspections will be looking in cupboards. They will be opening medicine cabinets and peering into garages. If towers of paperwork and paraphernalia stare back at them, they will subconsciously assume that:
(a) there is not enough storage
(b) living here means living with messy cupboards
(c) the current owners (you!) are a hot mess and goodness knows what other hidden disasters there are.
Housing your excess may entail hiring a storage facility or enlisting the kindness of a willing friend who can spare some garage space. To minimise the pain and extent of this, a good declutter is in order. The Decluttering Co will go through every nook and cranny with you, every cupboard and shelf. We will make decisions about what to take offsite, what to donate, what to sell and what to throw away. And what items make the cut to be part of your minimally styled home.
The colour palette will be ideally bland, so leave bold colour choices to the new occupants. A few pops of colour via cushions is advisable but if in doubt, white it out. White is universally appealing and as an added bonus it adds light and space. Ornaments should be scant, and think about the Rule of Three when styling.
What is left, is a blank canvas that just needs the aforementioned throw rug and foliage, as well as a few finishing touches we can advise on. It may be wise to rent a cool couch or think about your target market (single and working from home? parents?) to style your spare bedroom into something incredibly appealing.
But mostly, your home will convey space, light and appeal. Buyers will see themselves sitting in your living room, cooking in your kitchen. They will see ample opportunity for their needs. They will dig deeper into their wallets. That’s where property styling pays for itself and then some.
The added bonus is that decluttering and property styling means the process of shifting house is easier and cheaper. There will be less to sort through, less to pack into boxes and less to unpack at your new abode. Why box up and move items you don’t need?
The only problem is, you may just not want to leave!
