6 Budget Friendly Home Staging Tips

Recently the hubs and I decided it was time to expand our living space into something more kid friendly.  The key to staging your home is to know who your target market is and stage accordingly. The idea in staging is to give the potential home buyers the experience that they can envision themselves living in this home. Here are a few  tips that I’d like to believe contributed to selling our home in 1 day!!!

 6 Budget Friendly Home Staging Tips

1. Depersonalize –  The goal here is to have the prospected home buyer(s) see themselves living in your space. Pictures of your memories (as lovely as they are) can certainly draw attention away from the room or space you are wanting them to envision themselves enjoying.

2. De-clutter – Remove excess or unnecessary clutter off shelves and counters as well as clearing inside cupboards helps open up the area making it appear more spacious. If possible pack away any items that you feel you can live without during the time your house is on the market. Below are a few idea’s…

• Kitchen counter – This should be clear of any small appliances such as the microwave, bottle warmer, magic bullet, etc and other items like the dish rack, cutting board, kettle, etc. If you can’t live without these items or any other items not listed simply put them in a cupboard underneath before your leave your house in the morning.  A bowl of fruit, spice rack and even your knife block are okay to stay on the counter. Choose fruit that adds color to a neutral kitchen.
• Dining Room hutch – Keep the inside simple with a few pieces that will add to the feel and decor of the room.
• Kitchen drawers and cabinets – Some people like to check the depth of cupboards and drawers. If you know you will not be entertaining at your home during the time the listing is live, pack your entertaining dishes and extra gadgets. Seriously, how many spatula’s or melon baller’s does one need to have in a drawer…yup this is from my personal experience.
• Garage – Neatly hang and/or store tools in their dedicated locations. Spend a few hours if needed in the garage and really take note on what you need or can toss and sort items accordingly. Once designated locations selected for items, source out the location of your local garbage dump and plan a garbage dumping trip. Remember you will eventually be moving these items to your next house so if you don’t need them like empty paint cans or pieces of left over wood, toss it! This may cost you a few dollars (usually under $10) but well worth the cost.
• Closets – Try to organize the closets neatly by limiting the amount of clutter on the floor or shelves. If possible pack away clothing/shoes/boots that are not in season to give the hanging space more room to showcase the size of your closet.  Use storage containers, extra bags and suitcases to store these items.
• Bathroom – Similar to the kitchen, you want to remove all clutter from the vanity, even your toothbrushes and store under the sink or in the cabinet.

3. Color or theme staging – If your room is predominately one neutral color, add a splash of color to the room with these budget friendly tips.

• Have a fresh bouquet of  flowers adorn the dinning room table. Chrysanthemums (mums) and Carnations come in an variety of colors, are relatively inexpensive and can for as long as 20 days in a vase.
• Towels can be another way to add a punch of color or really tie a theme of a room together. Hit the sales and purchase the limited amount of towels needed. Neatly hang the unused towels everyday in the morning just in case a realtor decides to show your home during the day while you are work.
• Foam mats – Creating a designated play space with foam mats helps provide more options on how an open concept layout is kid-friendly. This can be helpful if your target demographic have young children.

4. Paint – Give potential new home owners a blank canvas. Neutral colors on walls are fine but try to paint over darker colors especially in smaller rooms. The beauty about paint is now you can purchase a 2-in-1 can of both primer and paint. Paint cans vary in price and can start as low as $25. Here’s an easy to use Calculator for Paint to let you know exactly how much paint you will need.

5. Provide an experience as they walk through your house you want them to envision themselves living there. Strategically place a few magazines or a book where you think most people can sit down, enjoy and relax as they read. Candles in places you want to create a warm soothing location in your home where someone would want to kick back and have a glass of wine…whoops or is that just me well you get the point. If you have a kickass bathroom with the focal point being the bathtub place a nice Epsom salt filled decorative (dollarstore) glass container and rolled up towels in a basket beside the tub. Depending on your demographic you wish to target, you may even want to set the table and give the family feel to the dining area.

6. Clean, clean, clean –  A little bit of elbow grease goes a long way. Plan out a cleaning schedule so it doesn’t overwhelm you….trust me it’s quite intensive especially if your a type A like myself.  Making your own cleaning products are inexpensive since most ingredients are things typically found in your kitchen.

• Windows – Ensure free of streaks and water spots.
• Baseboards/doors – The Magic Eraser rubs away scuffmarks along highly traveled area baseboards and doors.
• Kitchen appliances
  – Fridge –Baking Soda, baking soda, baking soda to clean the inside of your fridge.  Leave a small opened box of baking soda in the back of your fridge to absorb any odors.
  – Oven – Newer ovens have a ‘self-cleaning’ option, easy and FREE. It is quite the process (at least 3 hours) that literally burns everything inside of your oven to a crisp for an quick wipe down after the oven has cooled down. Here is my recipe for the All Natural Homemade Oven Cleaner that works like a charm. See for yourself.
• Bathroom tub and grout – Borax, baking soda and water and VOILA!!! clean tub and grout.

So tell me, what helpful budget friendly home staging tips do you have?