When you put your home on the market, preparation and presentation are critical for a quick sale at a good price. And primarily that means well-executed staging to show off your home to advantage – especially for all those online shoppers. This sticking point for many sellers, though, is the cost of staging. Professional staging averages $300-$600 for the initial design consultation and after that around $500-$600 per room per month. You can, however, do it yourself and save a lot of cash. Here, then, are home staging ideas you can do yourself in Martinsburg and Hagerstown.
Install New Window Treatments
One of the best staging ideas to come along in a long while is simply to let in more light and use that light to show off your home’s best features. To start with, get rid of those old, heavy, light-blocking drapes and replace them with lighter, breezier window treatments like sheers or light, floor-length curtains. Installing new window treatments that let in more light will make rooms seem bigger and more open.
Add Some Mirrors
Another one of the home staging ideas you can do yourself in Martinsburg and Hagerstown is to add some mirrors. It’s relatively easy, and it will also make your home seem brighter and roomier. Besides making a room seem brighter and less cramped, beautifully crafted mirrors also add style and grace. Just make sure the mirror style complements your artwork and other furnishings to make rooms feel more curated and designed. And it doesn’t have to cost a lot either. You can often find quality mirrors in second-hand shops and at garage/yard sales.
Use Complementary Rugs
New rugs are always one of the great DIY staging ideas in Martinsburg and Hagerstown because they can really brighten a room and make it all hang together by breaking up the monotonous expanse of uniform flooring. But the rugs have to be the optimum size and must complement everything else in the room, fitting both room and the furniture. You should especially avoid rugs that are too small for a space. The rule of thumb is that the legs of couches and chairs should at least be touching a rug.
Put Out White Towels
Bathrooms are important to home buyers. So one of the easiest, least expensive, and most effective staging ideas is to put out new clean, crisp white towels. White is probably best, but if you don’t want white, just make sure to use light, monochromatic hues. The idea is to create a spa-like feel, and colored towels just don’t achieve that effect.
Erase Your Personality
Perhaps most important of all the home staging ideas you can do yourself in Martinsburg and Hagerstown is making every effort to erase your personality. You’ve put a lot of time, effort, money into transforming your house into your home. But that doesn’t appeal to buyers. Buyers need to be able to envision your house as their home. So you need to remove or replace everything that impresses your personality on the home, including family photos, idiosyncratic curios, and personal clutter. Make it easy for buyers to see it as their own.
Use an Agent with Staging Expertise
You don’t have to spend a small fortune on professional staging to sell your home, for there are plenty of home staging ideas you can do yourself in Martinsburg and Hagerstown. But you do need a plan and a little knowledge. And a good agent can be a great asset as well, but not just any agent.