Is Home Staging a Waste of Time?

Home staging is a contentious subject. Many experts say staging a home for sale is the best way to achieve the highest asking price, but painting the walls and adding a few designer cushions to your sofa is superficial at best and won’t disguise any major issues. Not surprisingly, some homeowners in the Minneapolis real estate market fail to see the benefits. Moreover, they don’t want to waste their hard-earned cash on new carpets and designer furnishings if they end up out of pocket. So, is home staging a waste of time?

The Art of Home Staging

According to the experts, the answer is “yes and no”. In truth, home staging is like applying a face of expensive makeup. Makeup makes you look better, but there is only so much artfully applied makeup can do. If you have spent the last week staying up until 4AM partying, no makeup in the world will be able to hide the evidence. It’s no different when you apply the analogy to a home.

Accentuate the Best Bits of Your Home

Home staging accentuates the best bits of your home, drawing attention to the things you want buyers to see. However, home staging won’t disguise a kitchen that’s falling apart or windows that are rotten to the core. If your property has been neglected or it is in need of a major facelift, it’s pointless buying a nice rug and expecting the living room to look better. No rug in the world will improve a threadbare carpet or make peeling wallpaper look more attractive.

Don’t bother staging your home unless it’s in great condition and all it needs is a few tweaks. Your efforts are unlikely to make a big difference to any offers you receive, as buyers are not stupid and they can usually tell what work needs doing, regardless of designer cushions and a coat of magnolia paint. However, if your home is in pretty good condition and you want to achieve the best price possible, it’s definitely worth staging it before viewers come and take a look.

Setting a Scene

Home staging is all about setting a scene. Imagine your home is a movie set and everything needs to be in the right position to ensure the best camera angles. The only difference is that you are trying to look good for buyers, not the camera. To achieve the best “look”, tidy up, clean everything, remove all extraneous clutter to make rooms appear more spacious, and show off your rooms to their best advantage.

Lighting is important, so it’s a good idea to turn on interior lights. Dark shadows make a room feel claustrophobic and small, which is not a good look.

Pay attention to how your home smells, too. Bathrooms need to smell fresh and kitchens benefit from the smell of coffee or cinnamon. Be creative here – you don’t need to bake cookies or brew Colombian coffee – a nice scented candle will do the job just fine.