Could home staging help sell our house? Yes it did!
In September last year, after many months trying to sell our house, I asked my friend Julie Stevens, an amazing Interior Designer and Approved House Doctor Consultant, from Younique Designs, to have a look at the photos that were on the online portals Zoopla and Rightmove, as they had been taken earlier in the year and were now looking decidedly old.
What a revelation!!
She saw things that I hadn’t seen or even been aware of and looking back I am, quite frankly embarrassed about having had these images available for all to see on the worldwide web!!
With Julie’s advice and guidance (and spending over £300 at our local soft furnishings store!) I spent 2 days moving, hiding and donating our stuff; plus “dressing” the rooms so that they looked more luxurious, neutral and clutter free.
I have to say it was money well spent as the rooms looked so much better. Indeed so good that we received an offer 2 weeks later and moved into our new house last week!!
This whole process got me thinking about the analogy between dressing a house and dressing a body…..
How the principles of home staging can be utilised in your wardrobe
1 Accessorise – I love accessories and no outfit is complete without some jewellery, a scarf &/or a fabulous handbag. Accessories are the secret sauce that make your outfits unique and interesting. The same concept applies to dressing a house. Adding cushions, throws, vases, lamps, pictures, candles and rugs can make all the difference to how a room looks – transforming it from functional or bare, to interesting and luxurious.
2 Co-ordination and colour – ensuring that the colours in your outfit work with one another is another important aspect to successful dressing. Sticking to a colour palette will help you to create a capsule wardrobe and make it easy to add new clothes and colours. When home staging it is important that the colours co-ordinate and work together. This continuity can be within one room or throughout the house. Julie explained that for visual interest it is good to add an accent colour (we added teal blue cushions and a bowl in the lounge to pick out the blue in an existing picture).
3 Grooming – good grooming will show that you care about yourself. For example, if you take the time and care to wash your hair, apply make-up and clean your shoes the implication is that you will care about your work and the things that you do. Within the context of home staging I learnt that this is all about tidying and clearing clutter. The house can then be seen at its best. Ensure that you remove things from under the bed, clear the mantelpiece of all your old photos and tidy your bookshelves!!
If you would like to find out more about Julie and her work please go to her website – https://juliestevens.co.uk/
