Home Staging Tips – How To Make A Space Seem Bigger
There are several really important things to remember when showing off the space in your home to your potential buyers. You have to think like a buyer would be thinking.
If you don’t want to read this article and prefer to watch a video about it, click here instead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnIsasxVeLI
Otherwise, keep reading.
When a buyer walks into a space, they are wondering if their furniture will fit in the space. They wonder if their couch is too big, or if their bed is the same size as yours, or if the number of pieces they have will fit.
If the space feels closed off they will assume, often incorrectly, that the space is too small for their furniture. It’s hard for most people to tell just by looking.
So, to best show off your space, have your home furnished tastefully. Most realtors agree that an empty home is much harder to sell so this will make their job easier as well. Part of the reason it is harder to sell, is that it feels unfriendly and there is no frame of reference for the buyer to use in sizing up the space.
Since only 10% of all the population can visualize how to use a space when it’s empty, you need to provied that frame of reference for your potential buyers.
Even color on the walls affect how large a space does or doesn’t feel. Darker colors make a space seem smaller while lighter colors help it feel bigger. I’ll write more on color later in another post.
Since 90% of your potential buyers are unsure about how to use an empty space, and they worry about the size of the room and how their items will fit, it’s important to stage the space and give them that frame of reference. Then they can estimate if their couch is the same size as the staged couch and if their bed is the same size, where to place it, etc.
Another aspect of the space is to show off its size. There are some great tricks to making it seem larger than it is. One word of caution here, don’t take out so many items that it ends up feeling unfinished! I see this happen all the time and it’s almost as bad as keeping the space cluttered.
What I like to do is to arrange the furniture in such a way that when you walk into the room there is an invisible unbroken line on the floor from one end of the room to the other. It can be diagonal or straight but that line helps the space feel larger and draws the eye all the way to the other side of the room.
Recently, I helped a homeowner do just that in their space. When you walked into their master bedroom, their bed was right at the room entry and that made the room feel cramped. There was no unbroken line allowing the eye to see how big their master was.
To the right of the entry was a large chest of drawers that blocked off the sliding glass door leading to their private large deck off of their room. The slider looked like a window instead! The way it was set up, you could not tell it was a door until you moved the dresser and opened the curtains.
I knew the deck and slider would be a desired feature to potential buyers. With some furniture rearranging, we were able to move the bed over on the right wall and still show off the slider and deck without making the space feel cramped.
We put the dresser on the left wall so the room felt more open. Then we created a focal point above both pieces and moved out a smaller item of furniture that wasn’t necessary and saved space.
The results were fantastic! Potential buyers could now see:
? How big the space was by the unbroken horizontal line from one end of the room to the next.
? How to tastefully place the furniture in a way that made the room feel open.
? Any easy route to the attached bathroom (and that there was one! Before the bed made it harder to spot).
? The nice deck off of the master suite.
Even the homeowners were amazed. They said they have never measured to even see if the bed could fit on the other wall. They jokingly asked me if I would make the 8 hour drive to their new home to help them get set up there! We had a lot of fun.
Plus, it’s easier for couples to have an outside person tell them what to do than fight over it between themselves! Giggles! I know what that’s like.
I know you can show off your space so well that it makes it feel open and spacious, yet warm. That’s what I am here for – to help you maximize your space without losing its appeal, and thereby sell your home!
If any of this is confusing, feel free to call me for a mini consultation! My number is 888.848.8533.
Warmest Regards & Happy Selling!
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