Staging your home for viewings is a little different from other interior design projects. It’s less about making the space practical, and personal to you, and more about showing off all the features of your property.
You’ll know very little about the tastes of your ‘audience’ – the potential buyers – so all your design decisions have to be as broadly appealing as possible. Neutrals and natural light should be your go to’s, and personal touches should be kept to a minimum.
In this article we look at some of the best ways to approach staging a home for viewings, and provide some tips on fail-safe ways to make your property look its best for potential buyers.
Analyse your Space
When preparing your home for viewings, your focus should be on working with what you’ve got as much as possible. Everything you do should be with the aim of enhancing the space – making it look larger and brighter.
Natural Light
If you’re lucky enough to have south-facing windows, allow this natural light to take centre stage. Light paint colours, and pale soft furnishings are ideal for showing off how much sunlight you get. Avoid dark coloured, or heavy curtains, except in the bedroom – where blackout blinds can be appealing.
If you haven’t got much natural light to work with, the best alternative is to make sure your room is well lit in other ways. Our favourite trick is to have a variety of lighting options. If you haven’t already, place a lamp or two into your main living space. This will give you gentle lighting options for when it’s dim inside, but not quite dark enough for the full overhead lighting.
Focal points
In many modern living rooms, it’s quite common to have the seating all facing in the direction of the television, making it the main focus of the room. As much as possible it’s best to avoid this when preparing your lounge for viewings. Your room will look larger, and more inviting if attention is not drawn into such a specific focal point.
Instead, experiment by arranging some of the seating towards another point in the room, such as a window, fireplace, or mirror. If this isn’t practical for your space, consider adding a statement piece that detracts focus from the television. Large houseplants, a piece of art, or even a statement lampshade, can make good alternative focal points.
Soft Accents
If you have fairly neutral decor throughout your home, accents of colour are a classic way to make a house look well put together with very little effort. Cushion covers, bedding sets, and a well-placed blanket or two, are all you need to give your property a coherent and sophisticated upgrade.
Interior design favourites for autumn and winter include deep jewel tones – like emerald green, maroon, and burnt oranges. For a more modern minimalist look try earthy browns, terracotta, or even khaki, in natural fabrics like linen and cotton.
Keep it Clean
Finally, it goes without saying that your home should be clean when you have potential buyers over for viewings. But, we can’t emphasise this enough – your property needs to be a whole new level of clean.
Potential home buyers are incredibly nosy. They are about to make one of their largest ever purchases, so they want to know exactly what they are getting. You should expect buyers to look into your cupboards, inspect your washing machine, and check out your shower head – so make sure you clean accordingly.
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