If you’re thinking about staging your Austin home, but have limited time and money, you’ll want to focus on the most important rooms to stage. This way, you’ll maximize your return on investment by attracting more showings and interest. More interest generates more offers, which turns into more money for you. Here, we’ll reveal the most important rooms to stage, ranked in order of importance according to home buyers. Then, we’ll give you some tips on staging each room.
Most Important Rooms to Stage
According to the 2015 Profile of Home Staging published by the National Association of Realtors, the most important rooms to stage are (in order of importance):
Living Room- Kitchen
- Master Bedroom
- Dining Room
- Bathroom
- Children’s Bedroom
- Guest Bedroom
Living RoomFor more info, you can download the entire report here.
Public Rooms are Most Important
Most owners spend the majority of their time in the public areas of the home, which is usually where a buyer will start their home tour. If they can’t see themselves living and entertaining in your living room and kitchen, the other rooms usually won’t matter. Make the public areas as appealing as possible to encourage buyers to look at the rest of the house with excitement. Take down personal belongings and photos, so buyers can visualize living in your home, rather than intruding in your home.
Focus on the Living Room
The living room is where the majority of home owners will entertain and spend most their time. When preparing your home to sell, go over your living room with a fine tooth comb. If you have worn carpet, consider replacing with wood or engineered wood (depending on the style and price range of your home). Buyers prefer the look of wood (or a wood-type product) to carpet and are willing to pay a premium to get it.
Give Your Kitchen a Fresh Look with Paint
Dated cabinets can turn off buyers immediately. Though you likely won’t get your money back if you replace the cabinets, paint or stain has a high return investment. A coat of paint and modern hardware can transform a dated kitchen into a kitchen that would excite a buyer and usually costs a few hundred bucks at most. Have a little left in the budget? Consider updating to stainless steel appliances. Studies have shown appliances can signal “new kitchen” to a buyer. Have laminate counters? Those can be an automatic turn off for a buyer. Consider replacing with granite, wood or silestone.
Master Bedroom is Still Pretty Important
Though buyers may need other bedrooms for kids, guests or other family members, the master bedroom is where they will spend the majority of their time behind the public areas. Paint the room a neutral color that coordinates with the bedding and pillows. (Pro tip: Professional stagers like to use a paint with an eggshell finish to make the room feel brighter.) Remove all furniture except the bed, nightstands and dresser. If you have a master bedroom big enough for a seating area, highlight that with chairs and maybe a table. Remember, the goal is to create an illusion of space, so keep plenty of walking space.
Create Bright, Dining Rooms with Good Traffic Flow
Buyers don’t like dark dungeons and dining rooms can often have that feel if not staged properly. If your dining room is a little dark, try hanging a mirror on the opposite wall to reflect natural light. Have a large dining table that takes up the entire room? Consider removing one of the leaves to allow space to walk. Instead of setting the table with all of the china in your cabinet, put a vase with flowers on the table to create a focal point.
Don’t Forget the Bathroom
A dated, dirty bathroom can break a sale. Instead of doing a complete remodel, you can use what you already have. Have dated tile? Consider painting it to create a more modern look. Replace cheap looking lighting with a more up to date fixture. Steer away from gold or brass. Brushed nickel and oil rubbed bronze are always good choices. Clean the walls and apply a fresh coat of paint, to create the feel of a “new bathroom.” Have a small bathroom? Take out the clunky sink cabinet and replace it with a pedestal sink. This will create more space and take the focus away from “small.” Have standard, builder grade faucets? Consider replacing them to give the existing sink a remodeled look.
Staging Has a 300% ROI
If you want to make more money on your home, consider putting some time and money into staging. With a 300% ROI, you’ll be glad you did.
Considering Selling Your Home in Austin?
Combine our killer home marketing program with staging and you are guaranteed to get more money for your home. We use the best professional real estate photographer in Austin, so all the time you spend on staging will be captured in the most appealing way. Our team knows how to sell your home for top dollar in the shortest time. Check out our Austin Home Sellers page for more info on what makes us different. Then, call us at (512) 827-8323, email us at info@11OaksRealty.com or fill out our Seller Survey to get started.
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