Staging for the Holidays
Posted on December 13, 2007
Filed Under Stager Blogs, Staging Articles |
Joanne O'Donnell Comments Off
Amid a rough real estate market, you are probably looking to increase home values and speed up sales. Newspaper stories continue to write about staging, and even Oprah is doing a segment on staging with her favorite decorator, Nate, this month. With all the publicity around staging, more homes are going to be staged; making sure that your properties are done properly and to the best effect is to your best advantage. While your home should say something about who you are, a house on the market should say something about, and to, the potential buyers. Family homes should say they are family-friendly”; high end condos should really say they are sleek, chic and modern -Â pad. With the holidays quickly on their way, now is the time for everyone to look past staging as being only for selling a home and see staging for the Holidays as a way to keep homes on and off the market in showing-ready style. Staging for the Holidays The basic steps of staging apply even when adding in a lot of pieces for the holidays.
Start with your checklist: Clean It, Fix It, Clear It, Move It and Add It. Guests or buyers reaction to embarrassing unfinished projects is a great motivator for the Fix It and Clean It steps. Take this opportunity to go through every room and address nagging issues. The more perfect the house, the happier you will be showing it off. Bringing in a tree and holiday colors may mean that you clear out more pieces than you normally would. Creating and keeping a sense of consistency of style in the house is important. Homes on the market: If it is cute “it stays packed”. “Cute” is not a universal concept, and the surest way to avoid trouble is to keep it simple and elegant. Keeping it secular will allow all buyers to feel welcome, regardless of religious beliefs or holiday traditions. Using greenery, wreaths, and holiday sparkle creates holiday warmth in a PC and Staging-Safe way. When bringing in your holiday colors, be cautious not to create a clashing color palette. As you purchase and unpack the decorative pieces, take special effort to be picky about what is on display. All ornaments do not have to be used every holiday and certainly not when a home is on the market. Creating themes can be a fun way to change things up, and create some consistency in the look of the house. Ornaments of one basic color palette with a show piece” ornaments adding style can be a great way to create a chic tree without turning off potential buyers with a too-homey (and often homely) holiday look. Glass or plastic bulb ornaments (all in one or two tones), and non-blinking white tree lights add sophistication to a tree. Simple touches throughout the home also help, a fresh wreath on the door (sans Santa; here, again, leave out the cute stuff).
Home not on Market: As you unpack your holiday treats, take a breath and really inspect and organize your decorations. Items do not need to go out because it has a holiday look; it should go out if it works with the style of your deccor. If you have a lot of kitschy ornaments mixed in with elegant ornaments, consider instead: two or more trees. Have a small tree in the family room, childrens rooms, or even the home office that has popcorn garland and those fun home-made and crocheted pieces that are dear to your heart. Keep the living room tree a show-stopper: white lights, coordinated ornaments that work with the space as a whole. Each room has a purpose, and the style of the rooms should stay consistent, even during special occasions. Want some simple touches to turn a bland room festive without going holiday kitsch crazy? Adding simple pieces of greenery to fireplace mantels and as a base for dining room table centerpieces (similarly styled ornaments strewn along the branches make for a stylish horizontal tree) can be a great way to add style and extend the season to other rooms. Small branches along window sills, and placed like doilies on trays add instant holiday appeal. Whats more, the house quickly smells like winter. Adding a pot of mulling spices or cider completes the sensory experience, equating your home with warm friendly, holiday cheer.