The living room is most likely going to be the first room buyers see when they enter the home. A spacious living room is a good selling point for buyers. When your home is on the market, the best way to appeal to buyers is to remove as many personal items from the living room as possible- also known as staging. A room with lots of clutter is going to look smaller than a room that is clear of clutter. The key to staging any room is to keep it simple. Pretend that you are the buyer. And remember that buyers are looking to buy the house, not your furniture and accessories.
The first step in staging your living room is to clear tables and surfaces. This will allow you to start fresh with accessorizing. Once you have removed personal photos and such, you can begin re-accessorizing your living room. Stand in the doorway and take a quick mental picture of the room while it is clear of all clutter and knick knacks. This is will allow you to see the bones of the room. Pretend that you are the buyer and remember that buyers are looking to buy the house, not your furniture and accessories. Use one large piece of art for the walls as opposed to multiple small pieces. Blank wall space is not a bad thing when trying to sell a home.
Remove any extra furniture from the room. Decorating a room to live and staging a home to sell are completely different. Furniture that you feel is necessary for “living” may not showcase a room well. For example, buyers love a fireplace. In this case, place the furniture in a way to make the fireplace a point of interest. No matter what feature you are showcasing in the living room, whether it is windows, a fireplace, built-ins, etc., the furniture should be arranged to make the room look spacious.
Another trick to make the living room look bigger (and better) is to use as much natural light as possible. Open blinds and draperies to let light into the room. Where there is not much natural light, place lamps to create the illusion of natural light. The more light, the bigger the space will feel. Always open all window treatments and turn on lamps when the home is being shown to a potential buyer.
Make your home look better than the competition! Don’t just expect your house to sell itself. It’s all about marketing and making a good first impression. Let’s face it, Nashville Realty is a competitive market and we have to stay ahead of the game!