Have you had a listing that had a space that was difficult to arrange to showcase the best features?
The den in this 1982 home in Austin, Texas (ok, mine), is one of those.
This room is huge (23-ish by 14-ish), but the built-in bookcases, sliding-glass doors, staircase and opening to the kitchen made arranging the furniture non-obvious.
We used it as a huge Dining Room, with a 10-foot by 4-foot table, but since the home has another formal dining room, this space needed to be converted back into a den, or a family room - the best use of the space.
Right before my Coldwell Banker (Northwest Austin - Arboretum) office Property Tour last week, I set up a conversation area in front of the fireplace - in the hopes of showing just how large the room was by giving a point of reference with real furniture:
What Other Agents Thought
Just as hoped, the tour of a dozen of so great agents plus my broker and sales manager prompted a lot of discussion of how to arrange the space.
One of the best things about the Coldwell Banker Northwest Office in Austin is that the agents will tell you their mind - with hard, honest feedback on what they like - and don't like - about a property.
Using just what furniture and accessories we had already in the house, we re-arranged it in a way that both shows the size, and shows how well even large-sized furniture will fit, with the fireplace as the focal point (with the TV cable connection in the shelving to the left - room for a large flat-panel):
Home Staging Tips for Real Estate Sales Success
- Whenever possible, hire a professional stager- the difference a good stager will make in how a property shows can be simply astonishing
- Whether you are an agent, seller or professional stager, keeping an open mind and welcoming feedback is essential for developing a home staging plan that works - and that can change considerably from neighborhood to neighborhood
- Sometimes you might have to go a round or two, based on feedback
- Don't take any feedback, even if harsh, personally - the point is to sell the house!!
- If you don't have furniture that "works", consider renting a few nice pieces
- If your furniture is mis-matched in style, and you can't rent or borrow some/much, try to keep your colors consistent (here we have ivory, white, rust, red, tans and black)
- Take a few photos and see how the arrangement looks - then prune/augment as necessary to get a look that sells. In this case, just sharing these photos with you, I can see that the baskets on the hearth look silly!
