Successfully staging a property to secure a sale has never been more important. Potential buyers need to experience an uncluttered space with just the right amount of furniture to inform the function of each room and when it comes to staging, the secret weapon is storage. Professional stagers will often remove over half the contents of a home to make it feel more spacious and inviting, harnessing offsite storage to make this possible. So by using a combination of strategic decluttering and effective storage, any investor can stage a property like the pros:
- Ensure the entrance way is open and free of any clutter, but make sure theres a place for coats (or umbrellas) to make it feel inviting.
- Focus on just a few rooms. If you have a limited staging budget for furniture and furnishings, spend it on the hallway, living room, kitchen and master bedroom.
- Almost every home shows better with less furniture. Leave just enough in each room to illustrate the rooms purpose and plenty of room to move around. Remove pieces of furniture that block or hamper paths and walkways.
- Wardrobe space can make or break the sale. In the bedrooms, organise your wardrobes to make them look more spacious, putting out of season clothes in a storage area. Aim to have 20-30% open space in each closet (remove enough items from your closet so you can hang a garment without touching the garment next to it). If the property isnt currently being occupied, add some clothing to wardrobes to give the place a lived-in feel.
- Remove extra leaves from dining room tables to make rooms appear larger.
- Keep in mind natural light – you might want to trim outside branches and replace heavy curtains or blinds with something lighter.
- If you have any room beneath stairs, an alcove, etc – try to find a unique way to show it off. Add a small office desk or built-in shelving and your awkward spot becomes another selling point.
- Use spare rooms wisely. Each room should have a clearly defined purpose. Consider what your potential buyers want – young family? (kids bedroom), professionals (home office)? – and stage accordingly.
- Dont overstuff storage spaces. Women especially will evaluate hallway cupboards and kitchen storage so make sure theyre not filled to overflowing.
- Use self storage – rent a storage room for as little as seven days (great if you want to quickly declutter a space for a short time) and as well as larger rooms that can take furniture and bigger items, smaller rooms (roughly the size of a telephone box) are also available.
- Self storage facilities might offer a discount to new customers for a set period – often a few weeks or months – so talk to the facility manager and see if this applies.
- Finally, some storage companies will discount “irregular” sized rooms (ones that arent rectangle in shape – they might have a small alcove, say, rather than just four walls). Ask the storage facility manager about “value” or irregular rooms and see if they have any discounts.
Drew Davies writes for Big Yellow Self Storage. For more information on moving home, see their comprehensive packing and removal advice.
Julie is passionate about property – development, investment and portfolio planning. Along with husband Alec, Julie is actively building a property portfolio while helping others to do the same.
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