When the time arrives to place a property on the market for sale, its presentation can make or break your profit margin. How you showcase your property and what style you select needs careful consideration.
Styling goes far beyond what we see when we view properties. If you treat styling like an afterthought, it could be a deal-breaker for some buyers.
The first mistake is understyling.
A sparsely furnished or lackluster property might not create enough emotional connection with buyers. A real estate agent once advised me to clear everything off the benches in the home; intuitively, I knew that was crazy as people form a connection with items they see in a home.
Not having enough things in a home is often a mistake.
Well-placed items in various rooms can add that wow factor and take someone’s eye away from an area of the home that is not so perfect.
How do you avoid under-styling? Ensure that every buffet and bench has a vignette for buyers to notice.
A vignette is a creative cluster of 5, 7, or 9 beautiful items that go together to style a space. If you don’t create vignettes, areas of your home can look empty and uninviting. Bare rooms won’t stir positive feelings in buyers.
The second mistake is seeing furniture out of proportion with the space in the rooms.
People need to flow easily from one room to the next and admire what they see. Clutter or larger pieces of furniture that disrupt flow can be off-putting to buyers; bumping into objects or others in open homes does not create a sense of comfort or flow.
Spaces within a home need to be larger and light-filled to develop those feelings of happiness. When you think about proportion, remember to allow, as a general rule, one meter of space, especially when you are designing a property as well.
Leaving a meter of space in hallways, the kitchen, and near furniture is an excellent place to start.
If you were to oversize items, let your artwork make that statement. Large lounges in a small space can keep people out of a room as they want to avoid the crowded feeling.
Mistake number three is about your clutter. We often become clutter-blind and stop noticing if the objects around our home will create that wow moment or put people off. As they say, one person’s treasure may look to others like trash! Filling up a home with too many objects is a common mistake.
The best way to manage clutter is to strip each room bare, stand back, and look at the area. Give the space and things a thorough clean, and put back the items as vignettes that really 'belong' in that room and are in the here and now.
Mixing and matching what you have is a bit of an art and if you are unsure, look at examples of eclectic vignettes. Bringing the old and new together can be tricky, so consider hiring a stylist to maximize your profitability.
A property stylist is worth the investment, and you can hire them for between $5000 and $15,000. You will get that money back when the property sells. A well-styled property that suits a demographic sell for a higher price as these homes attract more buyers and generate more emotion, connection, and competition at the point of sale.
If styling isn’t something you are confident about initially, it can be something you learn. Depending on your situation, you may prefer to hire a property stylist to take the guesswork or delays in promptly getting the home ready for sale.
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This blog was written by the RARE team
Team RARE are passionate about renovations, interiors and
sharing our favourite DIY tips and tricks with our community.
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