Staging, every home for sale can benefit from being staged. And before you think you’ll skip this series because your home isn’t for sale, think again. The one complaint heard after people stage their home for sale is, “Why didn’t I do some of this stuff years ago so I could enjoy it?” Yes, there are some things that you might do only when you put your house on the market but, for the most part, if you keep your home up over time, you will enjoy it more and it will be market ready just in case you ever need to sell. And if you are renting, consider this practice.

we got lazy and didn’t put up shutters for 9 months after our house was painted

I’m a trained home stager and I’ve got a little experience with selling houses. We’ve sold three of our own homes over the past 13 years each in different states. The first one sat on the market for 2.5 years before it sold and then we sold it for exactly what we purchased it for. We had to sell a car to pay the realtor. I told myself I would do everything in my power to keep that from happening again. From then on out, we purchased homes with the mindset of knowing we might have to sell them one day. Our second home sold by owner in 7 days and our third home sold by owner in 30 days. We made a nice profit on both.

we finally put shutters up when we decided to sell why WHY didn’t we do this for us?

I wanted to bring in someone with a little more expertise when it comes to thinking about the big things you should and shouldn’t do when selling your home. So, I asked my favorite contractor, Tim the Remodeling Guy to help us out in the staging department.

Nester and Remodeling Guy being and our professional selves.

Tim, tell us your thoughts on staging:

Well, I’ve never considered myself an expert on “home staging” before! But when I think about it a little bit I realize that the whole process of staging your home to sell is very much like the process of remodeling. The ever helpful Wikipedia says this about staging homes:

Staging focuses on improving a property (home) to make it appeal to the largest number of buyers (or keepers!) by transforming it into a welcoming, appealing, and attractive product for sale (or, place to live).


Okay, so let’s rephrase that: “Kick-up the house a notch or two so that it will be a pretty and comfortable place where people want to be.” That, I can do! It seems to me that the whole idea of staging is something that we ought to look at all the time in our homes so that we can create an environment that we flourish in. Why wait until you’re moving out to do these things?

But if you ARE moving, it’s even more important to take a look around and find some of these areas that can be improved. If you’re going to have potential buyers walking through, anything you can possibly do to emphasize the great things about your house while downplaying any imperfections is a smart move! These things cover “interior design” type things such as furnishings, colors, and cute little potted plants. It’s equally important to take a look at “construction” type work such as broken doors, rotten wood, or adding a new light fixture. Hopefully, between the two of us, The Nester and I can give you some ideas that will help those of you looking to sell to sell faster and for more money. And for those of you who are staying put, you might stand to benefit even more from these ideas because you’ll be around to enjoy them!

That’s right Tim, staging doesn’t guarantee your house will sell. But, you want to do everything possible to make your home the best house in its price range. Give your home all the advantages you can. Kind of like brushing your teeth when you go out on a date. Why wouldn’t you do it? For the next few Mondays Remodeling Guy and I are going to discuss staging your home for sale and we think you’ll find it a good read whether you are selling or not.

Staging: it’s not just for sellers anymore.

Related Posts:
Staging :: The Exterior
Staging :: Stepping Inside
Staging :: Remodeling Guy’s Perspective
Staging :: Nester’s Perspective