How to Make a House Look Great on a Buget

How to Make a House Look Great on a Buget – By Katie Mills, Stagedhomes.com Home Staging Blog contributor

  When you’re preparing to sell a home, generally speaking, the last thing you want to do is spend a lot of money on expensive updates because you have no idea who is going to end up buying your home and what they are going to think of the changes you’ve made.  What you should do is spend a little bit of money to make your home look really great.  Here are 9 tips to help you.   The home in general   Clear up the outside of your home First impressions count and the first impression of your home is from the outside, so put as much effort into that as you do to the inside.  As well as dealing with basic care and maintenance, think about spending a little budget replacing accessories such as your doormat and the numbers or name-plate on your door.  You want to impress potential buyers right from the moment they set eyes on your home and these little details can make a big difference.   Give your entire home a fresh coat of paint If there is one easy and affordable update you can do to make a house instantly look better, it’s simply to refresh the paint.  Obviously, be sensible with your color choices, you don’t have to go for pure white on every wall, (although it’s unlikely to hurt), but the key to selling a home is to allow buyers to imagine themselves living in it, so you don’t want to put too much of your own, personal, stamp on it at this time.   Steam clean carpets, rugs, curtains and soft furnishings This one takes time rather than money, but you will notice the difference yourself.  While you are about it, now is the time to make sure you have cleaned up any stains and if you really can’t clean them then cover them.  This isn’t underhand, since you’ll presumably be taking these items with you when you move, it just improves the overall impression.   Invest in a few attractive pieces of storage furniture for instant decluttering While you are in the process of selling your home, it has to do double-duty as a show home and a real home.  It’s no wonder that moving can be so stressful!  Make your life easier by investing in a few attractive pieces of storage furniture such as coffee tables with storage, storage ottomans or just baskets with lids, so that when people come to view your home, you can quickly dump your everyday items in there and have them out of sight and out of mind.  Forget about organizing, you can do that another time, you just want a place to hide them quickly and conveniently until your visitors leave.   Banish cord clutter Cord clutter is an eyesore you may already have dealt with, if not, then now is the time to deal with it.  What, specifically, you do will depend on your individual situation, but even if you can’t route your cords out of sight and out of mind, you can camouflage them with cord covers so they are hidden in plain sight.   The kitchen   Clear your counters and your fridge door It’s highly unlikely that buyers are going to look into your cupboards so unless they’re glass-fronted, you don’t have to worry about them.  They will, however, see your counters and your fridge door, so as a minimum make sure that they’re clear of clutter.  If you have the budget then you may want to consider upgrading the hardware on your kitchen cabinets or upgrading some of the appliances/utensils on display, especially since you’ll presumably be taking the latter with you.  Make sure any unsightly items, such as cleaning supplies are hidden away in cupboards, or if you must leave them out, invest in some attractive storage containers to hold them.   The family room Look for the little details which buyers will register if only subconsciously, such as light-switch covers, curtain rods, rings and ties and lamp shades.  These can all be easily and affordably upgraded.   The bathroom There are three quick and low-cost upgrades you can make which will help to add the lux factor to any bathroom.  They are: changing up the shower curtain, adding a monsoon shower head instead of a standard one and switching up your toilet seat.  Make sure any tools such as toilet brushes are either hidden or attractive.  Similarly, either clear away your toiletries or make sure they look good by decanting them into elegant containers.  Since buyers (or you yourself) may need to use your bathroom, there will need to be hand soap and at least one towel available.  In this situation, your best option is liquid hand soap in an attractive container and you may want to look at using dark towels instead of light ones as they are less likely to show up stains.  Leaving out some moisturizing hand cream can be a great touch both in terms of visual appeal and in terms of making your visitors feel positive about their experience at your home.   The bedroom You don’t need to invest in new bed linens, but if at all possible you want to make your bed in the same sort of way a hotel would do.  There are lots of videos on this on the net and while it may take you a bit of practice to get it right, once you do, it will be worth it as it can really make any bedroom look amazing.   Bonus tip – two big NOs   Fresh flowers It’s absolutely fine to use foliage plants to enhance the look of your home, but banish any plants with pollen.  You do not want to trigger allergies.   Anything with a discernible scent There are many scents the majority of people tend to like, citrus smells for example, but there are always going to be some people who don’t like a particular smell and since you have no way of knowing in advance whether or not a particular buyer likes any specific fragrance, it’s generally better just to avoid them.   Article Contributed by:  Katie Mills – [email protected]

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