Depersonalized, Not Burglarized

Home staging has greatly grown in popularity and with so much information hosting asp net the web and television it's easy to be inspired to give buy settlement a try. But like many do-it-yourself undertakings, a little knowledge doesn't always get you the results you were aiming for.

Take a look at current open houses or on MSL. Many homes are so depersonalized they look more like they've been burglarized than staged. The homes have been completely stripped of personal items, and deprived of any individual character or sense of personal identity. All that's left in the rooms are a couple pieces of furniture.

So why are rooms being stripped of their individual character? The most common piece of advice for staging your own home whether on the web or television is to declutter and depersonalize your space. The reason for this is more often than not, there is space waiting to be discovered within your home. It just needs organizing and to be purged of too much stuff. The investment of time and effort is definitely rewarded.

Depersonalizing shouldn't be confused with stripping a home of its character. Depersonalizing should be removing the personal things that identify you as an individual. Some examples might include personal photographs, collections, strong personal tastes, unexpected items, or themes. If you have strong personal interests you may have collected items without realizing a theme has proliferated through your entire home.

I'll use pet owners as one example. There will be doormats, pictures, or figurines of adored pets everywhere. As the prospective buyer walks through the house they're certain they can smell it. Was it housebroken? Did it have fleas? What damage did it leave behind? The theme becomes the most prevalent thing on the prospective buyer's mind, and later how they, and the Realtor, remember the house. Whether visiting the home of an avid sports fan, world traveller, computer geek, or plant lover, a potential buyer has a difficult time being objective if the home doesn't relate to them.

The key to home staging is preparing the home so it relates to the widest potential market for the property and by increasing its perceived value when compared to its competition. Notice I said "relates". The car direct insurance line is to create an emotional connection to a wide audience. The elusive "it" factor. If a home has been so depersonalized that it's austere and sterile (or looks like you've been robbed), it doesn't relate to buyers. That's why vacant homes have a hard time selling. Buyers can't relate to empty space. Homes depersonalized to the point of stripped are nearly as bad. A home should have a clean, calm, warm, and inviting persona.

Here are a couple suggestions to strike a balance between depersonalizing while maintaining an inviting persona.

"DO" pack up your personal photos, hobby, collections, theme items before you put your home on the market. I know you love them and you're proud of them, but we don't want to distract the buyer.

"DO" keep a few decorative accessories. A single large-scale accessory or a grouping of similar medium-scale items works best. You want a few focal points and colour. This principal works for wall art as well. It is better to have less furniture and a couple of key accessorized focal points, then a room full of furniture and no accessories.

"DON'T" neglect soft accessories, like pillows, wall treatments, rugs, plants, or throws. If your room is full of hard surfaces it's not very warm and inviting. Keep to very few but larger-scale items and create soft "layers".

"DO" experiment. A good room will feel balanced, easy to get around in, and comfortable. If a certain item(s) dominate a room, pack it up early.

Your comments and questions are always welcome at janet@bestsellerstaging.com
Be sure to visit our website at www.bestsellerstaging.comwww.bestsellerstaging.com

Janet Wormitt
Bestseller Staging Services
Ottawa, Canada
www.bestsellerstaging.comwww.bestsellerstaging.com