When listing your home, staging is an integral part of preparing a property for success on the market. Designed to feature a home’s best assets, staging involves a number of tips and tricks to uplevel your home’s appeal and draw in buyers. While it may seem complicated, following a few steps could help you sell your property for top-dollar offers.
Directly adjacent to Nashville’s West End and Green Hills, Belle Meade is a prestigious community that boasts a unique feeling of Southern charm. Belle Meade luxury homes consist of grand estates that promise luxury at every turn, with pristine landscaping and the utmost privacy. With houses in the area toppling the $3 million mark, selling property in this Tenessee city could net you a significant profit.
If you are ready to enter the Belle Meade real estate game, here are the top seven ways to stage your home to impress home buyers and increase the perceived value of your property.
1. Take the “home” out of your house
Chances are high that you’ve lived in your house for so long that it is filled with personal photos, decor, and memorabilia. While this helps you feel right at home, these personalized items are a significant barrier to potential home buyers. The point of staging is to allow buyers to envision themselves living within the space. They simply cannot do this if they are constantly reminded that the home belongs to someone else.
To depersonalize your home, you need to start by removing all those personal photos and decor. This includes removing family pictures from the walls and refrigerator and taking down framed diplomas and your kids’ artwork. Replace those items with generic artwork that still looks beautiful within the space.
To depersonalize your home, you need to start by removing all those personal photos and decor. This includes removing family pictures from the walls and refrigerator and taking down framed diplomas and your kids’ artwork. Replace those items with generic artwork that still looks beautiful within the space.
2. Re-examine your furniture placement
When staging your Belle Meade home, real estate agents greatly emphasize furniture placement. While the common belief is that pushing furniture against the walls will make the room feel bigger, this actually isn’t the case. Instead, position your furniture away from the walls. For instance, reposition chairs and couches into cozy conversation groups. You’ll also want to strategically arrange larger furniture pieces for easier traffic flow between the rooms. Following these steps will make spaces appear more open and inviting.
3. Enhance your home’s curb appeal
Before a buyer even steps inside your home, you want to impress them from the get-go and establish a tone of luxury, elegance, and prestige. Enhancing your property’s curb appeal is vital, as it sets the stage for the rest of the tour.
Upgrading your front yard doesn’t have to be expensive and time-consuming, though. It just takes a little forethought and planning. Easy enhancements include renting a pressure washer to remove grime and dirt from your roof, gutters, siding, and fence posts. Another easy but effective update includes replacing old mailboxes, house numbers, lighting, and welcome mats. You should also spruce up the landscaping by laying down fresh mulch or cleaning up the edges of flowerbeds.
Upgrading your front yard doesn’t have to be expensive and time-consuming, though. It just takes a little forethought and planning. Easy enhancements include renting a pressure washer to remove grime and dirt from your roof, gutters, siding, and fence posts. Another easy but effective update includes replacing old mailboxes, house numbers, lighting, and welcome mats. You should also spruce up the landscaping by laying down fresh mulch or cleaning up the edges of flowerbeds.
4. Tidy up your storage spaces
Most buyers touring Belle Meade luxury homes require a decent amount of storage. In fact, storage typically ranks high on most buyers’ priority lists. You can capitalize on this by ensuring your storage areas appear as spacious as possible. Accomplish this by keeping closets and drawers neat and organized. Invest in matching baskets and cloth bins to make everything appear uniform. You may even want to implement shoe racks and shelf organizers. Another great tip is adding a few satchels of potpourri to greet buyers with the smell of fresh sheets and towels when they peek inside.
5. Electrify your home’s lighting
Rooms with ample lighting always appear more spacious and inviting, whereas darker rooms seem smaller, closed off, and unwelcoming. Be sure to enhance your lighting technique by replacing any burnt-out light bulbs and incorporating a mixture of natural and artificial lighting elements.
Up the ante of your natural lighting by opening windows and taking down heavy curtains and shutters. You want to welcome in as much outside lighting as possible. Artificial lighting also has its importance, and it’s recommended to effectively utilize the three types of lighting: ambient (overhead), task (pendant or reading), and accent (wall or table). You can also use mirrors to reflect light and make rooms feel more open.
Up the ante of your natural lighting by opening windows and taking down heavy curtains and shutters. You want to welcome in as much outside lighting as possible. Artificial lighting also has its importance, and it’s recommended to effectively utilize the three types of lighting: ambient (overhead), task (pendant or reading), and accent (wall or table). You can also use mirrors to reflect light and make rooms feel more open.
6. Utilize color to highlight key features
As human beings, our eyes are naturally attracted to color. You can make use of this fact by highlighting key features in your home with different colors. For instance, paint accent walls in a bold color to draw attention to a set of windows or a fireplace. If you have a built-in bookcase, experiment with various colors to make the nook really pop. While you don’t want to go too crazy with colors, using them strategically can make otherwise unimpressive areas appear lively and intriguing.
7. Define rooms with a purpose
When staging a space, agents will often designate specific themes for the various rooms. For example, a spare bedroom could easily become a home office by adding a computer desk and chair. You can transform a space into a children’s room by adding a bunk bed and toy chest. Even if the buyer doesn’t use the room for the same purpose, it gives them ideas for what they could potentially do with each space. The possibilities are endless.
Hire an experienced Belle Meade real estate agent
When staging your home for success on the market, turning to the professionals is a significant benefit. Expert agents are highly in tune with what buyers are looking for in their property search, and they can offer tips to bring out the value in your home. So, when you are ready to sell your Belle Meade luxury home and want to create a truly showstopping space, reach out to leading agent Shane McCarty for guidance.
*Header photo courtesy of Shutterstock
*Header photo courtesy of Shutterstock
