It’s 10 am on a Thursday morning. Tim Horton’s coffee in hand, I’m on my way to a staging consultation with the Listing Agent. The seller was reluctantly allowing her home to be staged for sale. As we arrived for the initial consultation, I knew I had the task of putting her mind at ease and making this entire process as simple and stress free as possible.
She opened the door and welcomed us in. As we stood in the entryway chatting, I was trying to keep myself focussed on our conversation but the mustard yellow paint in the entrance had me very distracted and worried about what was to come. We made our way up the stairs to the main floor (my fingers crossed tightly in hopes of finding a freshly painted living space in a neutral colour) and rounded the corner.... all I see is wall to wall French’s yellow mustard paint colour throughout the main floor with a feature wall in chocolate brown! Oh. No. Admittedly, the seller never updated the paint colours from the previous owner and was not inclined towards updating it for the sale. So my biggest challenge became….how was I going to neutralize these outdated paint colours and make this place look appealing to a wide range of buyers?! This is how I helped this home transition from Drab & Outdated to Fabulously Upgraded.
First, I had the seller remove all of the custom made valances from the windows in the dining and living room. This immediately updated the space and made it more contemporary and much brighter and lighter. I then edited down her oversized furniture in the dining room and living room. We carefully wrapped it and moved it to her storage. This step was key for the seller because it helped her start the process of preparing for a move.
I then selected a few smaller condo size pieces of furniture and instantly the space looked larger and more updated. By keeping an all white pallet in the dining room the yellow paint colour was somewhat neutralized while adding pops of colour to the living room the chocolate brown feature wall looked less heavy and dark. Having carefully selected key pieces of art, accessories and décor this space now flows cohesively together from room to room.
Strategically staging the breakfast nook as a "Cappuccino Cafe" helped buyers to define the use of the space and allowed them to visualize their own furniture there.
A minor edit in both bedrooms with a few added pieces of accessories & bed linens helped to balance each room while creating a warm and inviting space for buyers to envision themselves living there.
A Mini Makeover can have a huge impact on the salability of a property. It can be a game changer on whether or not your listing sits on the market or sells quickly. Does your home need a Mini Makeover before putting it on the market for sale? #StagingSells