Setting the stage to sell: Tips from the
experts on making your home appeal to
buyers
By Julie Kirkwood , Staff Writer
Eagle-Tribune
December is a tough month to sell a house. This year in particular,
as homes languish longer on the market, it seems even harder to find
a buyer.
One way to make a house stand out is to "stage" it for sale. Home
staging is an interior decorating technique that aims to make a house
look inviting to buyers and neutral enough so they can envision living
there.
We asked some local home stagers to offer their expert advice to
do-it-yourselfers, and to bring us behind the scenes on their own
staging projects.
The owner of a new Beverly townhouse has been trying since last
spring to sell the unit in its empty, pristine new condition. Before
taking another price reduction, he decided to hire Donna Caselden of
Staged for Sale in North Andover to give it a more appealing look.
PROBLEM: Potential buyers aren't sure which part of the open
floorplan is the dining room and which is the living room, let alone
imagining the possibilities for the little kitchen space near the door to
the deck.
SOLUTION: Caselden rented furniture and tapped into her own
warehouse of small pieces to furnish the space. She chose just
enough furniture to suggest a use for each space without cluttering
the area.
She chose a round dining table to highlight the bay window and put a
little bistro table near the deck. The furnishings are contemporary,
she said, because the buyer is likely to be a young single person or
young couple.
PROBLEM: The seller doesn't want any holes in the wall because
he's afraid any little blemish could be a liability. That means Caselden
couldn't hang any artwork.
SOLUTION: Caselden arranged the sofa at an angle so she could
use a tree as the focal point behind it rather than a print. To hang
window treatments without creating nail holes in the wall, her crew
used fishing line and tacks.
PROBLEM: Some of the nicest features of the townhouse, such as
the hardwood floors and granite countertops, were difficult to
highlight.
SOLUTION: Caselden kept the decor sparse. She avoided using rugs
so the floors would stand out. She used a minimum of decorations in
the kitchen, just enough so it doesn't look bare.
experts on making your home appeal to
buyers
By Julie Kirkwood , Staff Writer
Eagle-Tribune
December is a tough month to sell a house. This year in particular,
as homes languish longer on the market, it seems even harder to find
a buyer.
One way to make a house stand out is to "stage" it for sale. Home
staging is an interior decorating technique that aims to make a house
look inviting to buyers and neutral enough so they can envision living
there.
We asked some local home stagers to offer their expert advice to
do-it-yourselfers, and to bring us behind the scenes on their own
staging projects.
The owner of a new Beverly townhouse has been trying since last
spring to sell the unit in its empty, pristine new condition. Before
taking another price reduction, he decided to hire Donna Caselden of
Staged for Sale in North Andover to give it a more appealing look.
PROBLEM: Potential buyers aren't sure which part of the open
floorplan is the dining room and which is the living room, let alone
imagining the possibilities for the little kitchen space near the door to
the deck.
SOLUTION: Caselden rented furniture and tapped into her own
warehouse of small pieces to furnish the space. She chose just
enough furniture to suggest a use for each space without cluttering
the area.
She chose a round dining table to highlight the bay window and put a
little bistro table near the deck. The furnishings are contemporary,
she said, because the buyer is likely to be a young single person or
young couple.
PROBLEM: The seller doesn't want any holes in the wall because
he's afraid any little blemish could be a liability. That means Caselden
couldn't hang any artwork.
SOLUTION: Caselden arranged the sofa at an angle so she could
use a tree as the focal point behind it rather than a print. To hang
window treatments without creating nail holes in the wall, her crew
used fishing line and tacks.
PROBLEM: Some of the nicest features of the townhouse, such as
the hardwood floors and granite countertops, were difficult to
highlight.
SOLUTION: Caselden kept the decor sparse. She avoided using rugs
so the floors would stand out. She used a minimum of decorations in
the kitchen, just enough so it doesn't look bare.
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