Home Staging Tips – The Kitchen

As a home stager and photographer in the Orlando and Daytona Beach real estate markets, Foxy Interiors knows what it takes to prepare a home for market. Visual merchandising lures more potential buyers to your home than any other marketing tactic.  RESA (Real Estate Staging Association) annually prepares The Consumer’s Guide to Real Estate Staging with statistics on the number of days on market for staged vs. non-staged homes.  In 2013, of 481 vacant and occupied homes staged prior to going on the market, the first offer on average was received within 23 days after being professional staged. Current statistics for our local market in October 2014 show the average days on market in Volusia County is 49 days, 8,400 listings. Seminole County’s average days on market for October 2014 is 41 days, 13,000 listings [Source: mlsmatrix] As you can see, professionally staged homes sell faster. Foxy Interiors is beginning a series of blogs on home staging tips. In the first blog we’ll be discussing home staging tips for the kitchen.

Preparation – Home Staging Tips

• Clean meticulously all the way from the ceiling to the base boards.
• Vacuum or wipe down the top of plant shelves.
• Remove all greenery and accessories on top of plant shelves. These items are not necessary and only detract from the height of the ceiling and the spaciousness of the room.  They’re also dust collectors.
• Remove wall paper and wall border; paint the kitchen in a neutral color to appeal to the majority of potential home buyers. Wall paper and wall border are personal in nature.  Home staging is de-personalizing your home so potential home buyers can envision themselves living in the space.
• If your cabinets or hardware are dated – older than 15 to 20 years – consider painting them and updating the hardware. Be careful in your selections as you want your home’s fixtures to be of the same finish. [The blog “Mixed Metals – Should You or Should You Not” goes into more detail about this topic.]
• Repair or replace anything broken which may include hinges, cabinets, flooring, sink fixtures, appliances, etc.
• Pack away any small appliances that are not used daily.
• Clean out and organize the pantry, cabinets, and refrigerator. Potential buyers will look in these areas to see how roomy they are and if the space will meet their own needs.
• Pack away all items magnetized or taped to the refrigerator. Pack away anything smaller than a honeydew melon.  These small items take up visual space.
• Remove valences over windows; let the light shine in. Again, your fabric choices are personal in nature and also take up visual space.

Staging – Home Staging Tips

• Bring in color through accessories. Examples are: clear containers with lemons, or limes, or assorted fruits.  Artificial items are best used as props so you do not have to change them out over time as your house is marketed.
• A nicely propped up cookbook next to your stove is amazing.
• Create a vignette of odd numbered items (1-3-5).
• Strategically place items on the kitchen counter to cause continuous movement of the eye when viewed by a potential buyer. In other words, space out the items from one end to the next.  Do not cluster them all in one spot.
• Remove all carpets on the floor. Leaving them only makes buyers wonder what floor damage you may be hiding.
• If you have an eat-in-kitchen area, set the table by layering dishes. Add fabric napkins; fabric softens the hard edges in a room.

Don’t miss out on RESA Reports – Kitchens.  This publication specifies the top recommended choices of home stagers. Thanks for dropping by and reading “Home Staging Tips – Preparing the Kitchen When Marketing Your Home.” If you have questions or would like to learn more about how Foxy Interiors can help you prepare your home for market in the Daytona Beach and Orlando, Florida, real estate markets, please use the Contact Us link and drop us a note. I hope you’re looking forward to the next blog. Have a beautifully staged day! Marie