staging ~ declutter when selling ~ the kitchen

by lin ellis on August 14, 2009

I have several good friends who are very talented & savvy real estate agents & brokers, so the last thing I want to do is offend. But, when I scroll through the Lake Norman MLS, as I do on a regular basis, the high percentage of pictures of homes that are not properly staged & chock full of clutter always blows mind. Staging is about presenting your home in its VERY best light so the buyer just HAS to live there. If the agent and/or buyer do not have the skills to this, then they should enlist the help of a stager. It is a minimal investment that will be returned to the seller many times over.

This is from a previous post on staging fundamentals ~ “Staging should be done before your house is listed & pictures are taken. Most buyers begin their search on the internet & how your home looks in those pictures can either spark their interest, placing your home on their must-see-this-one-in-person list, or they will just click on to the next listing.”

Here is a kitchen that should have had a major declutter session before its MLS pictures were taken ~

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To begin with, this kitchen is a very taste specific (& outdated) with that strange wood post, funky walls & curves & yellow countertops. But, the real star in this picture is the explosion of stuff ~ everywhere! I’m still trying to figure most of it out. And, of course, since these people obviously love stuff, they display more stuff on the fridge which is another staging no-no ~ take down the fridge art when selling.

This is a bit off the subject but very relevant to real estate merchandising, this picture ~ like so many out there ~ is not in focus & the flash is reflecting in the glass cabinet creating yet another element that is at odds with goal of taking pictures that romance the space. My question to the reader is ~ would you make an appointment to see this house?

A cluttered home hurts the seller in many ways. First of all, the buyer can’t really see the house & its features as they become distracted & have difficulty looking past your things. Second, it is impossible for most buyers to envision themselves living there if your place screams your life everywhere they look. And thirdly, if there is lots of clutter, it sends the message ~ especially in the kitchen ~ that there is not enough storage space in the home.

Used with proper restraint, accessories & art are a stager’s best friend ~ they make the home warm & inviting & play up its best features. Clutter turns the buyer off & will prevent a speedy, top dollar sale.

photo credit: ugly house photos

staging ~ declutter when selling ~ the kitchen

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