What Not to Do When Staging Your North Shore Home

There are a lot of moving parts when selling your home on Chicago's North Shore. From finding the best listing price to making any necessary repairs and of course, staging the home to pique buyer interest. Staging can go a long way for home sellers as staged properties oftentimes sell quicker and for more money than those that skip this step. However, that is if you do it correctly.

Below are five things to avoid when staging your home in Glencoe, Winnetka, Highland Park, Deerfield, Northbrook, and beyond:

Over-designing the home
The best mindset to adopt when selling your North Shore home is to keep it simple. Even though you think the home would look great by filling every corner with thought-out trinkets and knick knacks, it's best that you leave it clean and neutral. Buyers will want to envision themselves living there and it can be difficult when every room is filled to the brim with decor and furnishings.

Using the wrong size furniture
If you have a beautiful, sprawling dining room or open living space that is really one of the highlights of your North Shore home, use your furniture wisely when staging. Don't place a small round table or a petite sofa in a grand space and move on to the next room. You may think this creates the illusion of more space, but in fact, it tells the buyers that it could be difficult to decorate or that there isn't enough room to live in the space. Think about the size of your furniture thoroughly before staging.

Closing doors
Remember that buyers are not familiar with your home in Glencoe, Winnetka, Highland Park, Deerfield, or Northbrook. They don't know that the closed door is not just a closet, but the stairway to the basement. Open the doors before buyers arrive to view your home to ensure they are getting the best impression of the property.

Being too artificial
As I mentioned above, you want buyers to be able to imagine themselves living in your home, so refrain from using too many artificial decor elements. Faux plants and fruit give the illusion that a home is cold and not easily lived in. Do your best to incorporate real plants to give off cozy, realistic vibes.

Over-neutralizing the home
In the same way that over-designing is wrong when staging your home, so too is over-neutralizing. It is true that a neutral palette will appeal to the most buyers, but your home should also have unique characteristics that allow it to stand out in a buyer's mind. Now that doesn't mean that you should paint a wall a bold, red hue, but it is fine to bring in subtle pops of color here and there.

Ready to sell your North Shore home and move on this year? Give me a call today! I'm here to guide you through the entire process and prepare your home to attract the most buyers.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Janie Bress
Your North Shore Real Estate Expert

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