Something Missing
I thought I brought the right wall art for this recent vacant staging. But when viewing the room from the front entryway, I noticed it needed something more. I did bring another piece of art to hang, but felt it competed with the larger art over the sofa. The room didn’t feel right, it didn’t feel warm enough to me.
Adding Warmth
I picked up some sheer drapes for the front and side windows and added a piece of wall art that complemented the other wall art. Now when looking from the entryway, the room feels “just right.”
A good piece of advice is to take a photo of the room and critique the photo. Most times the photo will tell you if something is amiss. Perhaps it is because there are no other distractions when looking at the photo. Whereas when you are in the space, your eye looks at the whole picture, so to speak.
Something Extra
All of my vacant stagings are unique. I do not have pre-arranged groupings that I move from one place to another. I am usually shopping for just that right piece to complete the look I’m after. For this basement space in a 3-bedroom townhouse, I wanted to show this is where the kids would go to play video games or watch TV. I felt it was missing something—like a foosball table. It’s highly unlikely that home stagers have a foosball table in their inventory. Luckily, a Craig’s List posting had just what I needed at the right price.
Organization
A kitchen pantry is a “must have” for many cooks. The food and large-size equipment just don’t fit in the kitchen cabinets as well as they do in a pantry. A lot of times people will buy duplicates because they can’t find the food item stuffed in their cabinets.
Don’t ignore cabinets, pantries, or closets when your house is up for sale. If your things are haphazardly arranged, buyers will think there is not enough room for their stuff either. Spring cleaning is a good time to organize your cupboards and closets before the warm weather keeps you outside.
Group like items together…put the spaghetti sauce on the same shelf as the pasta. The baking mixes go with the frosting, chocolate chips, and baking cocoa. Even the canned goods are arranged according to soups, vegetables, or fruits. The baskets are for garbage bags, food wrap, sandwich bags, and water bottles. The large-scale equipment used infrequently, are placed on the top.
The cabinet next to the stove is handy for spices and other cooking items. However, the top shelf is hard to reach. I solved this problem by using a staggered adjustable spice rack on the top shelf. Now I can see what is up there. Using two “lazy susans,” is so helpful to find just the spice that is needed.
While most home closets do not look like this, what they have in common are built-ins to help keep items organized. All of us have more clothes than what we need. Women tend to have clothes in at least two different sizes. Plus we are hesitant to get rid of something we think we may need in the future. One trick is to hang your clothes with the hanger facing backwards and when you wear that item, you turn the hanger around. You will see you tend to wear the same clothes over and over. When it is time to move, you’ll know which clothes should be donated before packing up. Yes, buyers do look in closets, pantries, and built-ins.
Do yourself a favor and take just 30 minutes to declutter a space. There are lots of charities, educational places, and senior centers who will gladly take your extra items. Believe me, it will make you feel better. Call Premiere Stagers & Realty at 608-345-9396.