Small spaces can feel much larger than they are. Listing sold by Jeff O’Leary, Home Staging by Style By Stephanie

Home Staging and Perceived Reality

When you plan to sell your home, the bigger your house, the higher the price it can command. In the home staging world, we like to add the word “perceived” into that sentence, because buying a house is all about impressions and feelings. No home is ever bought off the specs on the MLS sheet, with the exception of perhaps some savvy investors.

There is no way that you can increase the actual size of a room, but there are many ways you can make that room “feel” bigger. The bigger you make a room feel, the more value a buyer perceives. That’s where home staging comes in. Below are a few home staging tips to make your space feel larger and make a great first impression.

Store off the Floor: As we live our busy lives, random items that don’t have a home begin to take up camp in many places: on the stairs, piled on tables, stuck in the corner of a room, on the floor by a chair or coffee table, etc. The list is endless. Create adequate vertical storage solutions (IKEA has lots of great options) and give a home to all of your homeless stuff. Clearing out visual clutter and getting items off the floor create a much more spacious feeling

Two of my favourite Ikea home storage solutions that work great for Home Staging are Pax & Expedit. They are both versatile and give you many options and colours that will work in almost any space.

Furniture Flow: In line with the first point, you need to ensure there is great traffic flow throughout your home.  You shouldn’t be brushing up against or detouring around furniture to move throughout the space. It’s not just about how much furniture you have, it’s about where it’s placed. Create seating arrangements that don’t block doors or walkways. Think about what is the path of least resistance to and from any area, and make sure that pathway is clear.

Lighten Up: Neutral does not mean beige. You don’t have to like beige at all to stage a home. Any colour can be used as a neutral if done correctly. The key is not to use intense or dark colours. Examples are most yellows & oranges, reds, hunter green or navy blue. These colours are too strong and demand too much of your attention. Stick to shades of any colour that are based in a very grey or brown hue. Stick to the lightest 2-3 shades on a colour deck. This will make your walls a wonderful neutral backdrop to the beauty of your room and not the centre of attention.

Brighten Up: Keep all of your blinds and drapes drawn open when selling your home. Allow in as much natural light as possible. As well, every room should have a minimum of 3 sources of light. This could be a chandelier and 2 sconces. It could be 2 table lamps and 1 floor lamp. Whatever the combination, brighter spaces feel bigger, so follow this rule and ensure all lights are turned on for every viewing.

By implementing these 4 steps, you have dramatically increased the feeling of space in your home. And the bigger your house feels, the more value it offers to buyers!