How much do you 'stage' a house for sale?

[Katymac]

We won't be living n our house while it sells but I don't really want to pay for any more storage than I have to

So packing away all superfluous stuff & leaving out one or 2 nice bits to make it looked lived in
Packed family photos but left the 'arty' ones of DD as that wall isn't very flat & could do with hiding

Can a fridge stay nice if it's off - if so how do you do it?

The house won't be heated but it will be alter spring - is that OK?

What about plants should I keep them & get someone in to water them or just dump them all?

I'm all confused!!

It's bloody tiring op. Good luck.

Well we really getting rid of tons of stuff DH really likes the way it looks so we've decided to try and keep it that way in the new house; suppose it all depends on having enough storage for everything so surfaces are clear

My biggest problem has always been paperwork and that is a huge mountain to attempt soon; and I need to workout a system to keep it under control in future

I'd take down those photos and put up generic stuff. They are lovely but what you want is people to come into the house and imagine themselves living there. If I came in and saw those photos I'd be fascinated - and distracted - wondering what she was doing and did she win competitions and what was her name etc.

I look at some of those programs on HGTV where they need to move for more space (property brothers renovation for example) and then the designer comes in to help them get a sale, declutters all the crap and the house looks like a million bucks and the people have this look on their face like "do I really have to move now it looks like this??" :)

Ours is way to big for us - I ran a nursery from home. But it's not quite an annex!

If I take the pics down I may have to wallpaper - poop

I suppose I could cover her with generic photos? Not sure whether that would be any easier than wallpapering

I like the pictures, if it's a family house I'd leave them, it tells me that if I bought your house I'd have arty sporty kids :)

I've had an entire day staging - painting & filling & sanding & sorting

I sorted out all my plants to freecycle/FB

& I picked up 2 vases, a mirror & a picture to stage with

& I got rid of about 20 plant pots (to bin, charity or freecycle)

Thanks Rosehips - I like them too but I have come up with a solution - a cupboard with a mirror above; it's odd but as I used to be a nursery loads of people in the area are used to comng & going in the house so they will prob 'know' DD anyway - I need to disassociate us from it as much as possible really

OK colours

Most of the house is grey, our bedroom is a soft green & the kitchen is lime green - I don't think I need to change either as the bedroom is very calm/neutral & the kitchen has virtually no wall maybe about 15% the rest is white cupboard

But DD's bedroom is bright orange & lime accents - do I magnolia it - there is about 40% of each wall visible the rest is cupboard/window/door??

I'm taking my 2 (very expensive) light fittings down (in case we move while we are away - I don't wnat to have to sort out an eletrician while we aren't there)

Is this OK to replace with or one of those paper balls? Or should I spend a bit more on something?

Nice paper ball would be ok I think.

The shade you've linked to is old fashioned - I'd go with paper balls.

When I staged our previous home I went around taking pictures and looking at them critically. I removed way more than I thought I would. Accessories were 'high impact' according to our agent. They were bright red!

The biggest impact is the first 15mins. Tidy up the front of the home, make sure the pathway is clear, add nice bushes/flowers and paint the front door if in doubt. Once you enter have a good quality doormat, have an entryway where things can be stored (even if they can't be, just show one thin coat so you give the idea that it can be).

With the kitchen remove every single item from the countertop and add one or two things, no more. Go through cupboards in the kitchen and bedroom so 3/4 full. Gives the impression of lots of storage. Donate excess food to your local food bank. Put excess clothes under the bed. I was selling in an aspirational area so I left my too small designer clothes in the cupboard that I never wear and my regular clothes went into storage boxes under the bed. In my underwear drawer best items went on top. Don't want anyone to see my nasty stuff.

Finally I agree with having someone coming in. I would try to have them come weekly, open the windows, dust and make sure the outside is still ok.

Keep the fridge on and add a couple of bottles of white wine, champagne and/or prosecco and sparkling water (I used Peligrino). Leave it there as a gift for the buyers.

I prefer the paper balls but wondered if they would be 'too' cheap Thanks

& thoughts on the colour situation in the previous post please?

"Sadly we have wood fired central heating"

I think that might make it harder to sell. Is there no mains gas near the house?

Yes the gas terminal comes in at Bacton about 15 miles away but they bypassed all the local villages - no-one has main gas

It's Oil, LPG or wood - I chose wood

Sorry Want2be I missed you post - good idea about the fridge

No small designer stuff sorry - but I do have a fairly fantastic wardrobe which will be half full so that's OK (& no underwear visible at all, much better that way I think)

Booked my gardener to come & keep an eye on the garden - grass grows in the summer apparently & also arranged for 2 people to visit alternate weeks

Reading with interest as we want to sell up in a couple of years
planning
Personally I don't like fake flowers , and while I understand the place is going to be empty , I would suggest a bowl of oranges on a table in the kitchen / dining room , They'll last a couple of weeks in a cool house
The photos of DD are lovely , but need to go
Table laid in dining room ? Complete with glasses ( is that going too far ?)
Towels on the towel rail in the bathroom , some pot pourri ( I'm not sure about the smelly plug things , I quite like them though ) to keep the rooms upstairs smelling fresh
Beds made , obviously no teddies on the bed 😀

I'm not a fan of fake flowers either - so I have decided against

Why no teddys!! Silly I'll be taking them all with me on holiday!!

Cream bedding with soft green throw pillows in a soft green room with birch furniture (Ikea!!)

I was thinking a very neutral smell - I quite like the vanilla one

No dining room!! Table in the kitchen - I may get a friend to replace the oranges on that table fortnightly....probably won't dress that table tho'

Removed the photos & replaced with a mirror
Now I am attacking DD's room replacing single bed with double & downsizing her wardrobe several coats of white paint & some neutral bedding

I have a single mattress, I need a double - I am moving the furniture into storage; do I buy a double & hope it lasts in storage or do I pad the other sied of the double bed (only DD will be sleeping on it)