I think it is pretty well understood that proper staging of a house will help it to sell both more quickly and also at a higher price. One of the key elements in good staging is to make the rooms in the house feel as large as possible. In some houses this is easy because they already have large rooms. In other houses it needs to be enhanced and here are a few tips to help get this accomplished.
1. Think vertical. Decorating elements that draw the eye up to the ceiling will help the room feel taller. This can be done with a book shelf that goes all the way to the ceiling or a pendant light fixture that hangs down from the ceiling.
2. Use furniture that you can see under or through. Sofas and chairs with legs rather than skirts allows the eye to see under and beyond them. A glass coffee table or dining table also accomplishes this.
3. White walls and trim lightens the room and gives a sense of soaring, bright space.
4. Go with a few big accents as opposed to a bunch of little ones. A big piece of art or a single large chair has more impact than a bunch of little stuff that makes a room feel cluttered and cramped.
5. Get away from the wall. Pull furniture way from the wall and into the room to create conversation areas. When a sofa is pushed up against a wall, it drawers your eye to the wall, which brings the walls forward and makes the room feel smaller.
6. Simplify the color scheme. When walls and furniture are complimentary shades of the same color scheme it makes the room feel unified and more spacious. A bunch of different colors draws the eye to each individual object as opposed to a unified and uncomplicated space.
7. Don’t hang curtains. Curtains obstruct views to the outside and block natural light.
8. Bring the outside in. See #7 above, but also consider having a few house plants and decorating with natural objects and fibers. This helps to bring the outdoors inside to combine the space and enlarge the feeling of living area.
One of the services that Linda and I provide is that we go through a house with the homeowner before it is listed for sale. Visiting each room, we advise what to do to get that room ready so that it will show at its very best. Please don’t hesitate to give one of us a call if you are wanting to get your house ready to sell.
I hope you have found this information helpful. As always, thanks for reading the blotter.
Dianne
Here is your look at the most recent data for the entire Portland area (August 2020) and how Lake Oswego fits in to this picture just below.