7 Tips for Staging Your Living Room So You Get Higher Offers on Your Home

Your Aspen REALTOR® has probably already talked to you about staging your home to sell it faster (and at a higher price) – but if you’re like many people, you’re wondering what you’re supposed to do. Fortunately, these seven tips for staging your living room can bring in higher offers.

Check out these seven tips for staging your living room to help bring in offers:

Remember that less is more when it comes to furniture
Let in all the light
Use a charming tray to corral remotes
Bring in the outdoors
Go neutral (or go home)
Place mirrors strategically
Rely on accents for color

Here’s a closer look at each.

Living Room Staging Tip #1: Remember that less is more when it comes to furniture

Declutter your furnishings. Only keep pieces that don’t impede the flow of traffic. If a piece of furniture makes your room look cluttered, put it in storage until you’ve sold your home. (Do the same if you have a favorite piece that’s seen better days.)
Related: Declutter, depersonalize and stage the easy way

Living Room Staging Tip #2: Let in all the light

Remove heavy drapes so you can let in as much natural light as possible. When prospective buyers come to see your home, make sure the blinds are pulled all the way up. Accent your room with other lights, too, like end table or behind-the-sofa lamps, as well as standing lamps in dark corners.

Living Room Staging Tip #3: Use a charming tray to corral remotes

Keep all your remote controls corralled in an attractive tray on your end table or coffee table. And keep only the remotes you need – leaving out remotes for the stereo, the TV, the cable box, the ceiling fan and whatever else you use is excessive. Tuck them away in a drawer so buyers aren’t subconsciously overwhelmed.
Related: Increase your property value with these improvements

Living Room Staging Tip #4: Bring in the outdoors

Add a healthy, live plant to your living room. The main goal is to show buyers that the living room is a vibrant place, and that it’s fresh and livable – and live plants can do that. Don’t go overboard (one or two plants will suffice), but definitely add greenery. Choose hardy plants, like mother-in-law’s tongue, if you aren’t endowed with a green thumb.

Living Room Staging Tip #5: Go neutral (or go home)

If you have a bright accent wall in your living room, now may be the perfect time to paint over it. Talk to your REALTOR first, but keep in mind that buyers want to see neutral colors that help them envision living in the space rather than visiting someone else’s home. While you’re at it, take down family photos and anything that prospective buyers might find offensive or controversial. (Politically themed decor, religious items and even sports memorabilia should come down. Replace it with neutral art, like what you’d see in a luxury hotel.)
Related: 3 emergency staging tips to use when buyers are on their way

Living Room Staging Tip #6: Place mirrors strategically

Add mirrors to your walls opposite windows so natural light can bounce around the room. If the view from the window is less than desirable, hang the mirror on a wall perpendicular to the window; that way, the view won’t engage buyers any more than it has to.

Living Room Staging Tip #7: Rely on accents for color

Your living room is a fun, exciting, relaxing and comfortable space (all at different times for different people). You want to show buyers that it’s a really livable place, so add pops of color with accents. Try a throw blanket across the back of the sofa, or a handful of colorful pillows on the loveseat. You can create a lot of visual appeal with a small piece!

Are You Selling or Buying a Home in Aspen?

If you’re ready to sell your home in Aspen, Woody Creek, Basalt, Carbondale or Snowmass, we may be able to help you.
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