While staging a home is one of the keys to successfully getting it sold, many of the same tips and techniques used for staging a home can also be used to decorate your home after you have purchased it. Whether you plan to live in the home or you are looking to rent it out as an investment property, following these simple decorating tips will help you create a warm and inviting home for which you can feel proud.
Tip #1: Create an Attractive Outdoor Space
The outside of your home is the first thing that anyone will notice when coming to visit or when considering the home for rent or purchase. Therefore, it is important for you to take steps to create what is referred to as “curb appeal”. Quite simply, curb appeal refers to how appealing your home appears when viewed from the curb. Creating curb appeal involves power washing the siding and walkways, planting blooming flowers and fresh greenery, keeping the lawn freshly mowed, washing the windows, repainting or staining the porch floor as needed and hanging house numbers that are easy to read. Adding seasonal décor will further help to create curb appeal in your new home.
Tip #2: Remove Clutter
Removing clutter will also help to make your home welcoming and inviting. Removing clutter does not only mean keeping your house tidy, but also means placing furniture and other belongings in such a way that your space is open and easy to navigate. Symmetrical furniture arrangements work well, and don’t be afraid to pull your furniture away from the wall or to pair pieces in order to create an inviting conversation area.
Tip #3: Give our Dining Room Table Style
The dining room table is often overlooked when staging or decorating a home, but it can also be a useful tool for creating a welcoming space. A centerpiece or the addition of a series of smaller vessels down the center of the table can help to make your dining room space really pop.
Tip #4: Make it Look Like a Home
While you want the home to be clutter-free and clean, you also don’t want it to look sterile or like someplace where a visitor is afraid of breaking everything they see. The best-staged houses are those that feel like “home” to everyone who comes inside. Therefore, you should add things such as a basket of fresh farmer’s market produce on the kitchen country, vases of cut flowers where appropriate and other decorative touches that make your house look “lived in” without being messy or too personalized.
Tip #5: Make Good Use of Extra Rooms
If you have an extra bedroom, resist the urge to use it as a dumping ground for your extra furniture and other belongings. Each room in a well-staged home should have a purpose. If you don’t need this space to serve as a guest bedroom, consider transforming the space into an office or other useful space. It is important to note, however, that if you are putting the house on the market or if you are trying to attract renters, it is generally best to decorate this space as an additional bedroom.
