When selling your home, first impressions are everything. The right furniture and furnishings can make your home attractive, but mistakes in this area can quickly turn away potential buyers.
From making rooms look cluttered with too much furniture to having outdated furniture, Liv Conlon has seen it all when it comes to reasons why a home isn’t selling.
Liv, a mother of one, is the CEO of The Stagers property which furnishes more than 300 homes a year to make them more attractive to potential buyers.
What’s more, seven-figure entrepreneur Liv, 25, originally from Glasgow but now living in Marbella, can also give style advice to sellers looking to achieve a higher asking price, whether on a strict budget or a luxury house.
Here are Liv’s ten most common mistakes to avoid to ensure your home is prepared to perfection.
Liv Conlon, pictured, is the CEO of ThePropertyStagers, which furnishes more than 300 homes a year to make them more attractive to potential buyers.
The 25-year-old in the photo, originally from Glasgow but now living in Marbella, said that the style must be maintained throughout the house.
1. Overcrowding of furniture
There is a misconception that home stagers use smaller furniture to maximize the scale of a room, which is not always true. The true art of furnishing your home for sale is to place eye-catching furniture, which can be large, but not too much.
A lot of furniture can make a room look cramped and small. Buyers are looking for spaciousness and fluidity, not a maze of couches and coffee tables. Opt for fewer pieces that serve multiple purposes and are appropriately tailored to the size of the room.
The layout of your furniture should highlight the best features of each room and facilitate movement. Avoid blocking windows, doors and paths. Arrange furniture to create conversation areas and show space and functionality.
2. Mismatched styles
Consistency is key in home staging. Mixing modern furniture with antique pieces can create a disjointed look that confuses buyers, as can mixing interior design styles. This doesn’t just apply to one room, but to all rooms.
You want to create a cohesive look in each room of your home so that when a potential buyer is perusing the Internet and flipping through images or at an in-person viewing, they don’t experience “inner whiplash” when moving from room to room. room.
You can assign a singular style or a particular tone to the entire house on a limited budget, there is no need to renovate the entire house, you can achieve this look with soft furnishings and accessories to create similarities between each room. To determine which style best suits your home, consider the end buyer. Are they a modern family, a modern couple, or an older demographic?
3. Outdated furniture
To get the maximum possible deal on their home, people want to buy a home that is relevant in this day and age. Furniture that looks like it’s from a bygone era can age your home, making it less attractive to contemporary buyers and will jeopardize achieving your desired price.
Obsolete furniture hints at a possible renovation opportunity or a property sale that hints that a bargain can be had as work is needed to bring the value of the property to its maximum value. Replace or reupholster dated pieces with more modern, neutral options that appeal to a broader audience.
Liv first had the idea of setting up a house when she was 17 years old. She realized that giving a home a showroom feel would lead to a faster sale.
Liv suggested making sure you have a mix of ambient, task, and accent lighting to highlight your furniture and create a warm, inviting atmosphere in bedrooms and living rooms.
4. Personalized decoration
While your family photos and quirky collectibles have sentimental value, they can make it difficult for buyers to imagine themselves in your home and often create a cluttered atmosphere. Remove most family photo frames, plaques with inspirational quotes, and mementos from your trip so buyers can imagine adding their own personal touches.
5. Place furniture around the TV
The modern person places all of their furniture around their television, however this is usually not the optimal position for their large furniture. The aim is to create a “wow” effect at the entrance to each room, this translates to the bed in front of you as you enter the bedroom (unless it is facing a view where the viewer can visualize waking up) or the sofa placed towards the door instead of the wall. This will create stunning images for your online presence and an amazing reaction while viewing them.
6. Neglecting scale and proportion
Furniture that is too large or too small for a room can upset the balance and make the space feel uncomfortable.
Make sure all pieces are appropriately scaled based on the dimensions of the room. For example, a huge sectional sofa in a small living room will dominate the space and make it feel claustrophobic, while a small sofa in a large living room will feel sparse and cheap to implement. To create impact and focal points, consider oversized accessories, artwork and mirrors instead of furniture that oppresses the space.
7. Ignore lighting and accessories
A beautifully furnished room can still fail if it is poorly lit. A room could be described as poorly lit if there is very little light or if hanging lamps or spotlights are used throughout the house.
The only time “big light” is appropriate is in a small bathroom, kitchen or laundry room where it is needed. For rooms that require ambiance, such as the bedroom or living room, be sure to have a combination of ambient, task and accent lighting to highlight your furniture and create a warm, inviting atmosphere.
Furniture should not be centered around the TV in the living room, but this reduces the wow effect of the design.
Stick to neutral colors overall and reserve bolder shades for accent pops of color.
The bed should be in front of you when you enter the bedroom so that viewers can perfectly visualize waking up in this room.
8. Colors and patterns that are too bold
While bold colors and patterns may express personality, they may not appeal to most buyers. Stick to neutral tones for larger furniture pieces and use bolder colors sparingly as accents. This will make your property stand out online, but won’t repel those who are offended by the boldness. This creates a versatile palette that appeals to more people and makes rooms appear larger and more welcoming.
9. Worn or damaged furniture
Furniture that is visibly worn, stained, or damaged can give the impression that the home has not been well maintained. It immediately raises doubt in the buyer’s mind that there are flaws to be found throughout the property, which will result in opportunities for discounts and reviews. Invest in repairing or replacing parts that show signs of wear to present a well-kept appearance, or if you are on a limited budget.
10. Too much or too little furniture
Striking the right balance is essential. Too much furniture can overwhelm a space, while too little can make it look sparse and unwelcoming. Try to strike a balance that makes each room feel fully furnished yet spacious. If you are furnishing an empty space, consider which pieces will add to the aesthetic appeal of a property rather than serve a functional purpose. Opt for a console table with lamps and mirror instead of a dresser, opt for a dressing table over a cabinet. If you’re optimizing your own home, draw attention to the vignettes of your home rather than functional elements like media units or cabinets.
Staging your home effectively is about creating an attractive, functional and aesthetically pleasing space that allows potential buyers to see themselves living there. Avoiding these common furniture and furnishing mistakes can significantly improve your home’s curb appeal, making it more appealing to buyers and potentially leading to a faster, more profitable sale. Remember, less is more, and neutral, well-maintained furniture will always be in style when it comes to selling a home.
Liv Conlon is the CEO of The Stagers property which furnishes more than 300 homes a year to make them more attractive to potential buyers.