Bathrooms are very personal spaces

Bathrooms are very personal spaces in our home.  We do very personal things in the bathroom and here we use and store very personal products ranging from soaps to shampoos to creams, toothpaste and so on.  It's usually the first place we visit in the morning and the last place we go to in the evening and then, if you are like me, you may visit the bathroom during the night too!  We usually are the only one in the bathroom too for many of the activities that take place here. 
So what is the point here you might be asking.  Well, think of me as a potential buyer for your house.  Knowing that the bathroom is a very personal place, I would not want to see this:



Bathroom is dingy and cluttered with reminders of others using this very personal space.

I don't want to be reminded of all the personal things that take place by others in a bathroom that I will use if I buy the house.  I want to see a bathroom that is pristine, unspoiled by the reminders of other's use so that I will feel comfortable doing the very personal things that I do in the bathroom.  This is often how potential buyers will see a bathroom so it really is up to you as the seller to ensure that your bathroom is presented in the most acceptable way as possible to help get your house sold most effectively. 

This bathroom invites the buyer by its pristine presentation.  Who wouldn't want to use this bathroom?

A Professional Home Stager can help you with all the tips to so that your bathroom will look like this too when you are selling your house.

You can contact HomeReady Home Staging at 613-894-4155, homeready@homereadyhomestaging.ca for more information about booking a consultation appointment.

Contrary to popular opinion Home Stagers do not work for free! Rant # 3

I repeat, contrary to popular opinion, Home Stagers do not work for free!  However, if the principles of Home Staging are correctly applied, the cost of the service to the homeowner is often free when you consider the ROI of over 500% in many cases.  This is different!  The Home Stager though, is paid for their services; be it consultation with suggestions/recommendations for upgrades or the actual show casing to present that lifestyle image that will attract the buyers.  In efforts to be sensitive and to keep costs low for the homeowner, I have recently submitted several proposals for show casing that I typically don't charge for.  In presenting the proposals to the homeowners, I took my time (time=money) to explain the plan for show casing.  The homeowners were very impressed and excited with what I had proposed and suggested.  Considerable time and effort go into the research and creative design of these proposals so that my clients get the best possible result.  So I do get a bit worked up later when the homeowners come back with "Thanks for your input and help.  Your ideas are great.  We think we'll take it from here after all"  or  "We can't possibly pay you that, but we will use your ideas anyways to prepare our half million dollar home for sale".  Maybe it's just sour grapes on my part, but I can't help feeling cheated.  I've learned my lesson though - There aren't any free lunches and I will be charging clients now for what I think I am worth and valued for!

The Emotions of Selling

Homeowners sell their homes for many reasons.  Some are happy, hopeful thoughts of moving onto something better.  Some reasons are out of necessity; usually financial.  Other reasons are not so hopeful; life transitions, broken relationships, again necessitating a move.  Most homeowners have some ambivalent thoughts and feelings though, all normal.   Our shelter and physical environment is one of our basic needs that helps us to feel secure in life and when there are changes anticipated here we often experience a wide range of emotions.  This is why using the services of an understanding Home Stager can lessen the confusion of emotions when preparing your home for sale.  With a more objective eye, a Home Stager will view your home and make reccomendations that will help you understand what will make your home look best to secure a quick and profitable sale.  If you need a more "hands-on" approach, a Home Stager will be there too.  Rearranging furnishings and accessories is the work that a Home Stager is trained to do.  Knowing just what to pack away now and what to perhaps let go of can bring a sense of relief and clarity that Home Stagers can help with too!

If you are selling your home this year and are having some emotional reactions thinking about this prospect do not hestitate to call a reputable Home Staging company such as HomeReady Home Staging.  We can help you through the hurdles of emotions that can come with preparing your home for sale.  Once you feel more "centered" and less emotionally attached  to your present home, it will be easier to make those all important sale decisions.  One thing to remember too is that buyers also are experiencing many different emotions in selecting a new home to buy.  But this will be a different chapter!

What do you mean - declutter?

Declutter must be one of our most used words in home decor and home staging these days.  Its a term that we quite liberally throw around to indicate things out of order, too many things, and too many small things that distract ones view of what we are supposed to be looking at and paying attention to.  For prospective home buyers, the seller wants the features of the home to be seen so that buyer might envision themselves living in the space without all your "things" i.e. clutter.  Seeing only this. . .

really just confuses the prospective buyer - too many things out of order - what is the purpose and function of this room?  So any smart home stager would suggest - declutter.  OK eliminating or editing non essential items that will need to be packed away or given away anyway is the PC way of saying get rid of anything not being used in the next month or so and anything smaller than a softball and looking at what the prospective buyer might be seeing the purpose of this space so that voila. . .

  It"s a master bedroom!  No confusion here now.

By the way, the top picture above is a work in progress.  I have the promise of an 8 year old that his "clutter" will not be there when I return in a few months!