In fact, when it comes to staging your bedroom for sale, you need to treat every day like Valentine’s Day! Below are seven ways you can accomplish this:

1)     Candles. The right candles create a soft, intimate atmosphere—as well as any number of romantic scents. Group them together in the corners of the room for the most powerful effect!

2)     Bedding colors such as red, black, pearl, or gold. These colors are associated with romance and will have a subtle yet powerful effect when paired with the rest of your room decor.

3)     Strategically placed mirrors. Mirrors are a great way to add an element of mystery and charm to your bedroom. Place them in such a manner that they will reflect candlelight and other soft light.

4)     Dark, enticing curtains. Dark curtains are important to absorb lights from outside—street lights, traffic, etc. If you can find a way to help them catch a breeze so that they’ll ripple gently, even better!

5)     Subtly placed flowers. Flowers, particularly roses, are a great way to add romance to your bedroom. However, if you place them in a manner that draws excessive attention, they’ll lose their effect because they’ll feel out of place. It’s important that your bedroom décor seem natural.

6)     Window dressing that matches your bedding. Matching window dressing creates a feeling of continuity and magnifies the romantic vibe that your bedding creates.

7)     Dim lighting. Nothing takes the romance out of a bedroom like excessively bright lights. Install a dimmer—or go with low-wattage bulbs, if necessary.

A romantic bedroom can be a major selling point for potential buyers. It’s worth taking the time to stage your bedroom just right. Contact us today if you would like to learn more!

Why?

Because as professional home stagers, we deal with top-quality furniture every day of the week. Our job is to bring out the best in our clients’ homes, and that means we can’t settle for anything but the best… just like you. Over the years, we have developed the ability to match homes with the perfect piece of furniture, and in the process have accumulated a large inventory of fantastic couches, chairs, tables, coffee tables, and much more.

And every once in a while, we realize that our inventory has gotten a bit too large, and while we hate to let any of it go… we must.

Of course, we prefer to give our friends and our customers the first chance… and today, we are offering that opportunity to you.

Visit our online store at http://www.professionalstaging.com/products and take a look around.

Whether you are looking for custom couches, desks, end tables, kitchen tables, or a wide variety of other furniture items, we are sure that you will find what you are looking for. These items are gently used and in fantastic condition—and were purchased from some of the most upscale furniture stores in the nation.

And of course, when you purchase from our consignment store, you know that you’re not simply getting furniture that has been judged “high-quality” by some unknown entity. At MHM Professional Staging, we use only the best, most tasteful furniture available in the country—and each of these items has our personal stamp of approval.

So if you are looking for that perfect piece of furniture for your home, visit our online store today! You’re sure to love what you see.

As professional home stagers, we utilize the finest pieces of home furniture while staging homes for our clients. And now, we are offering a small portion of our inventory for sale.

Our consignment furniture is in fantastic condition and will make a stunning addition to your home. Below is a small sampling of our current offerings:

Living Room Sofa

This beautiful living room sofa is in plush brown velvet. This stunning sofa is truly one of a kind!

Taracea Desk

Stunning Taracea desk with ornate detail. This desk has never been used and is in excellent condition.

Custom Couches

These beautiful custom made couches feature Ebony finish fabric. They have been rarely used and are in great condition.

To learn more and to see a complete listing of the furniture we are offering, visit http://www.professionalstaging.com/products.

As home staging professionals, we use top-quality furniture on a regular basis as we help our clients to bring out the best in their homes. We understand that the right furniture has the ability to totally transform a room.

And for a short time, we are happy to offer a small portion of our inventory to our community. Take a moment to browse our store—you may just find the perfect addition to your home!

Of course, there is more to the process than simply tidying up the home—in fact, effective home stagers are knowledgeable in psychology as well as interior decorating!

Today, we are going to examine some of the psychological “tricks of the trade” that are proven to be effective when utilized as part of a professional home staging:

Create a “blank canvas.” The goal of a staging expert is never to create a “perfect” home. Why? Because no two buyers have the exact same preferences. Instead, the staging professional will aim to create a neutral, tasteful environment that showcases the potential of the home. The goal is for the prospective buyer to be able to immediately visualize how he or she would personalize the home.

Make the home seem more spacious by reducing clutter. Obviously, the size of a room doesn’t change depending on what’s inside—but clutter really does make a room seem smaller. A professional home stager will help to eliminate clutter, as well as organize what remains to make it presentable. Perception is everything, and a clutter-free house appears much more spacious.

Accentuate the positives, minimize negatives. Just as a good photographer will highlight your best features and take the focus off any blemishes, a good home stager knows how to bring out the best in a home. At MHM Professional Staging, our experts will come up with the staging solution to make your home look its finest!

If you would like to learn more about home staging, please contact us today! We’d love to help you sell your home more rapidly and for more money than you ever thought possible.

1)    De-clutter. Clutter is always a bad thing when it comes to showing a home. Eliminate excess clutter and reorganize when necessary. Your home should look as clean, open, and welcoming as possible.

2)    Utilize neutral colors. While you have your own preferences when it comes to colors, it is important to recognize that many of your prospective buyers will have radically different tastes. Resist the temptation to paint your home to your taste, and instead utilize neutral colors that will maximize the appeal of your home to as wide an audience as possible.

3)    Break the pattern with your wall hangings. There are many stereotypical spots in a home to hang paintings, photos, and other items. Consider varying the height and the location of artwork and other hangings in order to help them stand out and truly impact the feel of each room.

4)    Furniture layout. The current layout of your living room probably feels comfortable to you and your family—but that doesn’t mean it’s the best layout for potential buyers to see. Group your furniture in arrangements that feel conversational, while still leaving plenty of room for traffic throughout the room. Doing so will make each room feel larger, while creating a welcoming and relational vibe throughout your home.

The steps we’ve discussed above will give you a head start when it comes to selling your home. However, these strategies represent a very small piece of the pie when it comes to the services that professional home stagers can provide. If you would like to learn more about the value of home staging in terms of maximizing your sales price, please get in touch with us today!

How is this accomplished? There are many factors, of course, but one of the most important is creating the proper atmosphere for your home. Whether we realize it or not, every room of every building in the country has its own atmosphere. Your living room may feel spacious, warm, and comfortable. An office in a corporate headquarters may feel cold, cramped, and lifeless. Professional home stagers will work to create the proper atmosphere for each room in your home—maximizing the appeal of your home to every prospective buyer. Below are three “tricks of the trade”—contact us today to learn more!

1)     Use the right scents. While it’s easy to overlook for a homeowner, the scent of a home plays a large role in creating an impression, either good or bad, on a buyer. You want your home to smell fresh and welcoming—but you don’t want to overdo it. In many cases, simply keeping the windows open and using a strategically placed candle is more than enough. Stay away from large doses of perfumes and air fresheners, as they often seem artificial and out of place.

2)     Highlight the best features of every room. Perhaps your living room features a charming fireplace or a spectacular vaulted ceiling. Effective staging highlights these attributes, allowing them to “take over” the room.

3)     Don’t overdo it. Subtlety is the key to creating the right atmosphere. Pay attention to the lighting and the layout of each room—but don’t go overboard. The goal is to create a home that feels warm and welcoming, not fake. Whether it’s light, scent, décor, or other accessories, resist the temptation to overdo it!

If your home is on the market, staging will help it sell quickly and for a higher price than non-staged homes. The tips we’ve covered today will help—but to create truly irresistible atmosphere, contact us today!

1)     Don’t overdo the holiday decorations. This may sound counterintuitive, but keep your holiday decorations to a minimum. In many cases they will distract your potential buyers and pull attention away from your home! The goal is to create holiday cheer—but this is best done subtly.

2)     Keep your home well lit. As daylight decreases in the winter, it’s important that you compensate by keeping your lights on and your blinds open while there is daylight outside! A well lit house feels welcoming and cheerful—a dimly lit home has the opposite effect.

3)     Consider a holiday-themed doormat. As you know, the curbside appeal of your home is critical, both in creating the first impression and in enticing the potential buyer to see the inside. A colorful doormat adds the perfect touch of holiday flavor.

4)     Bake cookies before a showing! In addition to making your home smell great, fresh cookies will immediately make your prospect feel welcomed and “at home.” It’s also a wonderful way to start your relationship on a positive note.

5)     Use color to subtly set the mood. Don’t go overboard with red and green. Instead, look for subtle opportunities to introduce warm, welcoming colors to your home. The right touch of color will create an ambience of warmth and cheer, without dominating the room.

Your home staging strategy plays a critical role in the selling process—and as the holiday season rolls around, it is important that your home fits the mood and the expectations of potential buyers. During this season, many sellers are more motivated than ever—meaning you’ll likely have to compete with falling prices. Your home staging strategy is the best way to counter this pressure. If you would like more information, or if you would like professional help to make your home look its best, get in touch with us today!

“In creating “the story” for any property, you want to make sure you are creating a marketing tool that will appeal to a targeted potential buyer. Most buyers need to have an emotional reaction to a property and that is what your story should convey.”

This is a fairly unusual idea, but it is interesting to think about. Hobbs talks about envisioning a target resident for the property, a residence in Brooklyn. She thought the target resident would be a well-travelled, professional couple, aged in their mid-to-late 30’s. She also imagined that the hypothetical couple was “one who considered their travels a big influence to their design and decorating tastes.” This helped her stage the property – an influence led to a story, which led to a theme.

As I said, this idea of staging a story is certainly interesting, but the blog doesn’t say whether the property has sold yet, so I cannot really speak to its effectiveness. Also, it does seem very limiting to stage a property so specifically, to such a precise target resident.  One of the main rules we observe when staging a house is to make it look as impersonal and neutral as we can. The goal is for a potential buyer to easily picture themselves living there. We encourage sellers to remove things like family photos and other prominent personal artifacts, which viewers may find alienating. Having said that, if a neighborhood is predominantly comprised of young professionals, such as here, it can help to stage a home with that demographic in mind. If you were staging a house in an area with a lot of young families, it might be a good idea to stage the house towards young families.

As far as we are concerned, the “story” for any property we’re staging is: you, the buyer, will feel comfortable here. Your furniture and your belongings will fit comfortably, and you’ll love living here. Nothing more elaborate than that. I hope Cathy Hobbs keeps us posted with the progress of that particular residence in Brooklyn, because I am certainly curious to see how it develops.

It’s certainly a unique premise. We usually think of the interested buyers as the ones who spend hours poring over every listings website and newspaper classifieds page; they are the ones who go from open house to open house in the hopes of finding something that just clicks. Despite that, there’s no reason why as a seller, you shouldn’t be doing the same sort of research, so you can tell how your home compares. There are three factors that the article offers as points for comparison.

a)     Price: If a house two streets away, that’s of a similar age and style to yours, is on the market at a significantly higher price, find out why. What does that house have that yours doesn’t?

b)     Condition: We have talked before about why clutter and mess are very harmful to your chances of making a sale. If a rival property looks in better shape than yours, strive to make yours better.

c)     Presentation: This is obviously the most important factor to us. You can always get some staging ideas from looking at other properties. This can work both ways – you might see a technique or an accessory that would be great in your own home, which you can then use; or you might see something that you think looks distasteful, and you’ll know not to repeat it.

Armed with this kind of knowledge about rival properties, you are sure to make YOUR property more marketable, and thereby increase its chances of a prompt sale!

Not sure what the differences between fall and summer colors are? Let’s take a close look. Real Simple magazine provides a thorough color collection on their website. Strategic splashes of vivid fuchsia in the dining room or den can create a romantic and memorable look. Or, perhaps your home has a cooler lime color that offers your home a more energetic and refreshing feel. Fresh blue paints and captivating coral hues are also great choices for you to maintain in your home this summer. Keep your summer colors lively and cheerful for a refreshing appearance.

We also suggest that you accessorize with bright fruits in your kitchen. Position a fruit bowl on your countertops, full of big oranges, grapefruits and juicy apples. The delicious smell of these snacks will tickle your buyers’ senses while they’re simultaneously attracted to the space, visually.

As you transition your home to fit fall’s changing colors, we love using orange! This punchy hue is a favorite for post-summer interiors, altering your home to match nature’s shifting appearance. Grace your spaces with warm touches of tangerine, gold and red. Or, boldly combine shades from across the color wheel by incorporating blue tones.

By integrating orange accent colors into your home’s autumn interiors, prospective buyers will love how the warmer colors make them feel more comfortable in a cooling-down climate. But, timing is everything, so collect your orange accessories, florals, accent pillows and drapes now, so you’re ready to redecorate when summer comes to a close.

References:

http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/home-improvement/painting/interior-paint-colors-00100000061430/index.html

http://www.hgtv.com/decorating/color-trends-decorating-with-orange/pictures/index.html