Styling your home for sale

Interior Stylist and former contestant on The Block, Carlene Duffy
Cedar & Suede

Clean up and de-clutter

This has got to be the first step in your process. First impressions last and it would only take a very astute eye to be able to see a home’s full potential through dirt and mess.

This also extends to the exterior. At a minimum, remove anything in the garden that’s not in its rightful place - replace sad looking plants, mow the lawn and weed.

A messy house translates to a neglected house and in this case, buyers will negotiate far more aggressively. It's in this initial step that you should depersonalise your home, which means deleting cherished items, such as photos or décor items that may only be beautiful to you for their sentimental value.

Paint, paint, paint

Painting your walls is something every homeowner can easily do themselves and is one of those highly transformative tasks that provide bang for the buck. While I’m not a huge fan of all white walls, buyers feel most comfortable seeing white on interior walls than any other colour. In saying that, if you have spaces in your home that are deficient in natural light, these spaces should be painted a more saturated colour such as a warm grey or rich blue, as white walls lacking in natural light can make spaces appear murky and sad.

Don’t leave anything to the imagination

Buyers don’t like to hear that they have no imagination but if you want a successful home sale it’s important you leave nothing to the imagination. This means presenting the home fully furnished in a layout that best shows off each space in the home. Buyers need to see in no uncertain terms exactly what they can fit into the space. And while this means not incorporating large pieces of furniture that dwarfs the space, it also means not presenting only a 4 seater dining table when the space can actually handle a 6-seater.

Beg, steal or borrow items your home lacks

At the point of selling your home, it may not be at its full potential. You may have been planning to the fill the walls with art and mirrors but never got around to it. This is when you need to beg, steal (probably don’t steal) or borrow. If the budget allows, it's easy enough to hire what you need from furniture hire services that function specifically for this purpose but you may also have some generous family members or friends that will lend you a mirror for your hallway or a more appropriate coffee table for your living room for the sale campaign period.

Indoor plants are key to adding to your home’s feeling of homeliness and softness and floor rugs add to a home’s sense of luxury, while also hiding floors that may be a bit lacklustre.

Engage a professional

If all else fails, bring in the pros. Home staging/property styling experts function specifically to help you get the best outcome for your home sale and offer different packages that tailor to different budgets. So it might be worth getting a quote.​