Your furniture plays an important
role in the sale of your home.
While it's true that your furniture will go with you when you move, its
current placement in your home will help showcase and define the purpose of
each room. Without it, buyers often have a hard time envisioning where their
things will fit. There can be confusion about size, flow and scale of an area
if there is nothing to use as a point of reference. Lack of furniture in a room
leaves buyers guessing what the square footage and dimensions of the space are.
Empty rooms actually appear smaller due to a lack of a point of reference. It
is estimated that less than 20% of buyers can see beyond an empty room. They
need furniture to help them envision their own in the same place and to define
the purpose of the room in addition to the scale of the space.
We tailor our home and furnishing requirements
to our needs and preferences. However, when selling, we need to consider the
needs of the buyers. They are buying square footage, living areas, and
architectural and various other features in your home. Therefore, when
preparing your home for sale, your furniture needs consideration. If worn, torn
or dated, consider covering chairs and/or sofas with neutral colored, tasteful
slipcovers. Worn wood furniture can be brought back to life using Old English®
Lemon Oil or Old English® Scratch Cover, which comes in both dark and light
finishes and is easy to use. If you have had repainting or restaining on your
"to do" list, now is the time to get it done. Be honest about the condition of
your furniture. A hand-me-down from your grandmother will not necessarily help
to show the positive features of a room even though it may be the most
comfortable seat in the house.
Excess furniture should be removed
and stored. If you don't have enough furniture to adequately showcase a space,
borrow, rent or even purchase what you need. Shop second hand stores for gently
used items to fill the space. Keep in mind that many furniture rental companies
have clearance centers that sell very nice but discontinued pieces at bargain
prices. It's worth it to shop around, but keep in mind that the furniture will
go with you. Don't buy it unless you are willing to move it or you'll end up
with a lot of furniture to unload at a yard sale for a fraction of your initial
investment.
When showcasing a room, try and find
a focal point and build your furniture around it. Have a great window? Showcase
it, don't hide it. A beautiful fireplace? Don't cover it up, highlight it with
two club chairs and a coffee table. Float pieces away from walls to add
interest and create conversation areas. We tend to push things up against the
wall and create boxed in looking rooms. Make your house interesting so that
buyers remember it. Use area rugs to define areas but make sure it is in
proportion to the furniture and space.
Determine the purpose of each room
in the house and showcase it as it was originally designed. If a bedroom is
being used for storage, return it back to a bedroom. Buyers see many properties
and they need to see what they are getting in each home. They may remember the
storage room but not a bedroom. Lacking a bed? Purchase two inflatable beds and
file size cardboard boxes; six work well under a twin bed and nine under a full
or queen. Get an inexpensive Bed-in-a-Bag and dress the bed. Of course, no one
will be sleeping or sitting on this bed but now you have an inexpensive
solution to the problem. Plant seeds that simply suggest the use for a space.
Get creative with your ideas and buyers will surely notice.