Home Staging Tips for Downsizing Seniors

When it’s time to hang up your homeowner hat and downsize to an apartment or CCRC, it means selling your home. And when it’s time for potential homeowners to view it, you want your house to look its best. Home staging is the practice of decorating your house so it highlights its best assets, and it can help potential buyers imagine themselves living there.

It takes a little extra time, but there’s so much to gain from putting in the effort of staging your home. And thankfully, you don’t need to spend an exorbitant amount of money. Below are a few home staging tips to help you get started.

How to Stage a House to Sell

• Only stage the focal points. Not every room in your home is going to be a major selling point to potential home buyers. Focus on the living room, master bedroom and kitchen and let buyers use their imaginations with the smaller bedrooms and bathrooms.
• Don’t make it personal. Home buyers like to envision themselves in the space, and it might be difficult to do that when your personal belongings are everywhere. Remove any family photos from the area, keep clothing out of sight and remove personal items like toothbrushes or hairbrushes.
• Create a neutral palette. This may mean a little extra money out of your pocket, but simply painting your walls with a soft, neutral color can be the difference between selling your home quickly and having it sit on the market for an extended period of time. Opt for grays, whites and taupes rather than bright colors.
• Completely clean the home. Imagine yourself as the potential home buyer. If you step into a home and the floors shine, the counters shimmer and the room smells fresh and clean, wouldn’t you be more inclined to consider it? Give your home a head-to-toe cleaning so buyers can see the same potential in the property that you know is there.
• Take care of any repairs. If your home needs just a little extra TLC, take the time to fix those problem spots. It may be as simple as taking a foam eraser to a scuff on the wall or recaulking around the bathtub. Just like with deep cleaning, this shows potential buyers the love and care you’ve put into this home.
• Touch up the exterior. The exterior of your home will be a buyer’s first impression. If you have any out-of-season décor on your porch or Christmas lights hanging after the holiday, be sure to put it away before any open houses or viewings. You may also want to consider having someone power wash any dirt and grime off of the front siding. For an added welcoming touch, add a simple doormat and a fresh plant or two.
• Add a touch of life. Not only should you think about adding a plant to your outside welcome area, but you may also want to consider placing some green life inside your home. You don’t want to clutter the space, but a few well-placed pieces of greenery and bright flowers can add some welcoming life to appeal to buyers.
• Rearrange your furniture for maximum space. You’ll want as much walkable space available to help a buyer navigate and envision their own belongings in the space. If you have excess furniture or pieces with extensive wear and damage, move them out of the room.

Find Your New Home at Winchester Gardens

At Winchester Gardens in Maplewood, NJ, we want you to feel right at home. That’s why we offer a variety of apartment and villa floorplans to fit your needs and desired lifestyle. We also provide relaxing amenities which help you connect to the community like our beauty salon, art studio, country store, movie theater and an indoor heated pool. Resident Maimuna Slatewala told us, “There is so much to do and learn here all the time. The best part about living here is I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. It’s the perfect place for me!”

Learn more about how Winchester Gardens helps you create a home in our community by contacting our team today.