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Everyone knows that bigger is better and while you can’t change the size of your home, you can increase your home’s visual square footage by following a few simple strategies that will help your house appear “bigger on the inside” (to borrow a quote from Doctor Who.)

1. Remove area rugs from carpeting. Sure it looks nice and cozy but it can cause people to wonder what you might be hiding under there. By offering an open plain, you will make the overall space look bigger and not chop up the layout of the room.
2. Edit furnishings and unnecessary collections. It’s not personal, but by removing pieces that do not serve to showcase the space, you create a sense of a larger room and dramatically increase your home’s selling potential.
3. Bring in more light. People underestimate the power of light, but adding lighting elements where necessary, making use of natural light by pulling back heavy drapes and window treatments or even removing them if possible, you create a much more open space.
4. Create a sense of continuity. By minimizing the rainbow on your walls and choosing a complimentary paint scheme throughout the house, you will offer your potential buyer a cohesive space that is full of possibilities no matter how big or small it is.
5. Create a home that is visually pleasing. Remember that every area can make or break a sale and by working hard to make sure every corner, nook and cranny looks its best will greatly enhance your chances for an offer.

Homeowners want space and no matter if they are movin on, up or downsizing they want to feel comfortable not cramped. By employing these top five strategies, you and your home staging professional can create additional room where it does not exist. Change your perception. Change the space and change your potential for a better offer!

We create stylish, warm and welcoming houses that captures the buyers’ attention from the moment they are introduced to the property.  We focus on the buyer demographics, the selling features, life style selling techniques and the strategic placement of furniture, art, and accessories that translates to a powerful marketing tool.  Contact us today.  317-209-9801 or at homemattersllc.com

As a professional home stager I am often asked if there is a situation in which someone does not have to consider staging his or her property. The short answer is no. Unless you have a line of people outside your door ready to make you a full offer for your home, there is always an argument for staging.

“But Linda, what about the short sale?”  Without a doubt a short sale is a tough position for any homeowner to be in. In a short sale, the homeowner can no longer afford the monthly payment and decides to sell the property in hopes that the proceeds from the sale will help alleviate their principle balance. It is usually one step ahead of foreclosure and it a very emotional and difficult decisions for any homeowner to make.

However, it’s not a reason not to do everything in your power to showcase your space for potential buyers. Even though you may be facing a small window of opportunity to sell your house, it may be worth the consultation fee to see what improvements you can make yourself to increase your home’s chances on the market. While you may be feeling desperate about the current state of events, don’t allow those emotions to cloud your business sense.

Buyers can sense that desperation in the way your home presents itself. Your house has a way of conveying that things have taken a turn for the worst or that you are feeling pretty badly about things and that kind of karma can have a negative impact on the sale of the home. Rather than looking at this sale as the final nail in the coffin of your American Dream, look at it as your first step on the road to re-establishing your life. Remember that everyone’s life has its hills and valleys and while this step to sell may not fix everything, it is a step in the right direction. Make that step with dignity and do not look back. Set the stage for your new life by confidently letting go of the past and looking forward to the next act.

We create stylish, warm and welcoming houses that captures the buyers’ attention from the moment they are introduced to the property.  We focus on the buyer demographics, the selling features, life style selling techniques and the strategic placement of furniture, art, and accessories that translates to a powerful marketing tool.  Contact us today.  317-209-9801 or at homemattersllc.com

Vacant properties come with a set of unique problems for home sellers, builders and investors. After constructing a spec home, putting in time and money into a fixer-upper, or moving into a new home before the old one sells, the last thing anyone wants to do is spend money to stage it.

I get it. I really do. Unfortunately, homebuyers can’t connect to something that is cold and empty and according to a study conducted by Trulia in 2012, a vacant property typically stay on the market for an average of 78 days and over that time, they are usually discounted eight percent from their original list price.  At Home Matters, LLC we know the amount of time and effort you have already put into that vacant property and that’s why we have developed the Build Your Own Quote Quick Stage option for vacant properties.

This is how it works: You can call our office (317-209-9801) to find out how we can stage a portion or key rooms in order to increase its chances of selling. Our basic package allows you to get the fastest quote possible on staging for the three most popular areas of your home (the living room, kitchen and bathroom.) From there, you can choose to add other rooms which gives you freedom to stage as little or as much as your budget allows. It doesn’t get any more affordable than that!

Vacant                                                                 Staged

At Home Matters, we are always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to make home staging part of your overall home marketing strategy and not just as the last resort approach to sell.  Contact our team to find out how we can breathe new life into your vacant home! We’re ready to help fill the empty void!

We create stylish, warm and welcoming houses that captures the buyers’ attention from the moment they are introduced to the property.  We focus on the buyer demographics, the selling features, life style selling techniques and the strategic placement of furniture, art, and accessories that translates to a powerful marketing tool.  Contact us today.  317-209-9801 or at homemattersllc.com

As a professional home stager, I am always excited to work with my clients to help them move on to their next big dream, but sometimes the sale of one’s home does not occur for happy occasions. I’ve had my fair share of those clients who are enduring a painful divorce, the loss of a job, a run of bad luck, and the death of a loved one. However one of the most painful and intriguing situations was the time I was staging the home of someone who was preparing to die.

The call came from the husband who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and who wanted to help his wife get settled in a new place before he left this Earth. He knew she needed a home that she would be able to care for on her own and he wanted to help her with that transition before it was too late. The wife was well aware of this plan and knew what was going on but as we arrived to stage the property, she became very defensive about our plans for the home she’d lived in with her husband for 30 years.

She hated everything we were doing and as the day wore on, she snapped at the team and became very rude with everyone who was trying to help her showcase her home to the best of its ability. At some point, her husband took me aside, apologized for her behavior and made a point of telling me that he did not want me to take away a negative impression of his wife. She was simply saying goodbye to what was not yet her past.

My heart went out to this man who not only had the foresight to see to his wife’s security before he died, but cared about the way she was perceived by strangers at this difficult moment in her life. It was such a gift for me to be a part of this couple’s journey. Even though I was merely their stager, I was able to help this woman go through the mourning process. It was a good reminder that sometimes even though you are moving forward, it’s really hard to leave so much behind.

It’s been a year since I worked with these two brave people and I still get emotional when I think about their story. They were two of the bravest people that I have ever met and the unconditional love, respect and compassion this man had for his wife was something to be admired.

I only hope that they were able to make several good memories in their new house and that the old ones they shared helped them get through those difficult days as his time ran down. After all, it’s not the home itself that creates the memories, it’s the people in it and those live on in our hearts no matter what our address might be.