Home Staging Tips

When moving in Toronto or anywhere in the GTA, home staging is a crucial step of the process. Prepare your home properly for the sale, and you will be amazed at the results you can accomplish. After all, you want to get the most when selling your home, and you want the buyers to be happy with their purchase as well. At Phillips Moving and Storage Toronto, we’re happy to help you prepare your home for sale. Start with the home staging tips below, and when you’re ready, give us a call!

About Phillips Moving and Storage

Whether you need help with staging your current home for sale, or moving to a new one afterward, going with a vetted moving company is your safest bet. Phillips Moving and Storage is a family business that has been operating for 100 years. Our century-long work has allowed us to learn all the intricacies of the business, and understand the importance of communication and personalized services. Because of that, we view our clients as our family. We will listen to you and do our best to take care of all your relocation needs. Our friendly staff is available for any questions during the entire moving or home staging process. Don’t hesitate to call us!

Prepare your home for sale with our home staging tips

If you’re not sure how to properly stage your home for sale, we’re here to help. Our team has years of experience in moving, packing, storage, and home staging. Call us and get a free moving estimate, and let us help you make your house picture-perfect for the upcoming sale. We will help you with the relocation as well as the staging process with our tips and skills.

Home Staging Tip #1: Attitude

Before you do anything, you have to stop thinking of your house as a HOME and start thinking about it as an investment – probably the most important investment you have made so far. You want to get the largest possible return on it, so you can move on to bigger and better things, right?

With less time and more technology available to almost anyone, chances are that potential buyers are first searching the internet for the properties they might be interested in. You need to have the best possible pictures available on your online listing, as that “first look” might determine whether the prospects will want to visit your property or will pass over it. These photos have to impress and generate an emotional desire from the potential buyer to see the property “live”. If you don’t have pictures that stand out from the others, you are probably missing out on dozens, if not hundreds of potential buyers.

Home Staging Tip #2: Curb Appeal

Curb appeal (or, lack thereof) can deter a visitor from wanting to go in. Have you ever driven by a house for sale, disliked it from the outside, and left without even giving it a chance? Avoid this situation from happening to you. Walk around the house and ensure that the path and the perimeter of the house are clear – no toys, bicycles, garbage cans, or unused building materials are visible. Phillips Moving and Storage can come pack, clear, and store these items at our warehouse until you’re ready to move them to your new residence.

Scrub and wash the front porch, the door as well as the trim, and the mailbox and polish the street number. We can arrange to clean all areas needed. Put all small items away from the patio/deck in order to not distract the eye from the available space. We can store all items that are not used every day until your home sells.

Home Staging Tip #3: Make space

Remember, the buyers want to see space, above anything else. You want the visitors to focus on the house and not on your stuff. A cluttered house gives the impression of being poorly maintained and looks smaller than it really is. Go through the house, room by room, and take everything out but the essentials – decide what to throw out, what to donate, and what to put in Phillips’ storage warehouse in Toronto.

What do you need to pay attention to?

Pay particular attention to:

• Floors – please no piles on the floor anywhere.
• Horizontal surfaces – take everything off, and then put only a few items back. No knick-knacks, photo displays, large collections, magazines, bottles/jars, small appliances, and anything else that might distract the eye from the beautiful features of your property. Remember to clean the kitchen and bathroom countertops as well. If you have not used an item for three months or you can do without it for the next three – store it at Phillips Moving and Storage warehouse.
• Bookshelves – put your books and magazines upright and in order.
• Closets – every closet has to be cleaned out, maybe more than once until they all look spacious and well organized.
• Garage – yes, even the garage has to be de-cluttered and emptied out as much as possible. The visitors will be considering how much space is available in your garage, so show them.
• Furniture and wall hangings – too much furniture impedes good traffic flow in the house and makes it look smaller, so the golden rule is, “Less is more!” The same applies to art and accessories – if in doubt, take them off and keep only one or two items per wall.

De-cluttering is a big task and it might be daunting. But, in any case, you will have to do it before you move, so start now and you will feel better. De-cluttering, in our experience, is one of the most valuable Home Staging tips you will get, so don’t ignore it. If you need help from someone who has done this for many years, give us a call.

Home Staging Tip #4: Clean and Fix

As far as Home staging tips go, this might have been #1 on the list. It seems obvious, but you would be surprised to see how many people neglect this one. If you are not able or willing to do it yourself, hire a professional. We recommend walking through each room and making two lists – one list for cleaning and the other for fixing. Pay particular attention to the entrance, as it is the first space the visitors will see, followed by the kitchen and bathrooms. Don’t forget the walls and the ceilings (cobwebs!), windows, and appliances. If you have carpets that have not been shampooed in more than a year, wash them. Remember, if nothing else, your home should be spotless for the shows. Phillips Moving and Storage can assist you in finding the right contractor to help you repair and clean.

Fixing small but visible things is important. Chipped paint, loose or missing tiles, broken door handles, a closet door that doesn’t quite close properly – all the little things you never had time to fix – unfortunately, they can become a BIG turnoff for a potential buyer. After all, they probably don’t want to deal with the extra repairs while moving, unpacking, and settling in. As well, it might make them wonder whether some other, more important things have been left uncared for in the house. And an additional benefit might be that this process of “de-personalizing” your home will help you to get emotionally detached from it and prepare you for the sale and eventual move!

Home Staging Tip #5: Light It Up

A bright house is a great house. So, open all the blinds/curtains and make sure there is sufficient light in every room. Add fixtures, stand-up, or table lamps – you can’t have too much light!

Home Staging Tip #6: Space Optimization

Last but not least, space management optimization and proper furniture and accessories placement are essential. It will give a home a warm and appealing look and feel. For example, the living room furniture has to be positioned so as to create a conversation area that will look toward the room’s focal point. A painting, a vase filled with decorative branches, or a bowl of lemons will bring the ambiance to the room.

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Choose the right services to move to your new home with ease

In addition to the home staging tips and services, we also offer a variety of moving, packing, and storage services in the city of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. Hiring our crew is simple and straightforward. Simply visit our website or give us a call, and our relocation consultants will give you a free moving estimate.

After that, we will discuss the details of your move and staring making a moving plan tailored to your specific needs. We take pride in offering competitive prices for our skills and experience. We have a longstanding tradition of spotless services, so you can rely on us when you need:

• local movers
• long distance movers
• commercial movers
• cross country movers
• cross border movers
• international movers
• packing services
• storage services

Get help from a reputable moving company in the GTA

Selling a home and moving to a new one doesn’t have to be a stressful experience. Choose a moving company with tradition and knowledge, and have a carefree relocation. Remember, at Phillips Moving and Storage Toronto, we have decades of experience with moving households. If you need help or some more home staging tips we’ll be happy to help! Contact us today, and let’s make your home sale-ready!