Styling a home for sale is not just about ‘making it look pretty’, it is about helping the buyers form a strong emotional connection with the house. There are many ways how home-staging influences people’s feelings, but we’ve narrowed it down to the main nine points. All of these could be developed into separate articles on their own, some of which we’ve already written about.

Without any further ado, let’s jump straight into it!

1. First Impressions Count

We’ve all heard the saying ‘you never get a second chance to make a first impression’. When it comes to selling a house, it only takes about 7-15 seconds for the buyers to decide if they are serious about putting in an offer or not.

The aim for us at Foxy Home Staging is to create a ‘wow effect’ at every property we style. We want the first thing that buyers say when they walk in to be “Wow!”. This dictates the way we position the furniture, which we purposely set up in a way to look amazing from the entrance point.

before photo of a living room styled with just a sofa and a rug

after photo of a living room styled with earthy colours

2. Clearing Space for Imagination

A properly staged home should feel warm, welcoming & homely and without the “footprint” of the previous owner. The buyers should be able to visualise themselves living in the house, which means any personal items need to go.

Read 8 Tips to Depersonalise your home before selling.

Depersonalising your home and removing any clutter will provide the buyers with a ‘blank canvas’, encouraging them to visualise themselves living in your house.

3. Selling a Lifestyle

We take extra care selecting our furniture and decorations, making sure they resonate with the targeted demographics of buyers. Taking into account factors like their age, financial situation or cultural background – these are all great indicators of their motivating factors and styling preferences. Whether that sector of buyers are young professionals, families or retirees looking to downsize, we strive to create a space that is congruent with the idea of their desired lifestyle.

Read How Do We Determine Which Style to Choose.

For example, professionals under 35 resonate with contemporary furniture and trendy decorations, whilst downsizers prefer a more traditional look with high-end furniture, pops of timber and flowery patterns.

(example of a traditional style pictured below)

4. Psychology of Colours

Colours can impact the mood of a room more so than any other factor, which makes them one of the most powerful tools of home styling. For example, blue represents elegance and calmness; pink speaks of nurture and love and green stands for freshness and hope. Choosing the colour palette based on what emotions we want to trigger peoples’ subconscious has got to be one of the most influential aspects of staging homes for sale.

The process of buying a home starts online, which means we must take into account not just which emotions these shades conjure, but also which colours will stand out in the real estate photography.

5. Details Matter

Your brain sees things you do not. In other words, while your eyes travel across the room, your subconscious mind is taking in 11 million bits of information per second, but your conscious mind can only process about 50 bits per second. (source)

That is why we always say: “Details create the big picture”.

The title of the book on the shelf, the picture in the magazine, the knick-knacks on the coffee table – you may not actively notice these things, but your subconscious is communicating this message to your conscious brain. This information then gets processed and lets your conscious brain know whether you like the room or not.

Click here to read Psychology Behind Buying a Home.

6. Creating a Multi-Sensory Experience

Sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing play an integral role in our emotional processing, learning and even buying behaviour. The more senses are engaged, the more emotional and memorable the experience will become. If you want to make your home stand out in the market, enticing all five senses of your potential buyers will make your house hard to forget.

Read How to Appeal to All Five Senses When Selling Real Estate.

7. Pulling at People’s Heartstrings

There’s a common misconception going around that the buyers would rather see the rooms empty than furnished. What people actually want to see is the real size of the room and the only way to truly showcase this is to display how much furniture can fit in. No one falls in love with an “empty box”, that is why certain items like reading nooks, bassinets, or cozy-looking conversational areas sure can tug at the buyers’ heartstrings as they picture themselves living out their dreams in this home.

Read 5 Home-Staging Myths Busted.

8. Illusion of More Light & Space

The idea of what a dream house should look is unique for each and every one of us. Despite our different requirements and expectations, empirical evidence suggests that most buyers gravitate towards the same aspects – ample natural light and abundance of space. Some homes don’t have enough of either, which is when home-staging comes in to maximise both – light and space.

Read 3 Home-Staging Illusions.

9. Perceived Value

There is one rule we strictly stick by and implement at every single property we style.

The furniture must be reflective of the price point we are trying to achieve.

Simply put, the price and quality of the furniture influences the value of the house. For example, if a house is selling for over $1M, it would look ridiculous to bring in cheap, low-quality furniture from Kmart or Target (not that we own any of these). And vice versa, furnishing a lower-priced home with luxe, high-end pieces would not only look out of place, but it would also emotionally price out the buyers and trick them into thinking they can’t afford it.

It’s all about finding the sweet spot somewhere in the middle, where your furniture lifts the perceived value just the right amount.