Staging your home makes a huge difference when you’re getting your house ready to put on the market. Buyers will make up their mind on how they feel about your home before they even step inside. Here are some steps for how to stage your entryway and dining room so you can win your buyers over with a great first impression.
We’ve all heard that people can make a judgement on whether or not they like something within the first few seconds. Use this to your advantage and don’t just stage the major rooms in your home, but your entryway as well! This will create a positive start to the showing as the buyers enter your home.
The Outside Entryway
Let’s start outside first. Buyers are looking at your home before they walk in and first impressions are everything. Be sure to sweep the entryway and knock all the cobwebs down. Pressure wash the area if needed.
Fresh flowers at the door add a nice touch.
Make sure you have bright light bulbs outside. This way if it’s dark or rainy outside you can still brighten up the house. Be sure your front door is clean! Wipe all the dirt off and give it a fresh coat of paint if needed. Fun fact, red is a nice color for a door. In Europe a painted red door means that the home is paid off, and a pop of red in any room draws attention to that room.
Outside of the entryway make sure the front looks nice as well. Keep the hedges trimmed, the grass edged, and don’t let any leaves or branches lay astray in the yard. Make sure the mulch or pine straw is in place for any beddings. Keep your house in tip top shape while it’s on the market.
The Inside Entryway or Foyer
Now that we’ve handled the outside, let’s move on to the inside of the home. How you stage your entryway, or foyer, depends on the type of entry way you have and how much space there is. The main thing is that you want this area to be clean, decluttered, and as spacious as possible.
No stacks of shoes, umbrellas, jackets, or anything else that can be an eye sore should be in the entryway. When the buyers open your front door they need to be greeted by an inviting space. You want their eyes on your home, not your stuff. The entryway shouldn’t be busy, it should be streamlined. If you have hangers in the entryway, keep them cleared off during a showing.
This also means no letters piled up on a table in the entryway. No messes at all! Remember, you want a great first impression. This is important because winning the buyers over at the start sets out the rest of the viewing on a high note. It’s very difficult for buyers to get excited about the rest of the home when their first impression isn’t so great.
Buyers tend to make a list of all the things they don’t like in the home, or things they have to fix. Don’t let them start their list once they open your front door! This means the walls, ceiling, and floors need to be in great shape. Absolutely no cracks, no holes, no scratches on the walls.
If you have hardwood flooring in your entryway, place a rug that highlights the hallway. Add a foyer table for storage to keep your entryway neat. Buyers won’t open these drawers. Or you can buy a bench with storage underneath. Just keep the storage areas neat. Don’t place anything on top of the table or bench and be sure nothing is sticking out of the drawers.
Choose a light color for the entryway. A nude or white is preferable to making your entryway space feel large and inviting. You should add a focal point, either a bright painting or mirror, something that pops against the walls and all the natural light that shines in.
Ask your realtor for specific staging ideas and tips to transform your entryway into a pleasing space. Your realtor should be able to help.
Dining Room
The dining room is a key space that buyers are most often sizing up to see if their table and chairs will fit. Let’s start by defining the space. The focal point of the room is the table. Center the dining room table over a rug. Make sure your dining room table isn’t too big for the space and don’t put too many chairs around it. Placing too much furniture in a room makes it feel smaller.
Clean the dining room top to bottom. You don’t want any cobwebs at the top of the ceiling in here either! Be sure to dust very well as any light will show the dust dancing on the furniture. Clean the light fixture and make sure your windows sparkle inside and out.
Always set the plates at your dining room table. Add a colorful charger on the bottom for a pop of color. In the middle of the table you can also add a decorative vase that color coordinates with the charges. You can use the same fresh cut flowers from the outside of the entryway to brighten up your dining room.
Bright lighting is needed for the dining room. Make sure all the light bulbs are working on your light fixture. Exchange any dim lights for bright ones that will show off your space. You don’t want any corners of the room to be in the shadows.
Just like with other rooms in your home, you want to make sure you don’t overfill the space. You want the furniture to complement the area. If you have enough room for a china cabinet or buffet then add it in. Just make sure to keep all the furniture clean and uncluttered.
Don’t block any windows or lighting. If you don’t have enough space to walk fully around the table once you add other furniture, then remove some of the furniture.
Overfilling the room is one mistake you don’t want to make when staging.
Make sure the cushions on the dining room chairs are clean. Even if they are tucked underneath the table, you don’t want potential buyers to see anything damaged in the house. This will cause them to wonder if anything else in the home that needs work has been overlooked.
Wow! What a Difference
Now that you’ve staged your entryway and dining room the first impression potential buyers will get will be great a great one! Get them excited to walk in your home. An amazing first look once they open the door will keep buyers wanting to see the rest of your home. Staging will make such a difference to buyers. If you want to learn how to stage other key areas of your home, like the kitchen, click here and for the living room, click here. If you have a home office, learn how to stage it in this post! Don’t miss out on your garage, learn what needs to be done in this space here.
If you’re looking for ideas on how to stage your master bedroom, bathroom, and closet, check out our blogs for the master bedroom and the master bathroom and closet. For all the other bedrooms, bathrooms, and closets in your home, check out some tips here!
Once your entire home is staged you will notice the dramatic difference it makes. Staging is an important step in how to sell your home. Buyers will love your home and know that you love it too from the amount of work you’ve put into it.
Ready to learn how to stage your entire home? Read this post to learn how to stage your entire home inside and out!
Once again, thank you to David Henderson for the pictures! Check out David’s website for more: https://david-hendersonphotography.com/
