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Stagecraft: When the curtain rises on your home

WILLIAM P. CANNON/DAYTON DAILY NEWS

By KRISTI L. GUSTAFSON, Albany Times Union Updated 3:56 PM Friday, April 3, 2009

ALBANY, N.Y. — The moment you put your house on the market, you must let go — literally.

Know the commemorative plate collection or antique cuckoo clock you cherish? Pack them up and store them away, along with anything else prized and personal you may have on display. While you're at it, give your home a cleaning as you would if your mother-in-law were coming by. And by all means, stop cooking fish and other pungent foods.

All done? If so, you're on your way to successfully staging your home.

Home staging is the art of preparing a home for sale, inside and out.

Be it vacant or occupied, a staged home can sell more than 50 percent faster, according to the Real Estate Staging Association. Plus, staging a home gives it "curb appeal," inside and out. This increases the value of your home.

Staging is often done by professionals, and can cost from $1,000 to $5,000, plus $200-plus for an initial consultation. If you can't afford a stager, or want to give it a try on your own, here are some tips from area home-staging experts, all of whom are trained to see a home through the buyer's eyes.

If you have more than three of anything, it's a collection, and collections need to be packed away, says Neil Bindelglass, a Hudson-based professional home stager and the owner of Let Me Organize You.

While you cannot place a value on the 114 decorative baby spoons you have displayed throughout the house, buyers might consider them tacky. At the very least, the spoons (or wooden elephants) act as a distraction. You want people to remember your home, not what was in it.

Avoid piles of anything inside and out — that means shoes, papers, dirty clothes or mail.

Pack away books, family photos and anything religious. If there is a crucifix over the bed, put it in the night table.

Sparsity is as bad as clutter. Focal points — such as a large vase of fresh flowers, a fireplace, simple artwork or a basket in the bathroom full of fresh, fluffy, rolled-up towels — will make the house feel like a home. But keep it simple.

Extend that clutter-free mentality to the kitchen. A bowl of fresh fruit on the counter is fine. The coffee maker, toaster oven, bread box, knife block, blender and food processor should be tucked away in well-organized kitchen cabinets.

A furnished house shows best. "Empty homes show much smaller than they are because people have nothing to relate it to," says Tav Daly, owner of Before & After, a home-staging company based in Voorheesville, N.Y. "They'll walk in an empty master bedroom and wonder if the king-size bed will fit."

If the room is furnished, potential buyers have perspective. Stagers like Daly also rent display furniture.

All rooms should be clean and tidy, but it's especially important to keep the kitchen and bathroom pristine. Clean the toilets, and make sure sinks are devoid of toothpaste blobs and the shower drain is not clogged with hair. Put out clean, fresh, folded towels.

Make those beds, and make sure the bedding looks crisp and fresh. This may mean purchasing new bedding. Many stores sell bed-in-a-bag options, which include sheets, a bedspread, bed skirt and pillow shams.

"It gives buyers the feeling of going into a beautiful hotel," Daly says. "You look at the bed and you get a nice feeling, and you move yourself in mentally." And that, she adds, is the exact feeling sellers are hoping to convey to potential buyers.

Clean the windows, and open the blinds and curtains so the natural light shines in. While you're at it, have fresh incandescent bulbs in every lamp or light fixture and have the lights turned on, Bindelglass says.

Get rid of household smells. That means no cooking odoriferous foods while your house is on the market (use the grill, go out or wait till you move).

Make sure your fridge is clean and odor-free. If you have pets, have your upholstery and carpeting professionally steamed. Consider a candle or air freshener such as "clean cotton" or "clean linen," but stay away from "pumpkin pie" or "cranberry."

"Food smells are verboten," Bindelglass says. "You may think everybody loves chocolate cookies, but not everybody loves (the smell of) chocolate chip cookies."

Curb appeal is not a cliche — it matters. Make sure the lawn and hedges are trimmed, and repair bare patches in the yard. Fix hanging gutters or broken light fixtures, and pressure-wash the outside of your home. (If necessary, paint the house.) Remove shoes, toys and gardening tools from the porch.

Remove wallpaper, and paint the walls a neutral color. Stay away from white, as that may make your house seem "cold," Daly says. Instead, go for warm, muted earth tones.

If your kitchen is outdated, replace the hardware. This is an inexpensive fix that can spruce up the room. Clean the sink and faucet. If it's caked with grime or rusted, consider replacing it. While this could cost as much as $500, you're likely to get a return on your investment, Bindelglass says.

(Kristi Gustafson can be reached by e-mail at kgustafson(at)timesunion.com. Check out her blog at http://blogs.timesunion.com/kristi.)

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