How to style your home for sale in 2023

Let’s be honest, competing in New Zealand’s property market is hard work. We want to get the best offer we can in the quickest time frame.  This can be easier said than done. Weeks may pass by and your home still hasn’t sold, and you are so over keeping the house immaculate for the open home’s week after week. What’s worse is you might have had your home professionally home staged and these costs can creep up and up. If you don’t want to go down the route of professional home staging, you can always style your home interiors yourself with just a little time and effort and maybe help from a hubby/wife/friend.

When a potential buyer enters your home, you want them to be able to imagine themselves living in the space, and to do this, they need to see the house it’s in best possible light.  Just like any competition (which is just like what the property buy/sell market is) you need to perform at your best, so this means making the best of what you have in regards to your residential property.

Aim for at least a month before your open homes begin to carry out a very good spring clean (floors, skirtings, windows, shelves etc) and declutter.  This means removing all the items that are creating a mess on your floor, in your wardrobes, on shelves and in cupboards – why?  Because people look in these spaces (yep peeking where you didn’t think they would).

Where do you put all this extra stuff?  Renting a storage unit or a mobile storage unit is the perfect way to box up all your unnecessary bits and pieces during the open home period.  If you have a garage or large shed – then you are lucky.  Otherwise, get a Flexi skip and have a good clear out.

Let’s start with styling and what this actually means.   Interior Styling is about making the best out of your current home environment. It is enhancing your home to look it’s best.  (Not to be confused with styling for photoshoots - that’s another topic!).

Interior Styling is also the art of arranging objects and incorporating the science of composition.  Your home can be any style, age, or colour, it’s really about how to display pieces to create a beautiful arrangement (or vignette), through careful editing of each room.  Just like in photography, the placement of items within a particular view point (or frame) need to be composed in a way that makes it easy on the eye and enjoyable for the viewer to look at.

Here, we look at the key elements of styling which will help you get your home on the way to picture perfect.

1.      FOCAL POINT

What is the focus of each room? When you walk into a room, what do you see first?  Is it a fabulous piece of art, beautiful bedding, or a fresh bunch of flowers?  Maybe it’s a decluttered mantlepiece?  Once you have removed all the unrequired items from each room, you can bring things back in, to enhance it – fresh green foliage in a vase is a very simple trick. 

2. PROPORTION

Do you have a larger object that draws the eye into the space? Or do you have too many ‘knick knacks’ on display.  Less is more in property styling.  Opt for a beautiful vase or a large coffee table book.

3. BALANCE

Are the items in each room balanced?   Symmetry is a good way to go if you are not sure.  Such as two large lamps on either side of a sideboard or bed.   Asymmetry is equally eye catching.  Balance large with small and look at the textures and colour tones of your accessories – do they work together?  Balanced colours bring a sense of calm to a space and a simpler to achieve.   Soften hard lines with curvaceous accessories (vases, artworks, cushions).

4. MOVEMENT

A key element to any room is movement.  What is drawing the eye around the room?  Is it soft flowing (clean!) curtains, new towels folded on bathroom shelves or a gallery wall of art?

5. RHYTHM 

By repeating shapes, colours, patterns, and textures you create a rhythm and harmony between the items.  For example, you may have a round coffee table, so you could complement this with various round cushions on the sofa.  Don’t go overboard on the cushions though!   If you want to really make a change, perhaps a fresh lick of paint on the walls will create a fresh yet well considered room.

6. UNITY

When you look at each room, is there anything that looks odd like it shouldn’t be there?  If so, remove it or fix it.   Ask for a second opinion on each room.  Many times art is hung too high or too low on the wall.  Art should be at eye level.  If you can, rehang your art – and cover up the holes.  You  might like to start with a theme for your home and follow it throughout such as a colour palette or design style to keep the look cohesive.

There you have it, six areas to consider when styling your home for sale in New Zealand.  These will only work in combination with a thorough declutter, clean and removal of any tatty worn out furniture or accessories etc.   You may like to buy a few new key pieces such as a floor rug, table lamp or new bed linen as you can always take these on to your new home.   If you are extra keen, then freshly painted walls in a neutral tone will work wonders.  Check out the Resene top neutral shades here. And the all-important icing on the cake – smell…. a beautiful candle, diffuser, or freshly baked bread can really set the tone on open home day.

If you would like any advice on how to get your home ready for sale, get in touch with me on stacey@staceygillies.com.