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Tips for Selling Your Home: Stage Your Basement and Laundry Room!

If you're trying to sell your home right now, you already know that it's still a tough real estate market out there.

As a home stager, I have one piece of advice for you -- make sure that EVERY room in your home looks great -- even the basement and laundry room!
So, here are a few ideas to get your basement and/or laundry room in shape for prospective home buyers:

1. Clean up your basement or laundry room by beginning with the piles on the floor. Put away items neatly in closets and cabinets and add new shelves if you need to. Give away, donate or throw away items (or even consider selling items) that you do not want to take with you when you move. Store large items in storage units or PODS off of your property if possible - they are a distraction to a possible buyer and can be a eyesore to potential buyers when they do a "drive by."

2. Paint the walls - even the cinderblock -- if the room seems a little dingy. Consider freshening it up with a coat of paint. You may even want to paint the basement floor (with a good quality garage floor paint) if it is unfinished concrete.

3. Brighten it up! Add some extra light to make sure that the basement or laundry room is bright enough so that it doesn't seem scary to potential buyers. Consider putting electric sconces on the wall (as long as there is an outlet beneath them) or adding an uplight in a dark corner. Otherwise, you may want to hire an electrician to add another ceiling light.

4. Add blinds or curtains to windows - for a decorator's touch. And it has the added benefited of hiding an ugly view!

5. If your washer and dryer is in the room, make sure that they are sparkling clean and not loaded with piles of clothes or laundry detergent.

6. Organize your detergents, brushes and other items on shelves, in attractive baskets or in canisters - or even better -- in a cabinet to keep them out of sight. Remember that the laundry room should appear clean and functional.

7. Store your belongings neatly on shelves or bookcases to give an organized, clean appearance. No matter how clean the room is, if there is a lot of clutter and piles around the room, it's going to appear "dirty" to a possible buyer.

8. Don't forget the ceiling and the floor. If the ceiling has exposed joists, clean away the cob webs and extra dust. And if the basement or laundry room has old vinyl flooring, consider replacing it with attractive laminate floor tiles (peel and stick are the easiest to install).

9. Finally, if you want to add a little more personality to your laundry room or basement (and have painted walls) you may want to add colorful pictures for some punch!

According to internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, "With just a small amount of effort, you can transform even the dullest rooms into beautiful spaces, and that can go a long way towards helping a prospective buyer imagine themselves living in your home."

If you have some specific problems and need more advice, please contact a professional home stager in your area. Good luck!!

Comments

  1. thanks for sharing such useful tips.Home staging is preparing the homes for sale and make them appeal to prospective buyers and generate the highest price. This is not just about decorating, redesigning, or fluffing the home; it could mean more than that. It is actually about decluttering, depersonalizing, detailing and preparing homes for sale to give it an appealing appearance or what they would call as a model home appearance.And these all can be learn with Home Staging Training.

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