How to Stage Your Kitchen When Selling Your Home

 

If you plan on selling your home, you will want to ensure that you set the tone for it in the right manner.

The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in a home for sale.

67% of 380 respondents to a recent poll agree that the kitchen is the focal point of a home for sale and can essentially make or break their decision to buy a home.

So how should you stage your kitchen for a home sale? Well, without reinventing the wheel, do the best you can with what you have and make your kitchen stand out when selling your home (and perhaps even if you’re not).

Clean it

This pretty much applies to the entire home, but making sure your kitchen is spic and span is of essential importance. I’m talking getting into the nooks and crannies here. You need to get into the corners of the kitchen and on top of cabinets, and ensure that everything sparkles.

The last thing a homebuyer wants is to imagine him or herself having to clean when they move in – you want to be that turnkey home that makes their eyes light up because it is clean and ready to go. “Homebuyers don’t want to think about the work they will have to do upon moving into a new home. They want to imagine themselves moving in, putting their feet up and living,” says Weese.

Clear the counters

Maybe you love your Vitamix and enjoy showcasing it on the counter, and perhaps you love to display that you’re an avid juicer as well, but when it comes to staging your kitchen for a home sale, you’re objective is to show off just how much counter space you have.

Clear off the counters and wipe them clean because you want potential homebuyers to see that there is a vast amount of counter space where they can place all of their own appliances.

Create a welcoming aroma

If you’re an avid cook, that’s wonderful, but when you plan on selling your home, you do not want it to smell of onions and garlic. Rather, you want to give off an inviting aroma and what better way to do that than with cinnamon?

Put some water in a pot with some cinnamon, bring to a boil and then let simmer when you know that homebuyers are going to visit your home. That way, your homebuyers could easily focus on the beautiful kitchen and not what you had for supper the night before.

Add some decor

So while we don’t want to clutter the counters with myriad appliances and food, we also don’t want the kitchen to seem cold and unused – unnatural if you will. So a clever way of adding a homey touch to your kitchen is by add a bowl full of (real) colorful fruit to the island or counter.
As well, a nice wall painting could also lend itself to a welcoming touch in the kitchen and give off a nice comforting feel. “You want to give the kitchen some character,” says Reese. “You want to give it an inviting yet neutral touch.”

Mind your appliances

 

Whether or not your appliances are included with the sale of your home, you want to ensure that they are spectacular. That is not to say that you have to run out and purchase new, top-of-the-line appliances to improve the look of your home; rather, you need to ensure that your appliances look clean and fresh, both inside and out.

You need to clean your oven, dishwasher and fridge thoroughly even if they don’t come with the house. Why? Because if you take such good care of your appliances and they don’t come with the home, then the entire home must follow suit. That’s the impression you want to give.

Let in the light

Natural Light is an essential part of your home sale, and having natural light coming into the kitchen is an important aspect of your home sale.  So open up those shades and the light shine on in!

“Natural light can make a kitchen seem bigger,” Weese admits. “A window or glass door that allows natural light to come in can give the illusion of space to an otherwise small room.”

Add table and chairs

If you have the space to do so, adding a table with as little as two chairs is a great idea. This demonstrates that the kitchen is spacious enough for dining as well as cooking.

If you already have a dining area in the kitchen, great, but if not, don’t worry about it too much. It’s a “nice to have” but not a mandatory part of the kitchen.

Stage your kitchen and prepare for the sale

If you want to ensure your best chances of selling your home quickly, your best bet is to take your product (home) and put its best foot forward (clean and stage).