In the words of Donna Corcoran, Shark Tank and Real Estate Guru “Home staging used to be optional. Today, it’s a necessity in selling a house.”
Staging is a HUGE part of selling a home, and as Certified Home Stagers, Claude and I not only help stage our client’s homes, we stage the pictures and video we take as well.
Many of our clients have asked about my “Little Staging Emergency Bag”. I bring it along when we take pictures of our homes. Inside, I have everything we need to fix little chips, nicks and tame unruly fabric so our client’s homes will show their best. Today I will walk through all of my items and what we use them for. Keep in mind; these touch-ups are not to trick a buyer into thinking a home is perfect. They just help to minimize day-to-day wear and tear on a home, allowing a buyer to enjoy the features and architecture of a house instead of focusing on the odd nick or scratch.
1) Bag – You will need a water resistant, spill proof bag for your items. The last thing you want is for nail polish or marker to ruin the seat of your car while heading to your next listing, particularly if you had a momentary lapse in sanity like I did two years ago and have a white interior. (two teens, what was I thinking???)
2) Toothpaste – This one is an oldie but a goodie. If you have a smaller hole such as a nail hole in your wall, a small amount of white toothpaste can act like spackle and fill in the hole. This does not fix the wall; for large holes you would have to properly fill in the hole and repaint. This will minimize the hole for showings and photos. Even if your wall is a cream or grey, a little spot of white is less intrusive than a dark hole. (It can also help with a random hole made by a nail that was hammered in incorrectly by an enthusiastic husband.)
3) Wood Floor & Furniture Markers – Any hardwood floor will end up with the odd scratch or scuff over time (our hardwood floors made it 3 hours until I decided to move the fridge by myself as a surprise to Claude). A package of wood markers will come in a variety of colours and are fantastic for sprucing up some flooring before a photo shoot or showing. Don’t forget to touch up wood furniture as well! Well maintained furniture gives the impression of a well maintained home.
4) Black and Brown Nail Polish – This is probably my favourite trick! If you have furniture, art, wall accents, handles or hardware that is metal, nail polish is the perfect for touching up nicks. We have black hardware on our cabinets, and black nail polish hides any scratches! If you have used a bright silver screw on a picture frame or piece of furniture that is dark, dab on some black, brown or bronze nail polish and the screw or nail head blends right in.
5) Permanent Markers – If you have furniture that has a melamine-type finish with nicks or scratches in it, a permanent marker can be your best friend! I have touched up black bathroom shelving, wood and leather furniture, lamps, art, ornaments, fish tanks…even my shoes and belts! Taking a trip around your home with a marker can really improve how new your possessions look.
6) Nail Polish Remover – Depending on how colour safe the surface is, nail polish remover can help remove stickers as well as some of your child’s more creative drawings.
7) Clamps – Sometimes, curtains and bedding just like to go their own way. When we are shooting a master bedroom or living room with draping fabric, quickly clamping a curtain can make all the difference making a “nice” shot a “perfect” shot!
8) Glue – Usually, my go-to glue is Gorilla Glue, but I have misplaced it in some recent project, so this is just one of the many travel size glues I have. If you have a flap of a countertop, flooring or furniture coming up, a quick dab of glue will fix it for the photo AND for the future showings.
9) Neutral Nail Polish – From chipped white appliances to a gouge in a beige countertop, nail polish is a fantastic way to minimize imperfections! I have even used it on chipped pottery and china.
10) Safety Pins – Basically they are smaller version of clamps with the same use. I prefer coloured pins to silver pins. Silver really catches the light in photos. You can find black, white and coloured pins at Superstore.
11) White & Black Tape – There are a million uses for duct tape. You will never be sorry you have it in your kit! You can use it outside in the yard or inside your home to hold anything together or in place. You can tack the hem of a curtain, repair a photo frame or piece of art, remove pet hair from a chair, fix a hole in your siding, fix a shelf, repair an air duct, and you can even use it on the bottom of your furniture legs to protect your hardwood floors!
Although a kit like this is perfect for REALTORS®, I have had a kit like this one for years. As a homeowner, these little tricks can help you keep your home looking new.
And for those of you (like my husband) who didn’t think I could fit everything into that small bag… tada!
If you have questions about how staging can make a difference to selling your home, give us a call! We would love to talk to you.