Guest column: 7 Cheap Additions that Bring Life to Any Staging

Setting up a home to entice a buyer can help solidify a sale from even the most reserved of homeowners. By making a room look like it came out of a page from a home improvement catalog can show the buyer what the home could look like if they lived there. Even the smallest of additions could provide an aesthetic that could imprint into the memory of those who wish to “think” about buying. 1. Plants – Flowers and plants can go a long way to making a room seem more alive. Flowers on the kitchen table, a standing plant in the corner, and other amenities are small additions that can make one fall in love with a location. 2. Candles – Properly place candles are another way to add interest to a room. Cheap candle stick holders and candles can be placed on kitchen tables. Scented jars of candles can be left open and sitting on the living room table. Candles can also be placed in a decorative fashion along one corner of a tub to give the bathroom a more “spa” appeal.  For safety DO NOT light any candles. 3. Accent Lighting – Adding small accent lights to various areas of the home could provide an appeal that could attract many. Whether these lights are installed to shine down on various important areas of the home or shining up and across areas that could present portraits or tapestries, accent lighting can add a great deal of an elegant ambiance to a room. 4. Towels – Hand and bath towels can be purchased to match the color scheme of the room. Again, these can be inexpensive and bought from various stores in a variety of colors. Stay away from monogrammed towels, however. They will make the room seem like it belongs to someone else, which is something that could hurt your sale. 5. Toys – For homes that have children, arranging a few toys around the bedroom can give a sense of family. Arrange the room how a parent would like to see it by organizing a few books and a couple of toys on a shelf. 6. Table Settings – When Staging a kitchen or dining room table, you could easily find inexpensive sets that match the decor of the room. For less than $20, you could put together an attractive four-person setting complete with silverware and glasses. 7. Walls – Barren walls are unattractive.  Pictures, paintings, and clocks can be purchased at thrift and dollar stores that can add more of a “lived-in” feel to any room. Staging your home is essentially making it look more appealing for buyers. You’d be impressed with how well just a few items well placed in the home can make nearly any room look far more appealing than it once did. Although you may have to buy a few of the small things to make it more enticing, it’s a small price to pay if you’re able to secure a sale in a shorter amount of time.  This article is contributed by Madoline Hatter. Madoline is a freelance writer and blog junkie from ChangeOfAddressForm.com. You can reach her at: m.hatter12 @ gmail. com.