Getting Your Home Ready to Sell--Does Each Room
Pass the Yardstick Test?
Have you decided to put your home up
for sale? After you have done the standard steps--clean, de-clutter,
and complete all deferred maintenance items--it's time to take a
serious look at each room in your house and determine if the furniture
placement highlights the spaciousness of the room.
Even small spaces can feel large if
the furniture is well placed. One of the biggest issues seen in homes
on the market today is either too much furniture or awkward furniture
arrangement. Either of these usually results in constricted traffic
flows throughout rooms.
If there isn't ample space to walk
around and/or through rooms, buyers will feel that the home is not
large enough for them, has insufficient room to entertain
family/friends, and just does not feel comfortable. So try this simple yardstick test and see if the major rooms in your home pass.
First, find a standard yardstick or a tape measure that extends and locks in at 36".
Then, starting at your foyer, turn the yardstick horizontally, center
it on your body with your arms extended straight by your sides and
start walking through your house following the major traffic patterns.
Take note of where the yardstick will not pass through without
angling it. Dining rooms are common places where this happens as they
seem to accumulate extra furniture. In the dining room in the the
photo below you will see that there is only 18" between the back of
the chairs and the glass side table. This is the main walk way
through the dining room. What message is this sending to a potential
buyer?
You're just not looking for the yardstick to fit between
two pieces of furniture either. Check the distances between the
furniture and the walls, or that stack of boxes and other items that
have been collecting in corners of rooms, a large potted plant and/or
the bar stools and kitchen island that extend into the great room.
Just keep walking and noting the distances. On to the bedrooms, where
dresser drawers often open into mattresses and multi-purpose rooms
(like offices) share space with large-scale pieces of exercise
equipment or double as guest bedrooms. How about your childrens'
bedrooms with the bed, dresser, desks, bookshelf and stacks of toys?
And let's not forget about hallways that have accumulated bookshelves,
display pieces or wall-mounted shelves. Just how many places do you
need to turn that yardstick sideways to slip through, as in this photo
below. There is only 23" of space here. Notice how generous the
space is beyond the yardstick towards the top of the photo. Yet the
furniture placement literally acts like a funnel and constricts the
traffic flow between rooms. Potential buyers will "feel" this.
So, now that you've checked your
whole house, did it pass? Most homes have numerous areas like the
above photos and these do need to be addressed before you place your
home on the market. That means it's time to move furniture or remove
furniture. The glass table in the dining room above should be removed
to open up the walkway. The desk and chair in the second photo
should be moved to another area where they will be more functional so
the traffic pattern will open up.
What may be acceptable in terms of
interior design furniture placement may be entirely too constricting
when you want to sell your home. Selling is all about showing
the space, not the furnishings, so if there are furnishings that are
hiding your "space" remove them to storage. Think about two
buyers and possibly two agents circulating through your home for a
tour. Can they all comfortably stand in one room and discuss the
merits of your home?
Have the solutions? Good, time to
get to work. Stumped? Then it's time to call a qualified home
stager. A home stager can quickly help you open up those clogged
traffic patterns and make each room welcoming to a buyer. That's their
specialty. They will also identify other areas of your home that
could be addressed to improve the saleability of your home, whether
that is paint color, accessories or furniture arrangement. CALL HOME AND CURB APPEAL LLC - 262-893-5555
Feel free to call me for a consultation. And, yes, I'll bring the yardstick!
economy is more than twice that of the citrus industry's impact on
Florida's economy and nearly nine times the economic impact as Idaho's
potato industry?
