How to Stage a Model Home
Staging a model home is a crucial marketing tool for home, condominium and apartment developers. With so much money at stake, prospective homebuyers are seeking to find the most spacious and attractive home for their money. Sellers can compete in this tough market by making the extra effort to show model homes to their most attractive advantage. There are several strategies involved in staging a model home successfully. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- White minimalist window curtains
- White bathroom towel sets and vanity accessories
- Incandescent light bulbs (100 watts)
- Neutral-toned floor rugs and other accessories
- Optional: fireplace accessories
- Optional: major furniture groupings in neutral tones
- Optional: rich-looking accessories and "props"
Instructions
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Increase the sense of space in smaller homes by stripping all furniture from the rooms. A sense of spaciousness is extremely important to buyers, so let buyers see lots of open space and "furnish" empty rooms in their imaginations. "Dress" only one corner or major features of a room, like the base of a fireplace, with attractive potted plants just to give the room some sense of "life." Swag windows with just a hint of white sheer curtains. Dress hardwood floors with large rugs in neutral tones.
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Pump up the lighting. Buyers are looking for light-filled homes and rooms. Use 100-watt incandescent light bulbs in all ceiling lights and the maximum safe lamp wattage in any vanity or wall sconce lamps. Turn on all the lights before the showing begins, including counter lighting, the light inside the oven, and all garage, basement and outdoor lights. The unit should be ablaze with light when the buyer steps in the front door and as he enters each room.
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Dress bathrooms with attractive and neutral accessories. More than any other room in the house, the bathroom in a model home must look ready to use. Hang high-quality white towels on all towel bars and stack them on the vanity and inside any exposed linen nooks. Hang a beautiful white fabric shower curtain. Place a live plant or floral arrangement on a vanity, along with a fragrant candle. Add beautiful sculpted decorative soaps to an interesting soap dish, in white of course. Drape the bathroom window with a white sheer swag.
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Light the buyer's "inner fire" to make a deal. If the model home has a gas or wood fireplace, light it before the showing begins. Dress the fireplace hearth with decorative accessories like brass tools, an interesting wood carrier and a woven basket filled with fire starters. Add an attractive floral accessory to the mantel.
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Set up major furnishing groups in very spacious model homes using neutral furniture styles and neutral toned fabrics. Set up real beds and dress them to showroom standards. Set a dining room table with fine dishes, crystal and fine silver. Hang rich window treatments throughout the model home in neutral colors. Add large accessories, including big throw pillows, large pieces of art and large mirrors, and stock any open built-in shelving with books and interesting pieces of art. Use very high quality fabrics and items that look rich and expensive. Make the home look as though rich people live in the space now; let the buyer relate to those people and want to own as fine a home as they see.
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