DIY Home Staging Tips for Women Over 50

feeling overwhelmed
by the thought of staging your house
to sell
you’re not alone
but the good news is you can do it yourself
even if you’re not a designer
hello and welcome back
thank you for joining me for this podcast episode
my name is Kasha Mcdaniel
and today we are talking about DIY
home staging for women over 50
because yes you can do it
you really can
there are so many things that you can do yourself
that you probably think well
I need to have a designer’s eye or I need this special
whatever right
you don’t
there’s a lot of things that you can do yourself
and that’s what I wanna go through in this episode
No. 1 is basically
to debunk the idea that you don’t need any fancy decor
or expensive decor you really don’t
as a home stager when I talk to my clients
I actually work with what the homeowner has
a lot of the time
you already have the things that we need
to stage and decorate your home
now we’re also debunking the staging myth
that you need all new furniture
no you don’t
you don’t need to bring in rental furniture
um I stage occupied homes all the time
um so that is something that
I just reuse what the homeowner has
now if you feel that you need newer furniture again
that’s just a myth that you don’t need to think about
when it comes time to staging your home
because the buyers that come through
they know the furniture doesn’t stay right
so we’re gonna do the best we can with what you have
alright and show off the space
we’re showing off the home and how it looks
and how you use it
because that’s what we’re trying to do
we’re trying to tell a story
of how they can use their home right
your home you’re probably downsizing
so it’s probably a bigger one um
so maybe you have multiple bedrooms right
and you’re trying to show off this home
for a new family or a growing family
and that’s what we’re trying to show off the space okay
No.2 we’re gonna focus on the most important rooms
now I do have a video about that
about staging the four most important rooms
and we talk about the living room
the kitchen
the primary bedroom and the dining room now ladies
you are the ones who normally
are gonna be the ones that are staging the house
that’s why I’m talking to you okay
yes there’s gonna be some men for the most part
most of my clients and those of you watching are women
because you are the ones that have the vested
interest in getting your household
you’re the one that probably has the most time
which is uh arguable
I know you’re probably thinking I don’t have much time
and I know believe me
because I’ve had to sell our house
but literally my husband just leaves it to me
he’s like look
you take care of whatever you need to do
if you need some heavy lifting
I’ll help you with that but otherwise
I leave it to you to take care of
have you heard that argument before
mmm hmm yes so that’s why I’m talking to you
ladies over 50 and above
um who just need some guidance
some help and just some processes of what
what do I need to do where do I begin right
and
I do have a free staging guide that you can download
right now for free
that you can take a look at
that’ll help you get started with what you need
to look around some ideas
some home improvements that will help you get started
to get your house ready to sell
when we’re focusing on the most
four most important rooms
um we basically want to
make them feel like
the buyers are walking through their home
not your home you probably heard that you’re thinking
well what makes it that way
well you do have to have kind of a mindset shift here
as soon as you think about selling your house
you need to automatically think of
this is no longer my home
this is not your home
you have to think it through the buyer’s eyes okay
so a lot of things will be taken down okay
and that’s where the third topic comes in
so we need to clear the clutter okay
but I don’t want you empty it out alright
that’s the main thing so you definitely want to clean
declutter take things like collections
um down
like if you have you know
a plate collection figurines in a credenza or a hutch
or something like that um
maybe you have a curio cabinet
with all sorts of crystal vases
and glasses and things
and you’re probably not taking them to your next house
right am I right
you’re probably looking at it going
but yeah but they’re so pretty
yep hmm
that’s clutter I’m telling you this right now
with all the love in my heart
I’m telling you this right now
you’re probably not taking it with you
so you might as well sell it or donate it
or give it to someone who really wants it okay
I’m just telling you that now
because you need to take a hard look
of what you’re really taking
with you to your next house
it really needs to be things that you love
not just collecting dust on the shelf
in the credenza in the curio cabinet
you probably collected many
many many little figurines over the time
whether you’ve traveled with the family growing up
maybe it’s things you’ve inherited
but now is the time to start packing those things away
if they are things that you wanna keep
start packing them up if you have a curio cabinet
I’m telling you that’s the No. 1 thing
that I would tell a client of mine
to empty that out and get it out
move it out take it out
it’s just taking up space
yeah it’s probably overloaded with things
uh huh yeah
I know and you’re probably hating me right now
because you’re going oh no
she doesn’t know what she’s talking about
okay I’m just trying to help you sell your house
that’s all I’m doing okay
okay the next thing you can work on is
these are the go to accessories that work in any room
okay see
so you’re probably looking around
if you go into your living room
you’re probably looking around well
I have all these little tchotchkes
these plates these ornaments
these whatever um
those don’t count that’s not the decor
the accessories that we’re talking about
that need to stay in each room okay
so some of the accessories I’m talking about are like
there needs to be some artwork on the wall okay
baskets are always useful
whether you have a basket on the coffee table
a basket off to the side by the fireplace
if you have one um
any neutral throw pillows
throw pillows are an easy thing to accessorize with
in any single room whether it’s the living room
the bedroom the bonus room
whatever room um
throw pillows are a great way just to add color
and just some texture and interest in the room okay
mirrors are another great thing
maybe you have a darker hallway
that you’re probably looking around going
oh gosh it’s really dark
and I can’t add any more lights in here
there’s no room mirrors
are a great way that help bounce around the light
I had that in a foyer where it was kind of dark
depending on the time of day in that space
but once I put
I had a front door that actually had a big window
once I put a mirror
on the opposite side of that front door
that light came bouncing in
and bouncing around in that foyer area
and it was just like oh the light turned on okay
so mirrors are a great way to brighten up a space
if you have one
it doesn’t matter if it’s a round rectangular one
it doesn’t really doesn’t matter but it’s just this
you know this has a mirror in there
it will help brighten up the space
that’s a great accessory to use um
and if you don’t have any artwork for example
or maybe you do and there
it’s just there’s too many pieces of artwork okay
a mirror is a great way to replace that
if you have like a gallery full of personal photos well
yeah I’m gonna say you need to take all those down well
Kasha I just emptied the wall
now what do I put up in this place
a mirror is perfectly fine or a piece of artwork
kind of like what I have behind me okay
but but baskets any kind of greenery is great um
like I said throw pillows mirrors
those types of things are easy to use with
even candles if you have like
I know I love my candles and I don’t like them
they’re just pretty to look at I know I have a lot
I think I have like two or three probably more
one for holidays one for you know
different seasons
I know you’re probably nodding along with me going
oh yeah yeah
I do have those two uh huh yeah
those are a great thing to help you bring in color
whether you use it on a mantle
on maybe on a dresser or something like that
those are great and easy things that you can use
as accessories
to help you decorate and stage your house okay
the next tip I have for you is to make sure it is
the house is bright and inviting okay
now what I mean by that is lighting is everything
just like I talked about
that mirror that bounces that light around
in that room you need to make sure that the lighting
I’m kinda it’s kinda dark in this room
I had to have a light pointing on me
just to kind of brighten it up a little bit
open up the blinds push those curtains open
turn those blinds make them go all the way to the top
especially when you have showings or for pictures
that’s definitely when the time
when you need to open up
every single one of those windows yes
I know maybe your spouse
or you love to live in a dark cave
and make it all dark in there
but when it comes time for pictures
and it comes time to have the showings
all of those windows
and blinds and curtains need to be pushed open um
and so that you can bring in the light
here are some common mistakes
that I found when it comes to staging a house
so No. 1 is over decorating oh
that one is
when you have so many things that you’re like well
I just I wanna fill every single nook and cranny nope
you don’t have to when it comes to staging
not every corner needs to have a plant or a vase
or a whatever in the corner
it’s okay to have some empty spots really
it is I give you permission okay
so if you have a rocking chair here
and a plant over there
and everything just kind of just crunched in and
and put you know
into that room take out at least I don’t know
a couple of pieces
and it’s probably gonna feel kind of
oh my gosh what is she doing
she’s taking these things out
but it’ll make the room feel bigger
I promise you
and that’s what we’re trying to do staging
is redecorating to sell not decorating to live okay
we’re trying to give the impression that there’s space
and there is right
there normally is in each in the room
but when you pack it
jam pack it with everything in the corners
on the walls everywhere else yeah
that’s not staging mm hmm
that’s that’s over decorating okay
No.2 leaving personal uh
photos or memorabilia out
like I mentioned earlier take down those family photos
that’s the first thing
when I talk to a client on the phone
before I even show up
or even if I do an online consultation
I’ll tell them hey look
before we start this
just go take all those family photos down right now
pack them away get them ready to pack up
it’s okay I promise you
they’re gonna take them to your next house
they’re going with you
they just need to come down right now okay
and that way you can see well
if I have this empty space where
what do we put in its place
and
that’s what we can talk about during our consultation
okay
uh another common mistake to avoid is uh
leaving too many heavy pieces of furniture around
I’ve seen pictures
and I think I’m gonna share you this one
where there’s
a lot of chairs in the room’cause you think
oh well
this is a living room
I should be able to seat like 10 people in here no
you really don’t
just a couch and some chairs is perfectly fine okay
you don’t need to seat a party of 10 or 12 or 20
or whatever you think it is
that you need to fit in there
you really don’t nope
um so if you have heavy furniture
what I mean by that is maybe some
a credenza and then a hutch
and then another credenza and then a big padded chairs
you know those types of things
that is heavy furniture that’s what I’m talking about
okay
and then another thing is
thinking that clean means staged nope
so we talked about decluttering earlier
yes you need to declutter
once you move the clutter and take things out of the
every nook and cranny
that you’ve jam packed into that room
you decluttered it but then you also need to clean it
but just clean doesn’t mean it’s staged okay
sometimes we need to rearrange the furniture
sometimes when you’ve taken out the heavy pieces
you’re like oh
well I kind of got a gap here
well maybe you do
maybe you don’t maybe it just flows better okay
and that’s one thing that
you know
we can discuss if you have a consultation with me okay
so I know you’ve cared for this home for a long time
now it’s probably time to buckle down
I know what you’re thinking and you’re like
oh my gosh
you want to present it in a way that others will fall
in love with it too
just like you did when you moved into it okay
so it doesn’t need to be perfect
but it does need to feel fresh
welcoming and move in ready
so if you’ve been watching this until this point
I I would
invite you to join me
for a new program that I’m starting um
it’s called home staging for women over 50
and we’re gonna talk about room layout and decor basics
now this is something that you’re interested in
it’s gonna be a live webinar on August 28th
at one PM Eastern um
I’ll leave the link so that you can sign up for it uh
basically we’re gonna talk about room layouts
and kind of like
the rules of things to think about when you’re looking
around your room okay
share some simple decor tweaks that work
to help you figure out okay
what you know
what accessories help sell a home and what doesn’t okay
decluttering like a pro you know
maybe you have a little too many things
and you’re kind of wondering well
how do I make it feel move in ready right
and then staging for photos
so these are things that
small changes that make a big difference
when you take a photograph of your home
when you put it on the market okay
so as a founding member there is a special
I’m gonna put that link in the show notes um
for this limited time offer
I’m offering it for 25 people to sign up
basically your feedback will help shape this program
for other women over 50
who are struggling just like you
to figure out well
what do I need to do Kasha
please help me this is gonna be a live webinar
it’s only gonna be about an hour
it depends on how many questions you have
cause this is your chance to ask me questions okay
so you get VIP early access for this
a deeply discounted rate
by joining me in at the end of August for this webinar
um a chance to influence the final version
because maybe there’s some other things that you’re
on your
top of your mind that you really want me to discuss
and I would love to help you with that
and that’s what we’re trying to do
is make this into a course
and bonus there will be a home staging timeline
that’s a PDF that I’ll share with you during this um
webinar so I hope you will join me
I hope this is something that you can
that can help you get your house ready to sell
because I really need your feedback
and help to make this a fantastic program
for you so that you can feel confident
in getting your house sold quickly alright
so I hope you have a fantastic week
if you have any comments
please leave them in the notes below
I would love to hear from you
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I hope you have a great week bye