Lessons Learned From Staging An Apartment

You might be surprised what matters.

Real estate staging has been on my mind nearly constantly in the last few weeks, as we’ve prepared my father-in-law’s former studio to be sold. (We lost my husband’s dad last year, and the apartment is about two blocks from ours.) At the same time two of my friends are trying to sell their apartments, a third couple recently staged and sold theirs, and the studio apartment next to mine finally sold after two years (with the help of some, you guessed it: staging).

Recently, I’ve asked myself what makes an apartment sell quickly. I’ve had hysterical conversations with a friend about trying to make your apartment look like Jason Batemen lives there, when really it’s a family with two kids. I tried (and maybe failed?) to explain my personal theory of bookcase styling to a bibliophile friend who was getting ready for her real estate photo shoot. I have scrutinized other real estate listings to figure out what “the look” is right now. 

I’m by no means a professional stager, but a few lessons came into focus during this time–things that apply to any home, not just one that you are staging for sale. So I thought I’d share them here with you.

First: Imagine you have to sell your home next week

Ask yourself what would you have to do to get your current home ready for sale? There’s probably a laundry list of stuff you know you would do to make your place look its best. But without the urgency of maximizing resale value, we often kick these tasks down the road. Using this pretend-we’re-selling lens, you might be able to identify a few worthwhile upgrades that will make your home more enjoyable to live in. Decluttering is chief among them, and absolutely free to do. MaMy real estate broker said she’s even had people decide not to move after they did all the work to get it ready for sale! Writing for Apartment Therapy, Ashley Abramson shared a similar tale of how staging her home made her decide not to sell it. The goal is to try to make yourself fall in love with your home again. Here’s what to do:

1. Don’t be a cheapskate

When we were renovating the tiny kitchen in the studio, my husband and I were trying to be economical, but we also wanted to make it nice. We ended up springing for better IKEA doors, beveled subway tiles, and a higher-cost countertop to elevate the space. We also added a dishwasher. Those upgrades added to our bottom line, but in a small space they cost less than they would in a larger one–we only needed 11 cabinet doors, for example. I’ve learned this lesson over the years renovating my homes: What seems like a lot of money at the moment, say $500 for better cabinet doors, will soon be forgotten, but you’ll be glad every day that you have something nicer to touch and interact with. With any update you plan to make be ready to spend a little bit more to get something of higher quality: You’ll thank yourself later.

2. Get a fresh coat of paint

We had to do some water damage repairs, so a full plaster and paint job was a must, but two of my friends also opted to have their places painted before selling. Walking into my friend M’s apartment after the painting, it just felt fresh in an intangible way–and gave me major motivation to buckle up and paint my own apartment, which was last painted nine years ago. There’s another (surprise) benefit to painting…