Tips on Home Staging: The Kitchen

The Kitchen is the heart of the home, and a critical selling point, and buyers will spend quite a bit of time envisioning this space as their own. This room is key to maximizing your profit on the sale of your home.

A kitchen that is not well staged will not capture the eye of the buyer. This will prolong the sale of your home and reduce your potential profit. It’s no surprise that the Kitchen is rated among the top 3 rooms of a home that must be staged to sell.

Here are 5 things that are key to ensuring the Kitchen is effectively staged:

1. Decluttered and clean space - There is no greater turn-off than a cluttered kitchen and sticky countertops and cabinets. Get rid of countertop appliances to give the kitchen a spacious feel and ensure cabinets are spotless and grease-free. Using a fresh citrus-scented cleaning solution will also bring a sense of cleanliness and newness for buyers as they view the space.

2. Cabinet facelift - Wear and tear is only natural, let alone in a high-traffic area like the kitchen. This distracts buyers from the true beauty of the space. Spruce up cabinets with a fresh coat of paint and replace the hardware. This is a cost-effective solution if you’re not looking to fully renovate the kitchen, and will leave the space looking fresh and new.

3. Add accent colors and accessorize - Using neutral pastels will give you the opportunity to use some accent colors to pop and accessorize. Think a bowl of bright yellow lemons, large recipe books, oversized cutting board, etc. A staged kitchen doesn’t need to be entirely functional, but rather must be pretty and eye-catching. Adding pops of color and accessories will give the space an inviting feel to prospective buyers.

4. Be aware of the smell - Although it may not be immediately recognizable to you, any kitchen may have a distinct smell, which can turn-off a buyer. Ensuring that you thoroughly clean out the fridge, oven, microwave, and garbage areas will help neutralize any odors. Citrus-scented solutions are very useful in neutralizing those scents and will keep the space smelling fresh and clean. Hiring professional cleaners is also a solution to ensure the entire home gets a good cleaning quickly.

5. Organize and place settings - Buyers will open the cabinets and pantry. Clear out any extra dishes and organize the pantry to highlight the space and make the kitchen storage areas look even larger. If you have an eat-in island/bar, set up a few place settings to further help buyers envision the space.

Your home is your greatest asset, and you want to ensure that you maximize that sale. This means getting the listing done right, from the very beginning. A well staged kitchen is a starting point to preparing your home for sale, and one that will be highly impactful to buyers.

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