How Styling Your Home For Sale Could Make You Thousands

How Styling Your Home For Sale Could Make You Thousands

Whether your property is a humble one-bedroom apartment, or a sprawling family home, Libby Robinson from Coco Republic knows that professional property styling can be the difference between getting a good price and getting a great price.

As Senior Property Stylist at Coco Republic Property Styling, Libby says that, when you prepare a house for sale, you have just one chance to showcase your property in the marketing campaign. “And if you miss that opportunity, you do yourself a disservice,” she adds. “Property styling is extremely important.”

Although it’s still hard to measure, Libby says that professional property styling has the potential to add huge dollars onto the sale price.

Emotional Connections Make Buyers Want Your Home.

“One of the main drivers of property styling is the emotional trigger it gives to the potential buyers as they walk through that door. If you’ve got 20 parties going through and they are all emotionally connected to it, then you have a much better chance to sell it because there is more competition.” Libby says “Vendors and agents are becoming more educated about what really great styling can add to a property. TV shows like The Block have been part of that education – people understand how properties can be styled and the impact it can make,” says Libby.

It’s a shift in public perception that Libby says has contributed to the growth in the property styling industry throughout the last 5-10 years.

A Complete Property Styling Solution

Coco Republic has built its reputation in the competitive market as a top-tier property styling company. Although Libby and the other stylists do work on smaller homes, the main focus, she says, is larger homes – and for Libby and her team, that means meeting the challenge of filling multiple rooms with the right artworks, rugs, furniture and accessories that help it exude a stunning designer style.

When it comes to professional property styling, vendors planning pre-sale campaigns can select from a range of packages. These vary from integrations where the homeowner’s pieces are mixed with new items for a fresh update, or a complete home makeover that sees empty rooms completely overhauled and transformed under Libby’s careful eye. 

For people wanting the professional property style look without the serious investment, Libby has some helpful tips to help your property catch the eye of potential buyers.

Image source: Coco Republic

DIY Property Styling Tips

Not everyone has a budget for full, professional property styling, so for those doing it themselves, Libby says there are some important must-dos that people can benefit from and try themselves.

“I would say that decluttering - 100% - is the top priority,” Libby says.

Libby’s definition of decluttering means ridding your home of excess pieces and mementos that detract from a neutral, spacious feel.

That means depersonalising your home to help create the air that the new buyers can make their own mark and add their own individual style – and, importantly, imagine themselves living there.

“Start by taking down family photos - you want to make them feel that they’re walking into their new home,” she says.

Image source: Coco Republic

Furniture layout is key

“The way that you have your furniture laid out on a regular basis is different than the way we would have it styled,” Libby says.

“People often have furniture centered around the TV but we open it up more – think about the way people perceive the room from the entry point. Walking into a living room and seeing the back of a sofa cuts off a room – by rearranging main items, the room opens up and creates a feeling of space.”

Fresh flowers, neutrally-scented candles and a friendly bowl of crisp, green apples on a kitchen bench can all add a homey, welcoming touch – and they don’t require a lot of money. Using clean, fluffy white towels to hang in powder rooms and bathrooms also makes a huge difference.

Image source: Coco Republic

Other quick tips

Some other actions that Libby says cannot be ignored include basic cleanliness, including vacuuming, mopping floors, scrubbing toilets and hand basins and wiping down bench-tops and table surfaces.

Airing out the property the day before – especially if you have pets – is an easy way to rid your home of unwanted smells and if you have expanses of glass that look out to front or rear garden areas, Libby recommends thorough cleaning to make them crystal clear and help the potential buyers enjoy the most of the flow from indoors to outdoors.

Neutral tones are also the best for bed linen. Simply changing the sheets and bedcovers for gender and age neutral style means that potential buyers can imagine their own family members in each room – a technique that helps you open up your property to the widest possible appeal.

Image source: Coco Republic

Working with Rowe Partners Manly

Working with the team at Rowe Partners in Manly is something Libby and her Coco Republic team love and she is proud of a recent property styling project that saw one premium property go well above its asking price, thanks to a stunning, complete styling package that utilised impressive artworks, luxurious linens and important touches, including vases, and other decorative items, to breathe stunning life into a previously empty property.

“The transformation is incredible – and it is reflected in the interest from the potential buyers,” Libby says. “That’s what great property styling achieves.”

About Rowe Partners Real Estate

Rowe Partners is a boutique family owned real estate agency specialising in selling and leasing property on the Lower Northern Beaches, located in Manly. 

Combining the intimacy and hands-on care of a boutique agency with high-end marketing expertise and a proven reputation for achieving record results across all price brackets, Rowe Partners Real Estate provide a niche service and marketing vehicle that is specialised and relevant to the local demographic and lifestyle. 

Contact us today for an obligation free sales or rental appraisal on your property.

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