How a Home Stager Preps
Her Home Before Selling
by Hannah Kate Kinnersley
From The Wall Street Journal Online
February 02, 2006
To sell a house she owns more quickly, Debra Gould, president of Six Elements Inc., a company in Toronto that specializes in making for-sale properties more attractive, first upgrades the light fixtures and uses higher-wattage bulbs. Brightly lit rooms appear bigger and more inviting, she says, but she also installs dimmers to be able to create mood lighting.
She also reconfigures entire rooms. If a second bedroom is cramped, for example, she suggests turning it into a home office or study.
She paints walls according to neighborhood and buyer type: bold colors for an artistic feel or neutral tones for more-conservative buyers. She also paints laminate cabinets with melamine (plastic-based) paint and changes hardware to spruce up kitchens and bathrooms.
Ms. Gould stores clutter off-site, because house-hunters often inspect basements and closets. As a finishing touch, she often puts planters out front to create curb appeal.
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