Home Staging 202: Traffic Flow
A general rule is that people pay for square footage, so the bigger you can make your space feel the more money you can command. This doesn’t mean that empty rooms look bigger, because this is not true at all. With no furniture, it is hard for buyers to judge the scale of a room and so will more likely wonder if it is big enough.
Beyond that, the quickest way to make a space feel too small is to impede the natural flow of traffic in your house. The way your house was designed is going to encourage a specific traffic pattern and if you try to alter it, people will feel the space is awkward and too small.
The two largest obstacles to good traffic flow are:
- Too much “stuff”
- Too much furniture or furniture that’s too big
Having too many possessions (sports gear, clothes, kids toys, baby gear, office/electrical “stuff, etc) has many distracting effects for buyers, but it is just a natural occurrence for anyone who’s lived in a home for any length of time. How to combat it? Think vertical, concealed storage. Free up as much floor space as possible by getting your stuff up onto the wall. IKEA has many creative solutions for this. While you’re doing this, do an honest purge to see if you can get rid of any it, as it will only make packing and moving that much easier once your house sells.
Too much furniture or items that are too big can also bother buyers. If you have to walk around a piece of furniture to enter another space, if you have furniture so close to a door or walkway that you could brush up against it, if your pieces are so large that they don’t support the function of the room, you need to pare down. Ensure all logical pathways are clear and spacious. Try moving furniture around or be willing to remove completely if need be.
More open floor space = more perceived square footage = more value
Quick Tip: Don’t go overboard! Never remove most or all of the furniture because the room will look smaller and lifeless. Empty rooms can confuse buyers as they will wonder if their own furniture will fit.
If you want to know more about how I do this, feel free to check out my website www.yoursalesadvtange.com or contact me at service@yoursalesdvantage.com.
Written by:
Stephanie O’Leary, Accredited Staging Professional
Owner, Your Sales Advantage
One Comment → “Home Staging 202: Traffic Flow”
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I like your quick Tip of telling people not to remove all of their furniture from the room. In my experience as a real estate agent it does make it harder for buyers to imagine how their furniture will fit.