6 ways to stage your home at Christmas
At a time of year when we’re keen to hang stockings and decorate our windows with festive lights, it can be difficult to know just how much is too much when it comes to selling your property.
We’ve teamed up with local Home Staging Specialist, Jane Lee, who has given us an insight in to what works well and makes a house look like a home that someone wants to buy at Christmas time.
1. Christmas curb appeal
At this time of year it gets darker much earlier, so ensuring you have an outside light on or a charming lantern by the door for late afternoon viewings can make a property look much more inviting.
A beautiful Christmas wreath on the door can instantly add to the allure; and some small potted shrubs on either side of the door, if there’s room, adds instant curb appeal.
2. No smoke without fire
One of the things you see in almost every Christmas movie is a lit, open fire. It’s one of those Winter things that everyone loves; so if you have one, or a woodburner, make sure it’s lit for viewings or photographs to emphasise how cosy and warm the room can be.
A well placed basket of logs next to the fire is a great touch; or go one step further and create a little reading nook, complete with a blanket strewn over the chair and a side table with a few neatly placed magazines or books.
3. Create allure with colour
3. Create allure with colour
Rich, warmer shades and jewel colours for accessories within a room – like golds, mustards, deep greens, aubergine, teal, navy – vases, cushions, throws, blankets, artwork, etc.
If these pops of colour are a little much for your tastes, try embracing Scandi shades: blacks, greys, creams and whites. Look up Scandi interiors on Pinterest or Google images for inspiring photos of how to create a cosy hygge lifestyle.
4. Warm Winter Feelings
Materials can play on emotions, and textiles such as sheepskin, wool, fleece, fake fur, cashmere, velvet, chenille etc…all generate feelings of warmth and happiness.
Natural materials like wood, wicker, greenery in vases (evergreen branches, eucalyptus, holly etc), mistletoe are all beautiful additions to a Christmas home. Try some blankets in a wicker basket or a vase filled with evergreens as a centrepiece to the dining table.
5. Make it smell like Christmas
Smell is one of the senses that is most likely to trigger memory; so Christmas scents and flickering light add something really special to a home at this festive time of year. Candles, diffusers, tea lights, room sprays are all good and don’t have to be expensive. Get scents such as cloves, cinnamon, oranges, eucalyptus and pine.
Keep candles out of reach in case you have potential buyers viewing with small children.
6. Somewhere snug to sleep
Create a cosy, winter-friendly bedroom by layering cushions and blankets beds or chairs, place sheepskin rugs by side of bed and neatly place a book on your bedside table.
Lighting can make a big difference in this room too, so some strategically placed fairy lights or candles can work very well.
More tips from Jane
If paintwork is looking scuffed or the colour is tired it’s worth redecorating. Choose neutral shades that create a blank canvas and won’t split the crowd; save your creativity for your new home and add colour and a cosy lifestyle with accessories. If they see potential work to be done, buyers are a lot less likely to make offers closer to the asking price.
To suit the laidback mood you’re creating, new paint brand Coat has shades called Duvet Day (which it calls ‘the perfect beige’) and Sweat Pants (a pale grey).
One of the main tips I always give my clients is to depersonalise as much as possible so that potential buyers can visualise the space as their own. Remove family photos and take Christmas cards down for viewings if possible – they discourage viewers from making an emotional connection and imagining it as the space as their home.
Do your best to scale back the Christmas decorations and create a cosy feel rather than a cluttered one. Decorations can distract from the positive features in your home that you’re trying to sell, so a beautiful wreath on the front door, some tasteful lighting and a nicely decorated tree is plenty.
One last note…don’t put presents round the tree. Viewers may have small children who might not be able to resist!
Get a stylist to help
Meet Jane Lee
Jane is an interior stylist who has stopped clients from spending a fortune on unnecessary work; saving them money, time, stress and upheaval. If you’re moving, staging is a powerful marketing tool that will make your home irresistible to buyers. She will show you how to refresh your home so that it stands out from the competition.
Quote ‘JS2020’ when you speak to Jane so that she knows you’re a Jacobs Steel client.
