Home Matters In The News

Separating emotion from reality - Indianapolis Business Journal
by Della Pacheco

Shakespeare wrote that "all the world's a stage," but when it comes to the competitive home-sales market, one might say all the world's about staging.

Home staging--the process of making a home more appealing to potential buyers-- has gained recognition through popular cable television programs such as "Designed to Sell" and "Sell this House".

Removing the "personal stamp"

 Linda Barnett, owner of Indianapolis based Home Matters LLC, started her home-staging business in 2004 after working many years as a Realtor. She felt there was a need-- particularly in the resale market--to help sellers"understand the psychological reasons for presenting your home differently that the way you live in it".

"If you have too much of your own personal stamp in the house", Barnett explained, "it's hard for people to envision what it would be like to live there".

She took a cue from model homes, where builders hire interior designers to show the home from a "buyers point of view".

"In order to be competitive, you have to position and package your product--your home-- so that it will stand out from the rest", she said. "Its about showcasing each room to its full potential".

That might mean arranging furniture to take advantage of a great outdoor view or creating a spa-like retreat in the bathroom.

Barnett counsels homeowners to bring in this type of service when the home is being listed rather than waiting until it has been on the market for months and the price has been reduced.

Home staging professional offers six tips to follow when selling a home

 To make your home stand out from the rest when you're selling, Linda Barnett offers these tips to accentuate the positives while downplaying the negatives.

  1. Curb appeal--If you can't get them out of the car, you won't get them in the front door. Paint the front door, add a new welcome mat and add some fresh flowers to show there's life at the home. Clean debris and trim shrubs-- all the damage that winter has done to your landscape. Look at other homes and see how they compare to your home.

  2. Make it sparse but tasteful--It's amazing what a difference taking the leaf out of the dining table will make on creating more space in a room. Model homes are sparsely decorated but tastefully done.

  3. It's nothing personal--While you may love purple paisley wallpaper, it's likely your buyer won't. Try to de-personalize the home by removing items like family photos and collections that reflect the sellers' taste and not those of potential buyers.

  4. Neutral doesn't mean bland--To create an interior that appeals to buyers, neutralize bold colors. That doesn't mean paint everything white or boring beige. Model homes use color effectively to show off the features of the home.

  5. Make minor repairs--Sometimes it's just tightening a loose handrail or applying fresh caulk around the bathtub. A homeowner may overlook these things but a buyer won't.

  6. Lighting the way to a sale--Just replacing outdated light fixtures with more modern ones can give the home a more up-to-date appearance.



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Linda Barnett, Home Matters Professional Home Staging & Decoration-Redesign Service for occupied and vacant homes including Furniture rental,  Proudly serving the Central Indiana areas of Indianapolis, Carmel, Fishers, Zionsville, Avon, Brownsburg, Plainfield, Noblesville, Westfield and Greenwood.  Indiana's Premier Home Stager.