Home Staging Basics: De-personalizing

One of the most common pieces of advice home sellers receive is that they should put away their family photos, in the interest of “de-personalizing.” This is indeed good advice, but de-personalizing doesn’t stop there. When a home is on the market, the owners should remove all of the unique and personal belongings they have on display, and help keep the buyers’ minds on the home and not the owners.

One category of “unique and personal item” is made up of décor items. Collections, religious or ethnic artwork, and unique furnishings, as well as family portraits, can tell buyers a lot about the residents of the home, and are likely to distract them from the home itself. Sellers want the buyers to picture themselves living in the home, not wonder about what the sellers are like, or how they live in the home. The sellers should also pack away any items that are of special value or that are easily broken.

          Home owners also need to put away any items that would give buyers private information about them. Financial records, medical appointment slips, medications, and even family activity calendars all need to be out of sight. Not only will this keep the home cleaner and less cluttered, but the owners will avoid passing on any sensitive or private information.

          A home isn’t truly staged if it hasn’t been de-personalized. Though it may be difficult for sellers to put away things that are dear to them, the separation will only be temporary. There are likely to be inconveniences involved in keeping refrigerators and counters clean of personal notes, but not doing so could easily be worse. And, not only will the home likely sell faster, some of the packing will already be done when it does sell.

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