Imagine walking into the home of your dreams, as a prospective buyer, and seeing it filled with beautiful furnishings you’d be proud to own! While everyone may not have a house full of the latest, most stylish furniture, you can rent furniture for staging your house that will help buyers easily project themselves and feel at home.
Why Renting Furniture for Home Staging is a Must
It can be tough for many potential homeowners to imagine the beauty or efficiency of a home when first entering it. Walking into a completely blank canvas leaves many homes on the market feeling cold and impersonal, but many sellers will have, at this point, already packed up everything they own and put it in storage (or in a new property).
The problem comes when buyers want to see what your home has to offer so they can visualize themselves living there. By staging your home properly, you give buyers a chance to see the potential. Fortunately, renting furniture to stage your home means you don’t have to worry about your current furniture fitting in or being in ideal shape – we all know how pets, kids, and guests can make what once was nice furniture look, well, gently (or not so gently) used. Additionally, once you no longer need it, you can simply return the furniture once the home sale is finished, saving you a lot of stress and discomfort.
Using Home Staging Furniture to Define Your Rooms
Again, it’s important that prospective buyers see the potential that your home has to offer. By defining each room of your home during a home staging, you are doing just that. And you can get creative! Renting furniture for home staging means you don’t have to keep the house exactly the way you were using it… since you’ll have different furniture pieces, you can change things up!
For example, by turning an old storage room into the ideal office or guest bedroom, you are giving buyers a visual of what they can do with your space to make it theirs. Remember, however, that when staging rooms for potential buyers, less is more. You’ll want to arrange furniture so that rooms look homey, yet spacious. Scale your furnishings to the size of your room. If your room is smaller, for instance, avoid filling it with large overstuffed pieces. Instead, opt for a loveseat and chair combination with matching end tables.
Most people tend to overfill their living spaces, but using rental furniture gives you a clean house and a clean slate.
Renting Staging Furniture Saves Time and Money
Renting furniture is a cheaper alternative than trying to purchase unnecessary, temporary upgrades to a home you are leaving. While most furniture rental companies do have a minimum requirement for how long you must rent furniture, it can still save you both time and money. By using already designed room packages, you get the pieces you need at a reasonable price and if needed, you can add individual pieces to design your own look.
Decorative Items Can Make the Difference
At Empire Furniture Rental, we not only rent furniture by the piece, by the room, or by the package, but we also have a warehouse full of up-to-date decorative items for rent. You can pack up your cherished decor items and substitute them with rented items that might appeal more to a broader audience. (Face it: We all have our own style, but if your decorations lean towards eccentric or downright quirky, you might lose potential buyers with your decor choices.)
There are many ways to use decorative pieces to add splash. Highlight mantles, built-ins, and fireplaces with framed pieces of art. (Choose artwork that compliments your rented furniture and matches the design of the home.) Modern abstract art is an excellent option for adding a pop of color to a neutral wall. Larger pieces of art work well to fill up a big, empty space.
Pair Staging Furniture with Architecture Style
If you’ve decided to rent furniture for home staging, one thing to keep in mind, from the beginning, is to choose furnishing options that compliment and accentuate the architecture of your home. Look for neutral rental furnishings that do not clash with existing décor and architectural details and add a bit of bold patterns through accent chairs, artwork, and throw pillows.
Decluttering for Best Results
Providing a clean and spacious looking home will help home buyers picture their own belongings in your home. If your home is already full of furnishings, renting furniture for staging is still an option you can use to complete the look of your room by adding a few new pieces of furniture or decoration. Again, make sure your rooms are clutter-free by storing the bulk of your decorative items out of sight during the home sale if you haven’t already emptied your house for showings.
Clear away collectibles, take down family photos, clean up “working” areas, messy cabinets, closets or any other area of your house that may come off as being cluttered or messy. When your home has cluttered areas, it’s difficult for home buyers to figure out the actual size and spacing of those areas. Remember, home buyers want to see clean, open spaces.
Renting furniture by the piece is an affordable way to update the look of a staged home without having to rent complete room sets or packages. Remove drab furnishings and replace worn items with accent pieces that make certain areas of your space pop!
In Addition to Renting Furniture for Staging
While it’s possible to rent the bulk of the items you’ll need for staging your home, there are some other important steps you can take to increase your chances of getting the results you are looking for:
New Kitchen Appliances
New kitchen appliances are a big hit among home buyers. Putting a little money into your kitchen by updating the oven/stove, sink, microwave, etc. can bring in a larger return than you had expected! Homes with newer kitchens tend to get more attention, and if you’re looking to sell a home fast, this is a sure way to assist you in doing so. (Note: If you’ve already packed up your home and emptied it out, Empire Furniture offers housewares packages that, when placed in a clean, updated kitchen, could help add that “feels like home” touch. It’s amazing what an aptly-placed coffee maker, a modern toaster, or some inviting wine glasses can do to make a kitchen feel welcoming.)
Using Staging Furniture to Create a Flow
Anyone who attends a home showing will be attracted to a home that has a pleasant and constant flow, where guests and habitants move easily and naturally from room to room. Replacing square or hard-cornered furniture with pieces that are rounded off will add more space in each room and create a flow-like effect to your entire home. Again, renting furniture to stage your home will allow you to select specific pieces for specific places. If you use your own furniture, you may not have this option. Remember as well that less is more!
Making Bedrooms Appealing
When your potential buyers walk into the master bedroom, you want them to feel like it’s a place where they can rest and relax. To appeal to everyone, paint the walls a neutral color and pair a gender-neutral bedroom set with complimentary items that will help your homebuyers picture themselves at home in the space.
Don’t Neglect the Flooring
All floors should be thoroughly cleaned before a home’s first showing. If you have carpets, we suggest steam cleaning. If your hardwood floors are in poor shape, we suggest having them refinished. (Tip: For a cost-effective way to make your floors look updated, try placing area rugs in a strategic yet visually appealing way.)
Renting Staging Furniture for the Win
When people are in the market to buy a new house, they are searching for a place that will feel like home. For that reason, when you are trying to sell your house, staging your living spaces with potential buyers in mind is paramount. Whether you’re using furniture you already have or renting staging furniture, you’ll need to make sure you’ve considered flow, architecture, decorative style, and overall look of your home for sale. By renting furniture, you are more able to control the first impression that buyers will have of your home in order to present it in the best light and sell it quickly.
Staging a home for sale in the Greater St. Louis area? Empire Furniture Rental is locally-owned and operated, with high customer service scores and a team of experts standing by, ready to assist. Browse our furniture rental options online or reach out for more info!