7 Crucial Tips for Staging Your Home in Winter

Selling your home in the winter can present its own set of challenges. While you might be at the mercy of Mother Nature more at this time of the year, there are plenty of ways you can turn up the heat on your listing and set it up for success. Check out these 7 easy ways you can stage your home to wow potential homebuyers in winter!

Clear Out the Clutter

Even though you should always aim to keep a streamlined and neat home when you’re trying to sell, the colder months can make it more difficult. Resist the nesting urges that winter often brings and pare down heavily on your personal items. Doing so helps potential homebuyers really imagine themselves living in your house – and it also showcases your home’s strongest features! Place personal belongings in an offsite storage space if possible, and decorate simply with a vase of flowers, chic accessories, and tasteful art.

Let in the Light

There isn’t as much natural light in the winter, so lighting up your home is even more crucial during this time of year. Throw open your curtains and shutters to let the sunlight in, and flood your home with warmer, brighter light bulbs. Layer your lighting with overhead bulbs, table lamps, and modern floor lamps to illuminate every corner. Proper lighting can make all the difference in captivating a homebuyer’s heart!

Create a Cozy Space

Take advantage of the plummeting mercury and howling winds by making your home feel warm and inviting! Drape a textured throw over your favorite armchair. Place a shaggy rug in the bedroom to make it feel extra cozy. Create a comfy reading nook with a stack of books or magazines, a faux-fur throw, and a few choice pillows. These tips can draw buyers in and make them feel right at home!

Focus on the Fireplace

If you have a fireplace, now’s the time to put it in the spotlight! Dress it up with seasonal greenery, a string of white fairy lights, and a few battery-operated candles. Of course, you’ll want to make sure that it’s clean and well-maintained as well!

Set Out Mats for Wet Shoes

The snow, ice, and slush that winter brings can make floors awfully messy in no time. Set up a bench or chair near your home’s entry for guests to take off their shoes before viewing your home. Leave a mat near the door for their wet boots and shoes to dry on while they see what your home has to offer.

Don’t Forget Your Curb Appeal

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – first impressions begin outside, even in the winter. Ensure that all walkways and the driveway are clear of snow and ice at all times, especially before showings. While you’re at it, add a few tasteful winter porch décor pieces. A new doormat, a pinecone or evergreen wreath, and planters with natural, winter-hardy greenery are all inviting touches you can add!

Choose Inviting Scents

It can be challenging to get fresh air in your home during the winter. Instead of reaching for air fresheners, choose to diffuse natural scents like lemon or lime or seasonal ones such as cinnamon, nutmeg, or pine. If you have pets, keep on top of any scents they may leave by washing blankets and bedding and steam-cleaning carpets. When in doubt, whipping up a batch of cookies works wonders!

Thinking of selling your home this winter? Leave it in the hands of the knowledgeable experts at The Massey Team at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Select Properties! Give us a call today at either (618) 791-5024 or (618) 791-9298 to get started! On the hunt for your dream home? Check out our current listings!

10 Ways You Can Maximize Coziness in Your Home

Now that the excitement of the holiday season has passed, many homeowners often find themselves feeling a bit more melancholy, wishing only to hibernate until the first hints of spring arrive once more. But there is true joy and warmth in the winter season that you can enjoy, especially in the comfort of your home! Don’t let the gray skies get you down. Instead, try these 10 handy ways you can embrace the season and make your home warm, cozy, inviting, and, most importantly, comforting:

Make Delicious Comfort Food

Now is the perfect time to break out the old recipe book and whip up your favorite comfort food! Whether you’re making your grandma’s chili or baking some delicious scones, creating comfort foods is one sure-fire (and tasty) way you can up the cozy factor in your home. Feeling unmotivated? Even sipping your favorite cup of hot cocoa or herbal tea will bring the same result!

Add in Soft Lighting

Bright cool lights might help you be more productive, but they aren’t very conducive to relaxing. Switch out harsh lighting for a warm, inviting ambiance. Candles and table lamps work well in creating a comforting space. Find extra cheer by hanging string lights in your living room or bedrooms, which will help add soft lighting when you’re listening to music, reading your favorite novel, or cozying up with a loved one as you watch the snow fall outside.

Incorporate Touchable Textiles

Think of how you feel when you cozy up in something soft and plush. Gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling, right? Bring that feeling to your home with shaggy rugs, faux-fur pillows, and cable-knit throws. No room on the floor for rugs? You can always add comforting textures to the walls!

Light Up the Fireplace

Winter was made for fireplaces – and the opposite holds true, too. If you have a working fireplace, what are you waiting for? Strike a match and gather ‘round to create instant warmth. If your home doesn’t have a fireplace, you can recreate the warm feeling with plenty of your favorite candles. Electric fireplaces are also easy to install (and relatively inexpensive, too!).

Choose Grounding Earthy Colors

We can all use some comfort right now. Trade brighter, bolder tones for more neutral, earthy colors. Muted colors in teak, chocolate, rusty red, burnt orange, olive, and slate blue can help ground and calm you at the end of a hard day. Choose fabrics, pieces of furniture, or accent pieces in these colors to help you find serenity this winter.

Bring the Outdoors Inside

Speaking of calming, keeping real houseplants indoors can help make your home more peaceful and also breathe more life into your space. Pick a few cute potted plants and bring them into your home this winter to help you feel more relaxed. Got a brown thumb? Easy plants like snake plants, philodendrons, and aloe vera plants are good, low-maintenance choices!

Streamline Your Space

It’s hard to relax and find peace in a home that’s messy. Bring joy into your space by tidying up. Consider throwing out or donating the things you no longer need or use, and keep the items that you truly love in your sights! Get started by checking out our blog about tidying up like Marie Kondo!

Choose Your Favorite Scents

Adding the right scent to your home can act as an incredible mood booster. Place and light incense or a delectable-smelling candle in your living room or kitchen so the scent can carry throughout the whole house. Vanilla is a favorite for making your space feel cozier, and lavender works wonders in helping you feel more relaxed. Choose seasonal scents to celebrate winter, or coconut-scented or floral candles to help stave off any winter blues you may be feeling.

Keep Plenty of Soft Blankets and Pillows on Hand

What would a cozy home be without soft blankets and comfortable pillows? Now is the time to break out your favorite throws for cuddling with your pets or snuggling up beside a roaring fire with a good book in hand. Keep them in a beautiful woven basket near your couch, recliner, or bed!

Don’t Forget the Music

Remember the last time you lounged about listening to your favorite music? We’re betting you felt pretty darn relaxed. Spin a few happy records on the turntable or curate a few playlists of those feel-good tunes and keep them accessible for anytime you want to up the cozy factor in your home! Everyone wants to feel comfortable and safe in their home. If you’re on the lookout for a space to make your new sanctuary, call on The Massey Team at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Elite Properties to help! We can find the perfect home for you. Call us today at either (618) 791-5024 or (618) 791-9298 or view our listings online!