Cozy Up Your Listing

Cozy Up Your Listing

When a potential buyer walks into a home for the first time, they want to experience that feeling of being “home.” While every person’s interpretations of home may look different, one thing is for certain: a home should feel warm and inviting. We strive to present that feeling of wanting to curl up with a good book and a steaming cup of tea. 

The home buying process can be very emotional to some. There are not only the financial stresses, but also the grueling process of searching for the place they want to call home. According to Realtor.com: “The average home buyers will visit 10 homes over 10 weeks’ time before they find “the one”—that special place that inspires an offer. But that number can vary widely: Some may fall in love with the first place they see, while others feel compelled to check out several dozen” (https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/how-many-homes-will-it-take/). Seeing home after home, sifting through dozens of online listings, it gets tiring. Finding a welcoming home will elicit a feeling of comfort and safety to those buyers.

What we can do as stagers is showcase listings that will be cozy, inviting, and warm. We provide a cohesive and tranquil impression on the canvas of a vacant home. No more stark, bare, museum-like empty houses. We bring these listings to life!

So what are the secrets to a cozy and inviting listing you ask? Simple touches such as throw pillows, blankets, candles, rugs, and greenery are just a handful, but the list goes on and on. But let’s start with these first.

1. In the life of a staging professional, we say that we can never have too many throw pillows! Throw pillows offer color, texture, dimension, and give you that “curl up with a good book and cup of tea” feeling. We always bring a variety of pillows to our projects to layer on sofas, beds, and chairs. Never underestimate the power of a good throw pillow.
2. Throw blankets are the luxurious older sister of the throw pillow. We opt for fluffy faux fur throws or cozy knits in our stagings. Drape your throws over the corner of a bed, or slung over the back of a sofa with throw pillows atop it. 
3. Candles: the ultimate mood-setter. Candles can be used in a variety of different ways to stage a home for ultimate cozy vibes. We like to put tall white pillar candles inside glass hurricanes for a simple, elegant dining room centerpiece. For the bathroom, you can use another pillar candle on top of a silver candlestick near a bathtub or in the middle of a double vanity. In the bedroom, add a small jar candle to the nightstand next to a stack of books. 
4. Think of an area rug as the anchor of a space. With the growing popularity of open floor plans, area rugs help separate sections of a great room. If you have a large space that encompasses a living room, reading nook, and dining room, it’s very helpful to use area rugs to help anchor each space separately. Without rugs, a room like this could feel incomplete or confusing. Rugs also help break up the flooring and offer a layer between floor and furniture in spaces like the office or bedroom. 
5. You don’t have to have a green thumb to add greenery to a home! Faux plants have come a long way since the silk leaf ficuses at your grandma’s house. An increasingly popular faux plant option are succulents. You’ll see them in any home store you go to because they can be made to look so similar to the real thing. And the best part–no watering or direct sunlight needed! Add small faux plants into built-in shelving or as a mini centerpiece. Use larger faux plants to fill in empty corners of a room. We promise that even though these faux plants aren’t living, they will still bring your listing to life!

These are just a few of the tools we utilize in our stagings to create a calm and comforting home. We want every home to feel like an oasis!