Size Matters...Part 1

... from small condos to small homes to even large homes that are divided into seemingly pint sized rooms. Vacant or furnished, any small space can be a challenge to sell. Filled with too much furniture or oversized furniture and buyers can't see what the room really offers – it’s now up to the buyer’s imagination and chances are, they 'll go looking elsewhere.  Can you afford to take that risk?

Consider these two homes staged by Accentuate. Prior to staging, these properties sat idle between 1 and 3 months. Why? Buyers felt that the rooms were either “impossibly small to furnish” or “too limited by size to accommodate their own things”. The rooms appeared unusable...  

How does “Sold in 3 days!” sound?

That’s what happened to both properties after Accentuate transformed these “unliveable” rooms to “liveable” rooms.

Here are a few rules of thumb that can help create the illusion of more space in your next listing:

1. Vacant homes:
   • Ensure that rented or new furnishings are scale appropriate and ‘fit’ the room. There are plenty of apartment sized furnishings on the market these days (and in our inventory).
2. Furnished homes:
   • Edit the amount of existing furniture by up to 1/3….less is more.
   • Edit or replace oversized furniture with a few new ‘right sized’ pieces. (new purchases or rentals are often the best investment a seller can make in order to ‘create space’).
   • Limit seating arrangements to groups of 3’s
   • Remove dark and heavy elements from the room ( display cabinets, buffets, etc)
3. Arrange furnishings strategically
   • Effective furniture layouts can ‘trick’ the mind into thinking that the space is larger and wider.
4. Focus on ‘accentuating’ key architectural elements of the room (a fireplace, a picture window).
   • A room with a focal point can help to downplay the size challenges of the room.
5. Paint strong/dark coloured walls in brighter neutral tones to create the illusion of space.
   • Strong colours can not only overwhelm a buyer, but they can make any room appear smaller than it actually is
   • Don’t forget foyers and hallways – a fresh coat of lighter paint can do wonders in long, narrow areas.

Wondering about how to tackle large spaces? Stay tuned for our upcoming newsletter.   We'll give you more great ideas how to ‘right size’ large areas.

Don’t leave a property’s difficult areas to the buyer’s imagination... SHOW them the potential!

Want more information about staging vacant properties or “enhancing” furnished properties?Contact us today to learn how we help you maximize the demand for your next listing.