As a first time homeowner, I’ve never been on the selling side of a home transaction but I quickly learned that preparing your house to sell is a J-O-B! You want to make your home look good for potential buyers while also showing off it’s potential. First impressions are everything, right?
Often time sellers stage their home when selling (the previous owners of our home did) but because interior design and home décor are passion projects of mine, we had no plans to stage our home and instead presented it as you see it everyday on my Instagram.
In preparation to sell this is what we did:
Install Closet Doors
Our home had mirrored closet doors in both the nursery and master bedroom and when we moved in, they were one of the first things to go. Aesthetically, I didn’t like them and the thought of an open concept closet in the nursery especially appealed to me more than living with something that made me unhappy in our home.
In the nursery we invested time and a little bit of money to re-work the closet and make it something pretty to look at despite not having any doors. Over the last 3 years we’ve been here, the open closet in the nursery has proven to be very handy – we access it so much with all the outfit / diaper changes a kid goes through in a single day that not having doors has been a huge blessing! In addition, we store some toys on the right side of her closet and that’s been a great play area for her and keeps the toys out of the main living areas.
In the master, we added new doors (not mirrored) and they conceal the unsightly clothes inside and do the job without being offensive. I’ve never liked mirrored closet doors because they reflect what’s in front of it: in our case…an unmade bed most days and who wants to see that multiplied? No one.
Guest Bathroom Remodel
Before making the decision to sell, our initial plans included a full gut reno of our guest bathroom but until we had the money to dive right in, we tackled a paint only refresh of the space in 2017. It was the perfect little boost this space needed and held us over until we could afford a more extensive update.
Once we decided to put the house on the market, we knew it was time to address the two biggest offenders: the discolored tub and dated linoleum. Even though we bought the house as you see it below, we knew that this space might be a deterrent to others who weren’t keen on taking on a bathroom renovation of their own so with a little time and effort, we transformed the room into the much better after.
De-clutter & Organize
I am so embarrassed to show you the closet in our front bedroom and our refrigerator but I aim to be open and honest! We all have our trouble spots and our home is no exception. Potential buyers walk through homes and peak inside everything – I do when considering to buy – wouldn’t you?! So imagine their shock if they opened this closet and/or our refrigerator and saw this mess:
Not only is it bad to look at, but it sends the message that we don’t have enough space for our stuff – which is not the case! But since this closet is only used occasionally, it became the catch all for donations that needed to go out, out of season clothing, things we listed for sale on Craigslist or FB Marketplace, or stuff that belonged in the garage…you name it, we put it here! Everyone has a Monica closet, don’t they? This was ours!
By cleaning up spaces like these and putting in a few bins and baskets for organization, it makes a better first impression to any potential buyer.
Touch up paint everywhere!
Lastly, we touched up paint everywhere! We had overhead lighting installed in both of the girls’ rooms which we had to patch/paint the drywall holes where the electrician ran new electrical in the ceiling, we removed some bamboo shades in the master and dining room in favor of custom roman shades from Blinds.com so the walls needed to be patched/painted there too. Not to mention all the baseboards and trim that was looking a little dingy after 3 years of living here – a fresh coat of paint just makes it look crisp and new again.
We did a few other minor things – like keep things clean – but if you’ve ever sold your home, what did you do to prepare ahead of time?! Let us know in the comments below!