The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to Staging Your Kitchen

If you are selling a home in DC Ranch, your real estate agent will talk to you about staging. But how do you stage a kitchen? This guide explains.

The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to Staging Your Kitchen

Every room in your home needs to be staged when you’re trying to sell. That’s because staging makes your home as appealing as possible to a wide range of buyers, and that’s very important when you want to get offers. With that said, check out this step-by-step kitchen staging guide:

Empty your cabinets, drawers, and pantry
Clean everything from top to bottom
Consider cabinet refacing if necessary
Keep an eye on potential upgrades
Swap in neutral decor
Add three beautiful accents
Put something fabulous in the oven

Here’s a closer look at each.

Kitchen Staging Step 1: Empty your cabinets, drawers, and pantry

Pull everything out of your cabinets, drawers and pantry, and discard items that are expired or that you don’t intend to use. If your cabinets are overflowing with coffee mugs, pack some of them away; you don’t have to get rid of them, but they can’t stay here. While you’re in there, wipe down all the shelves. Then, put everything back in the most organized way possible. That’s because buyers can, and will, open your cabinets, drawers and pantry to see how much space is available. You want them to see that you take good care of everything in your home, which helps create a favorable first impression.

Pro Tip: Remove all the magnets and art from your refrigerator. Its surface should be completely empty when buyers come to see your space.

Kitchen Staging Step 2: Clean everything from top to bottom

Your kitchen should be spotlessly clean before buyers come to tour your home. Although buyers are unlikely to notice every little thing that you spent time scrubbing, they’ll almost certainly notice the things you miss. For some people, it makes sense to hire a professional cleaning team to give the entire home a once-over, but if that’s not in the cards for you, just remember that all your efforts now will pay off later as you’re scrubbing the baseboards.

Kitchen Staging Step 3: Consider cabinet refacing if necessary

Take a good, objective look at your cabinets. If they appear outdated, you may wish to consider refacing them to give your kitchen a quick pick-me-up. Cabinet refacing is generally pretty inexpensive, and you may even be able to do it yourself in a weekend. If you’re considering more extensive kitchen renovations, you should talk to your real estate agent before you commit any money to the idea; you don’t want to make an investment that isn’t going to pay off at the closing table.

Kitchen Staging Step 4: Keep an eye on potential upgrades

If anything in your kitchen appears to be outdated, now may be the time to make upgrades. Look at your cabinet handles, drawer pulls, faucets and light fixtures – if They’re the same pieces that have been there since you bought your home, it may be a good idea to replace them. Head to your favorite home improvement store and have a look at the inventory available. You may be pleasantly surprised at how affordable these things are, as well as how easy it is to install them yourself.

Kitchen Staging Step 5: Swap in neutral decor

if you have personalized decor in your kitchen, take it down and replace it with more neutral pieces. That includes family photos, sayings on the walls, collections and art. The idea here is to make your kitchen look like one in a model home, which is decorated in a way that appeals to a wide range of buyers from all different backgrounds. Additionally, if you have any political, religious or eclectic decor, or certainly anything that could be considered risqué, it’s time to take it down. You can put it up in your new home.

Kitchen Staging Step 6: Add three beautiful accents

Your kitchen counters should be completely free from appliances and other items when you’re staging your home. You don’t want anything that could make your counter space appear smaller. However, a few small items can really enhance the way buyers feel about your home. Consider adding a cookbook on a stand, a basket filled with fresh, seasonal fruit, or other kitchen related items that add appeal. For example, in the fall, a jar of cinnamon sticks near a basket of apples is a beautiful touch. You may also consider adding a vase of freshly cut flowers or a live plant, but only if these things don’t take up too much counter space.

Kitchen Staging Step 7: Put something fabulous in the oven

When prospective buyers are on their way, there’s nothing wrong with putting a batch of cookies in the oven. Doing so can make your entire home smell good, and it can give buyers a cozy feeling that contributes to their favorable impression of your home. You might also consider simmering cider on the stove, dropping a slice of lemon into your garbage disposal and running it, or placing a vase of flowers on the counter near where people tend to stand.

Pro Tip: If you bake cookies, leave them out on a plate with a note that says “Enjoy!” or “Please help yourself.” It’s not that you’re trying to buy prospective buyers’ affection, but let’s be real: Cookies aren’t going to hurt your chances of making a sale. Just don’t bake any with nuts to avoid issues with allergies!

Are You Selling a Home in DC Ranch?

Thinking about selling your home in DC Ranch? Call us at 480-360-0281 to find out how we’ll market it to all the right buyers. If you’re also looking for a new home, we’d love show you any listing in the community. Let us know what you’re looking for and we’ll be happy to search for something that’s a perfect match for your needs.

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Don Matheson
Realtor | Founder
The Matheson Team
RE/MAX Fine Properties
21000 N. Pima Rd., #100, Scottsdale, AZ 85255
866-613-8356
don@scottsdalerealestate.com