Top 5 Design Tricks to Make Buyers Love Your Home

There’s a lot of pressure and stress that comes with selling your home, and in the heat of the moment, it can be difficult to know exactly what a buyer might like. Making just a few changes to your interior design can go a long way. Follow these top five design tricks to make sure buyers love your home.

The first part of the property that a potential buyer sees while searching for Silicon Valley homes is the exterior, which is why it’s important to plan your home’s outdoor design. Amp up the space’s curb appeal by maintaining your landscaping. Trim trees and shrubs, pull weeds, mow the lawn, and make sure the walkways are swept and clear of debris. Also, make sure hardscaping like your exterior lighting is functional, and upgrade if it’s outdated.

A buyer is going to enter your house through the front door, so take steps to design an inviting front entrance. Make sure to clean the area of any dust or cobwebs, and set a pot of flowers next to the door for a pop of color. Clean the door itself and repaint it if it’s looking faded, then hang a wreath to make the area look friendly. If your doormat is getting old or worn down, replace it with a new one to maintain positive energy.

Although you may love the design choices you’ve made for the inside of the home, ultimately it’s a buyer you have to win over with the interior decor. To remove yourself from the home, take down any family photos, refrigerator art, and knick-knacks that reflect who you are. Also remove any statement pieces of decoration or furniture, as they can detract from a buyer’s ability to picture themselves in the space.

When deciding how to redecorate Silicon Valley real estate, a good resource for knowing what your target buyer will like is a real estate agent. They’ll be able to tell you what to rearrange, take down, or cover up depending on what a buyer is looking for. Usually, buyers are looking for a bright and spacious type of home. Minimizing the type of decor you have can help you show off the home itself while not distracting buyers. Also, consider repainting your walls a neutral color. This will make the room appear brighter and act as a blank slate for buyers to envision their own furnishings in the space.

Although the type of decoration can affect a buyer’s view of Silicon Valley homes, ultimately they’re buying the home, not the furnishings. Highlight your home’s architecture through carefully selected decor and pieces of furniture. If your home’s architecture is older or historic, try not to go overboard by decorating it with furnishings of that era. Rather, find modern pieces with leanings to the home’s style, to create a more relatable in-home experience.

You also don't have to stage your entire home to highlight its positive aspects. Focus on main rooms like the kitchen, living room, and master bedroom when designing a home that buyers will love. Make sure that the furniture flow is unimpeded and that the design choices feel cohesive throughout the house, whether you do so via the color scheme, accessories, or lighting choices. If there’s an area in your home that is a bit odd or doesn’t currently have a purpose, design it so it does so buyers can view the space as an asset rather than a space to figure out.

Lighting adds a lot to the energy and mood of Silicon Valley homes, which is why it’s worth paying attention to when thinking about design. Bring in as much natural light as possible by washing windows and taking down heavy drapes. Replace drapes with floor-length curtains that are light or sheer to elongate the room and let in extra sunshine. This will help open up the rooms in your home.

Artificial light is just as important to a buyer’s impression of your home. Make sure that all the bulbs in your house are functional, and create a sense of unity by buying bulbs that are the same wattage and color temperature. If your light fixtures are looking dated, replace them with something more modern to attract more buyer interest. Another way to bring extra light into your home is to replace side tables with floor lamps. Floor lamps clear up more vertical space in the room, while the extra light makes a space look larger.

The largest items in your house are probably your furniture, so being mindful of where it’s placed can help you sell your Silicon Valley real estate. When situating furniture in a room, turn each piece toward a focal point, and keep seating roughly three feet apart from each other. Also, keep furniture off the walls with a floating furniture arrangement. If the natural pathways in the room aren’t clear, a buyer can mistake poor arrangement for a bad house layout, which you don’t want to happen.

You may have too much furniture for your home, in which case you should rent a storage unit to keep your house looking spacious. It’s also worth considering renting furniture to replace your own during showings, or to help define a space in your home. Although you want a space to be open, you don’t want it to be empty, otherwise, buyers will think the house is smaller than it actually is. Another alternative to removing or renting furniture is to buy slipcovers for pieces that are stained or worn down.

With these five tips in mind, you’re ready to design a home that buyers will love. When you’re ready to list your home to sell, contact local agent Kara W. Lee to guide you through the process.