When you’re preparing to sell your Edinburgh period property, it’s only a question of time until you need to decide between furnishing and staging your home. The two terms may seem interchangeable at first glance, but both serve distinct purposes and involve different approaches. Understanding the difference between the two can be the key to a successful sale even in a challenging market.
Furnishing an Edinburgh Period Property For Sale
Furnishing a home involves selecting and arranging furniture and decor to create a comfortable, functional living space. When you furnish your period home, the primary goal is to meet your personal tastes and create a space you love to live in. Here are the main aspects of furnishing a period home:
- Personal Style: It’s only natural that your furniture reflects your personal style and preferences. When you’re furnishing your period home in Edinburgh, there is nothing more important than creating a space where you and your family feel at home.
- Functionality: Apart from your personal style, functionality and comfort are the two main criteria for furnishing any home. Practicality and the requirements of daily living often beat other considerations.
- Customisation: Putting your personal touch on the furniture and decor of your Edinburgh period property is one of the greatest pleasures of the furnishing process. Whether you prefer a minimalist approach, a vintage look, or a bohemian vibe – the choice is entirely yours.
- Investment in Comfort: When you’re choosing pieces of furniture, you’ll likely invest in pieces for their comfort and utility over the long term rather than wow factor.
Furnishing is about making a home livable and enjoyable for its residents. The choices you make reflect your individual tastes and how you will use the space on a day-to-day basis.
Staging a Home for Sale
Staging an Edinburgh period home, on the other hand, is a strategic approach to preparing a property for sale. The objective is to make your home appealing to the widest range of potential buyers. Here are some of the key components of home staging:
- Neutral Palette: Staging often involves neutral colours and decor to ensure the space appeals to a broad audience. This works best when you limit the number of personal items and minimise unique style choices.
- Highlighting Space and Features: Staging is about showcasing your home’s best features to prospective buyers. These features might include natural light, spacious rooms and those all-important architectural and period details. To let them shine, you need to arrange furniture and decor to highlight these aspects.
- Creating a Blank Canvas: The goal of staging is to allow potential buyers to envision themselves living in the space. As hard as you may find that as a seller, it means depersonalising the home. Remove family photos, personal collections, and any items that reflect your personality. This aspect of staging is often the hardest for sellers.
- Strategic Placement: Staging often involves renting furniture and decor that is chosen specifically to enhance the home’s appeal. Agents and professional stagers know how to arrange items to make rooms appear larger, brighter and more inviting.
- ROI Focussed: Think of staging as an investment in your period property sale. Staged homes make it easier for buyers to imagine themselves in the home, so they can help the property sell faster and for a higher price compared to non-staged homes.
Staging is a powerful marketing tool used to present homes in the best possible light to potential buyers. It’s about creating a space that feels welcoming yet neutral enough for buyers to imagine themselves living there.
Key Differences
By now, you’ll have a good idea of the differences between furnishing and staging. Here is a summary of the key points:
- Purpose: Furnishing is for personal enjoyment and comfort, while staging is for enhancing market appeal.
- Personalisation: Furnishing reflects personal taste, whereas staging removes personal elements to create a neutral space.
- Selection: Furnishing involves selecting items for long-term use, while staging often uses temporary, rented pieces chosen to highlight the home’s strengths.
- Audience: Furnishing caters to your needs and preferences. Staging targets potential buyers.
Conclusion
Both furnishing and staging play crucial roles in the life of any Edinburgh period home, but they serve very different purposes. When you’re selling a home, staging can be a powerful tool to attract buyers and achieve a quicker, more profitable sale. For those living in the home, furnishing creates a space that feels personal and comfortable. By understanding the differences between the two, you can make informed decisions that benefit both your living experience and your home’s market performance at the right time.
If you’d like to know more about how staging can benefit your period property sale, give us a call today and find out what we can do for you. We’re always happy to help.
