9 House Staging Tips for Your Outdoor Spaces
By: Cassie McDowell
House staging is an important step in preparing to sell your home. While homeowners previously focused most of the effort on staging the interior of their house, in the current real estate market, that might not be enough. Today’s homebuyers have elevated expectations regarding the exterior of a home too. Functional and visually appealing outdoor living spaces are a top priority for many buyers, and staging these areas properly can lead to increased interest in your property.
Keep reading to discover our top house staging ideas that’ll give your curb appeal a major boost and have potential buyers lined up eager for a tour.
Whether you want to sell your home or plan to live in it forever, beautifying its exterior is a smart investment. And enlisting our help to design a fresh look for your exterior is an even smarter investment! We can recommend paint colors, light fixtures, cladding materials, and plenty more. Learn all about our exterior design services.
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How do I stage my home for a successful sale?
As we mentioned above, house staging is an important part of getting your home ready to sell. While most homeowners only focus on staging the interior of their home, neglecting the exterior is a mistake that could cost you a sale. With this context, you’re probably wondering how to stage your home exterior properly. The good news is, there are plenty of ways you can stage your exterior to make it more attractive to potential buyers. Below, we share our top exterior house staging tips and design ideas.
#1 // Remove personal items
The main goal of staging a home is to help potential buyers envision themselves living in the space. This can be hard to do if the home is littered with personal belongings. Most interior stagers will recommend removing items like family photos, but on the exterior, personal effects such as kids’ toys, games, and sports equipment (i.e. a basketball hoop) should also be kept to a minimum.
#2 // Light it up
Even though most home showings take place during the day, having adequate exterior lighting can play an important role in selling your home. Not only is it a safety feature, but exterior lighting enhances the aesthetics of your property too.
For the home above, we suggested adding landscape lighting in the mulch along the pathway that leads from the driveway to the front door. We also recommended replacing the light fixture by the front door with a vintage-inspired wall lantern and adding a cylindrical wall lantern on both sides of the garage doors.
#3 // Incorporate outdoor seating
We mentioned earlier the importance of helping home buyers envision themselves in your space, and adding outdoor seating is an easy way to do so. Some people might have a hard time imagining how they’d use the outdoor space in the before photo above because the area is pretty bare.
But in our design, we set the space up to resemble an outdoor living room — complete with all the necessary furnishings and accessories for relaxing. A cozy corner sectional provides plenty of seating, and the matching coffee table is the perfect place to put snacks and drinks. We designed another seating area along the exterior wall featuring two shell chairs and a side table. This area is flanked by planters on the right and a water feature on the left, adding to the cozy vibe of the entire space.
The backyard of this property was also a blank canvas that buyers might struggle to see themselves enjoying. To address this issue, we incorporated tons of comfy furnishings throughout. From the chaise lounge chairs and hammock by the pool to the sofa on the expanded balcony, there’s plenty of places to plop down and relax. Our design also features an outdoor kitchen and dining table underneath the balcony.
#4 // Define different spaces
We often talk about how defining different spaces within your yard can make it easier to enjoy. But it can also be beneficial if you’re trying to sell your home.
The home above had a spacious yard, and we suggested creating two distinct areas to hang out in. On the left side of the yard, we placed a fire pit surrounded by four lounge chairs. On the right, there’s a dining table and outdoor kitchen. Both of these areas are outlined with landscaping, creating a clear definition between them and the rest of the yard.
#5 // Accessorize
One easy way to spruce up your exterior and make it more appealing to house hunters is to accessorize. Take the above home for example. Before, the exterior was bare and lacked curb appeal. But the addition of exterior lighting, planters, a rug in front of the new entry door, a porch swing, rain chains, a stone paver walkway, and lush landscaping adds tons of charm to this property. The greige paint color on the brick and siding acts as a beautiful backdrop for these decorative elements.
When adding accessories to your exterior, keep in mind our earlier tip about minimizing personal items. You’ll want to ensure your accessory and decor choices aren’t too specific so they appeal to a broad audience.
#6 // Don’t neglect your landscaping
Landscaping can significantly impact a property’s curb appeal and should be carefully considered during the house staging process. Overgrown or unkempt landscaping can hide certain features of your home or signal to potential buyers that the property isn’t well taken care of.
The house above had overgrown landscaping that was detracting from the beauty of the home. In our design, we suggested some smaller shrubs and bushes that enhance the exterior without overwhelming it. We also lined the new walkway with a limited number of small grassy plants to allow the feature to stand out.
Here’s another example of overgrown landscaping negatively impacting the overall look of a home. Our design features a wide variety of smaller plants in a range of colors for added visual interest. This landscape design looks intentional rather than neglected.
#7 // Set up some shade solutions
Incorporating shade solutions into your outdoor spaces will make them more functional — adding value for potential buyers. You can opt for something simple, such as an umbrella like the one overtop the two lounge chairs in the rendering above. Or, you can build something more permanent, like the pergola covering the dining space to the left of the hot tub.
This design takes prioritizing shade a step further. Our designers recommended covering the patio area with an awning supported by thick white columns. This addition provides ample shade and creates more visual interest.
#8 // Create a welcoming path
Welcome potential buyers into your home with a walkway leading straight to the entrance. Without a welcoming path leading buyers to your front door, they might never make it inside.
In the design above, we implemented a walkway featuring large pavers with small stones in between and along the sides. We also lined the walkway with lighting for safety and landscaping for aesthetic appeal.
#9 // Add a fire feature
Incorporating a fire feature into your exterior design is an easy and effective way to make a space feel more cozy. A fire pit with ample seating, such as the one above, also creates another space for lounging and entertaining. If you have underutilized space in your yard, consider placing a fire pit in the middle of it.
Outdoor spaces staged to sell
Exterior house staging can be just as impactful as interior staging. If you properly set the scene on the outside of your home, potential buyers will be much more likely to want to come inside and see more. We hope this roundup of house staging tips and design advice has provided you with plenty of inspiration for your own home.
A gorgeous exterior can help sell your home. It can also make your property more enjoyable while you live in it (for however long that might be). Whatever your reason is for wanting to upgrade your exterior, we can help. Begin your exterior design project today.
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