Tag: home staging

Home Staging Is Not What You See on HGTV

By Melinda Bartling

When most people hear the phrase home staging they picture a truck pulling up and unloading furniture. New couches, matching accessories, everything neutral and perfect and completely unfamiliar. The kind of staging you see on television where an empty house gets filled with rented pieces that look like nobody ever lived there.

First of all, that is not what I do. And honestly – it is not what home staging was ever meant to be.

I learned the art of home staging from Barb Schwarz, the woman who created it in 1972. And from the very beginning the philosophy was clear. She would say, “shop the house.” Because real staging starts with what is already in your home. Home staging is not what you see on HGTV.

You Already Have What You Need

The number one thing I hear from sellers is but I don’t have the right stuff. They do – almost always.

In 20 years of staging homes I have walked into spaces that felt tired, cluttered, and completely overlooked and walked out leaving behind a home that stopped buyers at the door. Why? Because I saw what was already there differently.

Real staging is not about the furniture. It is about the arrangement of every single thing in the house. The flow from room to room. The way light moves through a space. The feeling a buyer gets the moment they cross the threshold.

That feeling cannot be rented or bought. It has to be created. And it can be created from what you already own when someone knows how to see it.

What I Actually Do

When I walk into a home I am not looking at what is missing. I am looking at what is there and how to make it work.

I move furniture, rearrange artwork and edit accessories down to what matters and place them with intention. I look at every surface, every corner, every sight line from the front door.

Sometimes I move something and immediately know it is wrong. So I move it again. Because staging is visual – you have to see it to know when it is right. There is no formula. There is only the eye and the experience to know when a room has found its flow. But what I do know, it can’t be created from a list someone gives you. Move this here – that there.

The goal is always the same. The Model Home Look. The one that makes a buyer walk through the front door and think – I could live here. The one every buyer wants and will pay more money to get.

That look is not about new furniture. It is about intention and making every single thing in your home work together to create a feeling that a buyer cannot shake – even after they have seen ten other houses that week.

Why This Matters for Your Sale

A buyer makes a decision about your home within ten seconds of opening the front door. Ten seconds. Everything they feel in that moment shapes what they are willing to offer.

The right staging makes those ten seconds work for you. It creates the emotional connection that turns a showing into an offer – and turns an offer into a number that exceeds your expectations.

My goal is to stage your home and have it sell that first weekend for thousands over asking price. It’s called the 3 Day Home Selling Event. And that didn’t happen because the sellers bought new furniture. It happened because everything they already owned was finally in exactly the right place. And it felt just right.

That is what real home staging does. And you already have everything you need to make it happen.

Ready for the Model Home Look? Call or text Melinda at (913) 515-3250 or contact her here to learn about the Now to WOW Home Staging and Styling Session and how it can work for you.

How to Create a Stunning Home Selling Look

If there’s one thing I know after years of helping homeowners preparing to sell their home is how to create a stunning home selling look. Buyers will make a decision about your home within 10 seconds of opening the front door. And once that decision is made, it’s hard to change their minds. If they don’t say yes, they move on.

A stunning home selling look isn’t about perfection or trendy décor. It’s about helping buyers see your home’s potential—and imagine themselves living there.

In this post, I’ll walk you through the same home staging principles I use with my clients to help their homes sell faster, with less stress, and often for more money.

When buyers see themselves living in your home, they will buy it faster and pay more money for it every time!

~Melinda Bartling

Start by Seeing Your Home Through a Buyer’s Eyes

This is where most homeowners get stuck—and it’s completely understandable. Your home is personal to you. It holds memories, routines, and pieces of your life.

But buyers aren’t buying your memories. They’re buying the space.

When staging your home for sale, ask yourself:

  • Does this room feel open and easy to understand?
  • Is there anything distracting about this space?
  • Could a buyer easily picture their own furniture and lifestyle here?

If something in your space takes attention away from the room itself, it will work against you.

Declutter and Depersonalize With Intention (Not Emotion)

Decluttering and depersonalizing are the foundational steps of every successful home staging plan. Clutter definitely makes rooms feel smaller, darker, and more chaotic—no matter how beautiful the home is. And removing family photos is always mandatory when selling your home. Sorry.

Focus on removing:

  • Excess furniture
  • Personal collections and memorabilia
  • Too many items on countertops
  • Overfilled closets and cabinets

As a general rule, closets should be no more than 50–60% full. Buyers notice storage, and they will open doors.

If you’re unsure whether something should stay out, it probably shouldn’t.

Light Is One of Your Strongest Selling Tools

Buyers love light, bright spaces.

Before showings:

  • Always open all blinds and curtains
  • Replace dim or mismatched bulbs with warm white LED bulbs
  • Turn on every light—even during the day

Consistent lighting throughout the home creates a calm, cohesive look that feels clean and well maintained.

Clearly Define the Purpose of Every Room

Every room in your home should answer one simple question:

What is this space for? Rooms that try to serve too many purposes often confuse buyers, and confused buyers won’t buy your house. Period.

For example:

  • A spare room should be either a guest room or mom’s craft room
  • The primary bedroom shouldn’t also be your exercise area
  • A formal dining room should not be your home office

Clarity helps buyers understand value – and value drives offers – substantial ones.

Use Furniture to Show Space, Not Style

When staging your home, it all comes down to the arrangement of furniture over trends or personal taste. It’s about scale, flow, and function. Most of the time, people are living with their couch in the wrong place for selling. You want to create what I call The Model Home Look.

Key staging tips:

  • Remove oversized or unnecessary extra furniture 
  • Allow enough space to walk around and through every room
  • Pull furniture slightly away from walls when possible

Keep Colors Calm and Connected

Neutral doesn’t mean boring. It means appealing to the widest range of buyers.

Homes that show best typically use:

  • Soft whites
  • Warm beiges
  • Light greige or taupe
  • Muted blues or greens

You don’t need to repaint everything, but main living areas should feel calm, clean, and cohesive. The same color throughout the house may seem boring, but it works for most people and helps them see themselves living there rather on focusing on having to repaint every room.

Add Simple, Strategic Finishing Touches

Once the hard work is done, a few thoughtful touches can add warmth without distraction.

Consider:

  • Fresh white towels in bathrooms
  • A bowl of fruit or simple greenery in the kitchen
  • Neutral pillows or throws

Avoid heavy scented plug ins, political or religious items that may not appeal to everyone.

Don’t Overlook Curb Appeal

Your home’s exterior sets the tone before buyers even walk inside.

Simple improvements include:

  • Cleaning the front door and adding a fresh welcome mat
  • Trimming bushes and removing any dead plants
  • Power washing walkways and driveways if needed
  • Making sure your house numbers are clean and visible

First impressions matter more than ever when selling your home. Fact is, you may never enter your house through your front door. Do it yourself to see what your buyers are seeing while they are waiting to go inside.

Final Thoughts: Home Staging Is a Smart Selling Strategy

Creating a stunning home‑selling look is about presenting your home in its best light—literally and emotionally. When buyers feel comfortable, confident, and excited, they make quick decisions.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed or unsure where to start, this is exactly where a professional home staging consultation can help.

The way you live in your home is your business. The way you sell your house is my business.

~Melinda Bartling

My Home Staging is “The Icing on the Cake”

“Melinda consistently delivers an outstanding client experience and is dedicated to delivering exceptional results! This is our second time working with her and it has been a pleasure. Melinda is dedicated to going above and beyond for her clients, demonstrates exceptional industry knowledge, responds quickly and ensures her clients stay informed. Her home staging skills are the “icing on the cake” which led us to a smooth and successful real estate experience! We listed our home in Olathe for $450,000 which was the right price. It sold in 2 days for $480,000. We moved out of state with an additional $30,000 in our pockets!” Matt Lewis, Olathe, KS

Schedule a 2 Hour Home Staging Consultation

In my 2 hour Home Staging Consultation, we walk through your home together and create a clear, room‑by‑room plan so you know:

  • Exactly what to remove, rearrange, or update
  • Where to focus your time and energy
  • How to prepare your home for photos and showings

You’ll get a written, detailed report so there is no guessing and no wasted effort. Just a clear plan that works.

Schedule your 2 hour Home Staging Consultation today and let’s create a home buyers fall in love with. Call or text Melinda at (913) 515-3250 or contact her here.

How to Create Cozy Interiors and Gorgeous Curb Appeal this Fall

Fall is my favorite time of the year and a perfect time to create cozy interiors and gorgeous curb appeal. It’s the perfect season to give your home a fresh look, inside and out. Whether you’re preparing to sell or simply want to enjoy your home to the fullest, a few thoughtful touches can completely transform your space into a warm, welcoming haven. That’s where I can help you through my Home Staging services, Amazing Rearranging or Holiday Interior Decorating, and help you create cozy interiors and gorgeous curb appeal.

Curb Appeal that Welcomes You Home

The front of your home sets the tone for everything that follows. This fall, think beyond the traditional pumpkins and mums (even though I love those, too!). I can help you design a seasonal entryway that complements your home’s style – whether it’s arranging layered planters, adding a cozy outdoor rug, or styling a wreath that makes a statement. With the right curb appeal, your home will feel inviting before anyone even steps through the door.

Let Your Home’s Interior Embrace the Season

  • Adding soft layers like throws, pillows, and textures that feel seasonal without being overwhelming
  • Styling mantels, dining tables and entryways with chic fall decor that’s cozy yet elegant
  • Bringing in natural elements – think wood, greenery, and warm metallics – that instantly make a home feel grounded and welcoming

Why Hire a Professional?

Sometimes, it’s hard to see your own home with fresh eyes. Whether you want a full seasonal refresh or just a few strategic updates, I can help you…

  • Highlight your home’s best features
  • Create a look that feels polished and put together
  • Save time and stress while still getting that magazine-worthy result

Fall is the season of gathering, celebrating and creating memories. Let’s make sure your home reflects the warmth you’ll love and want to share.

Ready for a Fall Refresh?

Whether you’re preparing for holiday hosting this season, want to boost your home’s curb appeal or simply want to enjoy your home more this season, I’d love to help. Creating cozy interiors and gorgeous curb appeal is what I love to do! Let’s schedule a Fall Refresh and create a plan to bring your fall decorating vision to life.

Call or text me at (913) 515-3250, message me or contact me here to schedule your Fall Refresh.

Home Staging Don’ts and Simple Ways to Avoid Them

First of all, you’re probably asking yourself, just what are home staging don’ts? Actually I came up with this idea years ago when I would see people time and time again making the same mistakes when trying to sell their homes. I think the original idea came from a column in Glamour Magazine back in the day. They would have fashion do’s and don’ts and I applied the same concept to home staging.

After all, there’s typically always a better way to arrange your furniture and to accessorize your space when you are preparing your home to sell. And there are just things you do and don’t do. Remember, the way you live in your home and the way you sell your house are two very different ways.

I can give you so many examples of home staging don’ts that I’ve seen since I started Overland Park Home Staging back in 2006. Most homes have a couple of home staging don’ts but then there are those that break all the rules. And some of the home staging don’ts are worse than others.

My biggest pet peeve is the dead animals – whether it’s a moose or deer head, champion fish or a life sized bear wearing a designer scarf around its neck. The dead animal is at the top of my list of home staging don’ts. Even in this day and age where antlers and deer heads are somewhat trending in home décor, it’s not anything you want on display when trying to sell your home.

Home Staging Don’ts Case Study

Years ago, an acquaintance of mine listed her house with another agent. After it was on the market awhile and she wasn’t getting any interest, she reached out to me for my help. As a result, I booked a consultation with her to determine what she might need to do to get some activity going on her home and get it sold.

As soon as I arrived at her home, I realized she had probably broken the top 5 home staging don’ts on my list. First of all, the rooms were crowded with furniture that made the space seem off balance. The kitchen had bright blue tile and countertops that nobody would want. Furthermore, there was no sense of style or décor. Every flat surface was cleared off (due to the advice of her agent) but clutter was stashed inside kitchen drawers and cabinets. Closets were stuffed full of what she was trying to hide. But to top it off, there was a dead animal morgue in the basement with probably at least 25 dead animal heads mounted on the walls. And she’s asking me why her house isn’t selling. 

Here are My Top 10 Home Staging Don’ts

If you are serious about preparing your home to sell, be sure to avoid the following home staging mistakes that many sellers make. Many of them are easily fixable if you get some guidance or hire the right home stager.

Some will require an investment in time and money. Don’t be like the people that told me they just replaced the carpet. It was pink before. Their agent told them to replace the carpet. Unfortunately, they bought new pink carpet. Be very clear on what to do from a professional that can and will guide you.

  1. Dead animals – mounted on the wall or not – they need to go!!!
  2. Rooms that are off balance – this is done in the final steps of home staging
  3. Lack of décor – home staging is not clearing all flat surfaces as many agents will tell you. Your home needs to have the Model Home Look that every buyer wants and pay more money to get.
  4. Too much clutter – you’re moving! Pack up your stuff!
  5. Family photos and personalized plaques etc. – don’t have your family photos and name plastered everywhere for everyone to see. The buyers aren’t there to look at your stuff. They are there to find reasons they can’t live without buying your house.
  6. Fake plants used outside instead of real flowers – this just shows bad taste. Buyers will not fight over your house and drive up the price when you stick fake flowers in the ground.
  7. Ugly kitchen countertops – if you loved them, that’s great. Pick something that will appeal to all buyers and not have to wait for the perfect buyer.
  8. Carpeting that needs to be replaced – don’t offer a carpet allowance. Replace the carpet with a little above builder’s grade. Buyers love new carpet whether it lasts a year or 5 years. You’re moving.
  9. Every room is a different color – find a painter that needs the work and paint the interior something light. White, gray or beige are all good choices. Buyers also love fresh paint.
  10. Wallpaper/wallpaper borders leftover from the 70s – nobody wants to remove wallpaper and it will only prevent your home from selling. Get someone to do this. You’ll be glad you did!

In Conclusion

There are other home selling mistakes that sellers make. But if you can make sure you have these 10 under control, your home should sell quickly and over asking price in any market.

If you want a professional opinion about what you need to do to get your home ready for the market, call or text me at (913) 515-3250 or contact me here.

The Truth About How Home Staging and Styling Sells Homes!

If you’re in the market to sell anytime soon, here’s the truth about how home staging and styling sells homes. Many home sellers and their agents think home staging isn’t necessary in this fast moving real estate market. Whoa! You do want more money don’t you???

But let’s back up a minute…we stage and style homes using your own things! Most people don’t know that home staging was created in 1973 and was always about homes that were occupied. We create your home’s best home selling look using what you already have!

Home Staging is the Emotional Piece to the Puzzle

You see, until buyers are emotionally involved in your home, they won’t buy it. Just because you think you have a great house, on a great cul-de-sac, with great neighbors, none of those things matter. Especially in south Overland Park. What house for sale doesn’t meet those conditions? You love your house because it’s your house and you have a million memories there. Your buyer on the other hand, has no memories and no attachment to your home whatsoever. So to your buyer, you’re just another box of cereal on the shelf. There’s no emotion and when there’s no emotion, there’s no sale.

What Can You do to Stand Out from the Competition?

The most important thing you can do to stand out is to have your home professionally staged and styled. You’ve got one chance to make a first impression. Your buyers are going to make a decision within 10 seconds of opening your front door and you’re either going to win their hearts or send them packing. If they don’t walk through your front door and stop and say, “wow…I could live here,”you’ve lost them.

As a Realtor for over 35 years, I would always say we’ll put this one on the back burner. In today’s market, there is no back burner. You either win or you don’t. There’s no runner up and they aren’t coming back.

My advice? Hire the best home stager possible and get your house ready to sell. I always say:

When your house is ready, the buyers will come.

Melinda Bartling

Play the game like it’s the Super Bowl. Prepare. List. SELL! Hire an agent who understands how home staging and styling works. Agents I stage for on a regular basis know it’s all in the details and that’s what I’m good at. I have a vision for every house I see. In a couple of hours, I can totally transform your home, using your own things, and give it that Model Home Look that every buyer wants. And they will pay whatever it takes to make it happen.

The better your home looks determines the amount of money your buyer will pay. Give the buyer what they want and they will buy your home faster and for more money every time.

Check out this living room I walked into recently…

There are NO 2nd Chances in Real Estate

Home sellers who understand the selling process and take it seriously are raking in the big bucks. You can put your home on the market without preparing it or you can spend a couple hundred dollars and sell for $10,000-$20,000 over asking price. It’s up to you. But you get one chance. Don’t screw it up!

The way you live in your home and the way you sell your house are 2 different ways!

Melinda Bartling

Yes this is the same living room after a little home staging, rearranging and styling! Needless to say, this home sold immediately for WAY OVER asking price.

Give me a couple of hours and I can turned your very lived in home into a masterpiece that every buyer wants and will pay more money to get!

Home Staging and Styling Services

If you’re in the Overland Park area, call or text us at (913) 515-3250 to schedule your home staging and styling services. In a couple of hours, we will transform your everyday lived in home into something spectacular that buyers will swarm to like bees to honey. It’s the best thing you can do to sell your home in the current real estate market. You wouldn’t sell your car without detailing it would you? Call us today or contact us here!

Easy Solutions When Your House Isn’t Selling

There may be several easy solutions when your house isn’t selling. Today we are going to focus on one – home staging.

Years ago, Fortune Magazine stated that a house will sell for 3 reasons: the price, the way it was or wasn’t staged and the Realtor you choose. As a lifelong Realtor and Home Stager, in my humble opinion home staging is all that matters. The right home staging is what will make the buyer buy your house. It creates the emotion.

Staging a home and preparing it for the market is crucial for a fast sale and oftentimes with multiple offers. Within 10 seconds of opening the front door, buyers will make a decision about your house. If your house doesn’t grab them emotionally from the start, you probably won’t sell your home anytime soon. Buyers make their decision about your house emotionally and justify their decision later rationally. Going hand-in-hand with home staging is the condition of your home. Selling your home is show time. Now is your time to shine.  Do what it takes to prepare your home for the market and you’ll be singing all the way to the bank. This is an emotional sale. Take advantage of it!!!

Agents say things like:

  • It just didn’t wow my buyers
  • Don’t know exactly what it was but they just didn’t connect with the house
  • Might need some home staging to give it more appeal because it didn’t appeal to my buyers

Recent Home Staging Case Study

I recently received a text message from a lady whose house was on the market in Leawood. She told me her son said she needed to have her home staged after being on the market for over 2 weeks and not selling. There again, she thought home staging meant bringing furniture to a vacant house. That’s not what home staging is at all.  He told her there were people who worked with what you had to give your home a better home selling look. She googled home staging in Overland Park and found me. She sent me 3 messages in a short time frame (I was on an appointment) and finally told me what she wanted. After asking her a few questions via text, I looked her house up on MLS and determined it just didn’t do much for me. I responded that I could meet for a consultation the next morning and do whatever I could while I was there.

Your Home’s Photos Tell the Story

When I entered the house, it was exactly as I expected…it didn’t wow me at all. After seeing the photos online, I knew it probably had potential but most of the furniture was poorly arranged. Remember, the way you live in your home and the way you sell your house are two different ways!

What Was the Solution to a Home that Didn’t Show Well?

After thinking things through, I had a discussion with her of my opinion and vision. The kitchen and hearth room area was huge and had nothing to bring them together. Little did I know, she had a free-standing kitchen island that was stashed in the garage. We brought it in the house and I went to work searching for things that could be used in the staging of it. Between the island and changing the furniture in the hearth room, it brought the space closer together rather than having what seemed like a basketball court between them.

Connecting the hearth room to the kitchen

Clearing countertops and furniture tops is never anything I recommend because that’s not what home staging is. Agents will tell you to do that because they aren’t home stagers and it’s less expensive than hiring a stager. But at the end of the day, buyers want to see themselves living in your home and when it’s cleared of all of its personality, they don’t connect with it.

Since this seller had put all of her accessories away, I got them out to stage her kitchen. I ended up creating a coffee station, lemonade area, as well as a meal prep space on the island. Unfortunately in preparing her home for sale, she had stripped it of its personality. But it had a huge personality by the time I left. I was there for 2 hours and got the job done. Needless to say, we were both thrilled with the end result and she hugged me as I left:).

Happy Client Testimonial

Here’s what she had to say after we rearranged the furniture in her living room and hearth room/kitchen area and accessorized her house.

“Melinda did an outstanding job of giving my home a whole new look in just 2 hours. Amazing what she could accomplish by rearranging my furniture and using just what was in my cupboards. She responded quickly, communicated often and was easy to work with. I highly recommend her services.”

One happy seller name withheld since it wasn’t my listing

There may be many reasons why your house isn’t selling but these are the only 3 that matter. Figure out your situation and address it now. Days on the market are a killer for anybody selling a house. Buyers are wondering why no one has bought it!!!

In Conclusion

Don’t waste time sitting around wondering about the easy solutions when your house isn’t selling. It may need a little furniture rearranging or just a personality boost. Please text (913) 515-3250 and tell me you need some home staging and I’ll respond immediately or you can contact me here. We stage occupied homes and have been for the last 17 years! In as little as 2 hours, your home could have a whole new look.

How to Get the Best Red Carpet Look When Selling

Whether you realize it or not, there is a best red carpet look for your home. After all, the whole purpose of home staging is for your home to stand out from your competition.

Just like the stars walking the red carpet at the Grammys, it’s a process for the stars to look that way. From choosing the right gown and accessories, to their hair, make-up, and nails, they will tell you it takes a village to create their red carpet look.

First of all, the stars know they will be judged and the consensus will either be good, outstanding, or bad. It’s the same when selling your home. You, too, have one chance to make a first impression. If you knock it out of the park, you may sell your home for more money than you imagined. And if you don’t?

How to Achieve the Best Red Carpet Look

The best red carpet look for your home comes from using a professional home staging stylist. It only makes sense when your home’s reputation is on the line. A star wouldn’t walk the red carpet without her team behind her.

When selling your home, your money is on the line. The faster your house sells, the more money you will make. Your professional home stager or stylist will be responsible to create the best red carpet look for your home. And when the buyers fall in love, it’s money in the bank from there!

What’s the Alternative?

Sell your house as it is and see what that gets you. I call that selling by default…you get what you get. Your money comes down to the Realtor you hire. They might sell a lot of houses but at what price? And how fast does it happen?

There are a lot of skills necessary to sell houses for top dollar. Likewise, the number one skill agents don’t have is home staging. And yet many agents will attempt to stage your home themselves. Why? All the extras in real estate cost money. Many agents don’t want to spend money to make money. They probably had a bad experience of spending their own money on a home they didn’t get sold.

On the other hand, some agents will bring their home stager in for an hour-long home staging consultation. That is not home staging. That’s advising you on what to do. That’s like a hair stylist telling you what style will look good on you versus doing it. And have you ever had a bad hairstylist? Case closed.

The Art of Home Staging

Perhaps unknown to the average Realtor, above all else, there is an art to home staging. After all, there’s a whole giant industry based around it. It’s so much more than clearing the countertops. It’s creating your best first impression look, so buyers are drawn into your home, sweeping them off their feet, causing them to fall in love with it, to the point they have to have it, and will gladly pay you extra money to get it.

That’s what I do as your home stylist. You can declutter and put your family photos away but you need an award winning professional stylist to create the best red carpet look for your home that will sweep your buyers off their feet. Your job is to find that person with the right broom.

Remember, the way you live in your home and the way you sell your house are two different ways. Consequently, selling your home is a beauty pageant and a competition. You need to be ready. There will always be another house that looks better than yours if you don’t create your best red carpet look for your home. I’ve seen your competition and I’m in it to win it. Game on!

What’s Next?

If you’re serious about your best red carpet look, that attracts multiple offers, it starts with a plan.

Our Now to WOW Home Staging System is a two-step professional process designed to prepare your home strategically – and then transform it completely.

It begins with a Home Staging Preparation Consultation, where you receive a personalized action plan and clear direction on what will (and won’t) increase your home’s value.

Then comes the Now to WOW Staging and Styling Session. This is the hands-on transformation that prepares your home to stand out from the competition and attract the largest number of buyers.

This isn’t guesswork. It’s a home selling and staging strategy.

Call or text Melinda at (913) 515-3250 or contact me here to schedule your Home Staging Preparation Consultation today and take the first step toward making buyers compete for your home.

Home Staging Magic You Need to Know

If you are selling your Overland Park home anytime soon, you definitely need some home staging magic – especially in this real estate market!

Honestly, it never ceases to amaze me that many Overland Park Realtors just don’t get it. Certainly, it’s not like home staging is a new concept – it was “created” in 1973 by a lady who knew occupied houses could look better when selling. For that reason, I flew to Chicago in 2006 and worked with her one-on-one, and became an Accredited Home Staging Stylist. That was a very long time ago. Where has everyone been?

Buyers only see what they see

After showing several houses over the past weekend, I just sometimes have to laugh. I’m truly embarrassed. “OMG –  let’s go. Another house no one cares about. This isn’t going to get any better.”

Because you have a house that doesn’t show well, you want my feedback after showing your listing? Come on now!

Selling a house is simple but it’s not easy. Prepare, List, Sell is my formula for home staging magic. It works over and over again for those home sellers who get it and for agents who want my help.

Here are my 5 best tips if you are selling your home in Overland Park or Olathe or anywhere:

Home Staging Magic

Have a plan – first of all, what are you trying to accomplish? If you don’t know, start over. You’ve got to have a plan. We don’t need more inventory, we need more GOOD inventory.

Be ready to sell – another issue is most sellers aren’t ready to sell. If your house is filled to the gills with stuff you can’t seem to part with, that doesn’t tell me as an agent that you’re going to be moving anytime soon. My buyers want to close in 30 days. Can you possibly be out? Probably not.

Prepare your home to sell – would you just roll out of bed and show up and run a 5K? Of course not. It takes preparation. There’s a whole list of questions you need to answer. Selling your house is the same thing. You’ve got to prepare. And it’s hard work. But it’s got to be done.

Pick up your stuff. In all honesty, nobody wants to see your collections, family photos, piles of papers, or anything else for that matter. Buyers are trying to see themselves living there and yet you are preventing them from doing that. They are easily distracted by your own stuff.

Step up to the plate and be ready. Selling your house is an event to me…it’s called Showtime. There’s no dress rehearsal, no guessing. If your agent isn’t sure and needs the approval and feedback from the entire office, get a different Realtor.

Create your best model home look

Above all else, you want buyers to go ga-ga over your house, fight to get it and make ridiculous offers. Don’t know how to do that? Hire a Realtor who has a clue and is producing the results you want. Consequently, you don’t want a Realtor who has 30 listings. That just means their houses aren’t selling. I’m not knocking my competition. I’m only educating you on getting your home sold.

You are not only wasting your time, but you’re also wasting my time and my client’s time when your house isn’t spot-on and ready to be sold. Plus the worst part is you are giving away your hard-earned equity. All of my sellers tell me they want MORE MONEY! I get that. Why don’t you realize that your days on the market are only taking away from your own hard-earned money?

The way you live in your home is your business,

the way you sell your house is my business!

Melinda Bartling

Ready to get started with some home staging magic?

Finally, selling your house is simple, it’s just not easy. Furthermore, my home staging services are FREE to my sellers and my sellers consistently sell faster and get more money than they were expecting. I’ve never had a seller tell me they wanted less money. My services are the solution to all of their home-selling problems.

If you are an Overland Park or Olathe home seller and need help getting your house ready to sell, call or text me at (913) 515-3250 or contact me here. Let me create some home staging magic for you!

Check out today’s new listings either below or in the sidebar. Call or text me at (913) 515-3250 to see inside one of these homes. I AM NEVER TOO BUSY to show you a house. Real estate is my main hustle after 35 years! Everything else I do is bells and whistles to enhance your experience!

[idx-listings city=”Overland Park” statuses=”1″ propertytypes=”512,511″ orderby=”DateAdded” orderdir=”DESC” count=”25″ showlargerphotos=”true” listtabalignment=”Left”]

The Truth About Home Staging for Occupied Homes

Home staging for occupied homes is a concept that was created in 1973 by a woman named Barb Schwarz. The whole idea behind the concept was it was designed for homes that people lived in that didn’t show well. After all, what home shows well as it is? Every home needs a little extra something to help bring out its best.

My mantra has always been…

“The way you live in your home is your business but the way you sell your house is my business”

Melinda Bartling

Home staging and the Red Carpet look

Just like celebrities on the Red Carpet who spend hours and sometimes days or months preparing for an event, your home should go through the same detailing process. After all, people always detail their cars before selling them. Don’t you think your home deserves a little sprucing up?

Home buying is not only very personal, it’s extremely emotional. It’s a known fact that home buyers will make a decision about your home within 10 seconds of opening your front door. They either “feel” your house or they don’t. If your house doesn’t speak to them and if they don’t feel themselves living there, they will move on.

Well-prepared and well-staged homes not only show better they sell for more money! You do want more money, don’t you? So, get busy and create your best Red Carpet look for your home.

Home Staging for occupied homes versus vacant homes

The whole concept of home staging in 1973 was never created for vacant homes. The main idea was to make a lived-in home stand out from the other houses on the market through the art of home staging. I learned the concept in 2006 and actually staged homes in Chicago with the creator herself. I was fortunate to learn not only her home staging techniques but I was able to get inside her head to better understand her thoughts about the process.

Staging for vacant homes became more prevalent with HGTV where the stagers would bring in a truck full of new furniture and accessories and furnish an empty house in order to flip a house for sale.

That’s a very different process than working with what a typical seller already has in their house. I’ll be honest, not every seller has great furniture and accessories like what you see when you furnish a vacant home. That’s what makes staging occupied homes very challenging – but so much fun!

Overland Park Home Staging

After working in Chicago and learning home staging with Barb, I returned to Kansas City and started my own home staging business. I had been in real estate for 19 years. It was 2006 and home staging had not yet caught on at that time. But as a Realtor, I knew houses were not selling and competition was fierce. Interest rates were over 6% and we were headed towards a real estate bubble. So, if you were selling your home, you needed to look better than any other home on the market because buyers were few. I knew home staging was about to blow up big time!

Getting the idea of home staging across to Realtors was challenging and home sellers just thought it was silly. Those were the days of sellers saying, “they can take the house the way it is or not buy it. I’m not changing anything.” With that attitude, no wonder houses weren’t selling. I remember telling some sellers they needed to repaint their sponge-painted kitchen cabinets. Needless to say, that didn’t go over well.

After getting fired from that listing, I spent the next couple of years promoting the concept of home staging to my fellow Realtors and learning how to sell the idea. At one point, we were the busiest home staging company in Overland Park. Then once home staging became a “thing,” everyone started doing it – and not always well, as you can imagine. New stagers would offer next to nothing prices to Realtors to get their foot in the door with a busy agent and there the industry went.

To this day, I follow Barb’s techniques that I learned from her, and more than that, I have never divulged her best-kept little secrets that she shared with me. She took me under her wing and saw that I had a natural talent and a great sense of style.

The average home stager

Even though everybody thinks they can stage a home, we all know that’s just not right. Realtors are not home stagers. Just because you have a real estate license or take a home staging course, that doesn’t give you a sense of style that makes you a great home stager. The number one thing a home stager must have is knowing whether or not the end result looks good. If you can’t make a decision or have to ask someone else’s opinion, you probably don’t have confidence in your style.

There are lots of home stagers that don’t have the eye that it takes to be a great home stager. You’ve got to take what you have to the next level when you’re selling and give it that model home look.

What you need to know before staging your home

If you are selling your house and your Realtor says they will bring their stager in, which usually means a home stager will stop by, consult with you and provide you with some tips for selling. That’s probably better than doing nothing but they also won’t come back and rearrange your furniture or accessories. A true home staging is about decluttering and depersonalizing your home. Once that’s completed, the final step is the rearrangement of your furniture and accessories that welcomes buyers into your home. You always want to create the model home look as much as possible if you want top dollar when selling. The right home staging will always make you more money than not.

I would suggest you hire your own home stager so you have control over the process. My home staging is always a two-step process. I will come out and provide you with a list of things to do and when you’re done, I come back and tweak things. Simple! There is a fee but if you list your home with me, I stage your home for FREE! Either way, I AM A HOME STAGER! And since 2016, I’ve been doing home staging for occupied homes!

How to get started with your home staging

Please call or text (913) 515-3250 or contact me here to talk about staging and selling your home and making lots of money doing it.

Home Staging Roadblocks that Will Make Your Home not Sell

Every home seller has some home staging roadblocks to reach their ultimate goal of selling quickly and for the most money. Yet when it’s time to sell, not every seller is prepared.

The number one question all sellers ask me is “What do I need to do to prepare my home so it sells fast?”

I’m currently working with some sellers on this very process. It’s an older house and it needed some updating to bring it up to today’s standards. We walked through the house room by room and I gave them the lowdown of what I would do if it was my house. They had already done some major updates like the kitchen and master bathroom but the upstairs was showing its original condition.

The kids were gone and this couple didn’t even go upstairs anymore. Seems like that’s so typical of empty nesters. Trouble is, the condition of the entire home needs to be addressed. Today’s buyers don’t want to fix your projects even though you might say you don’t know what they would want.

Here’s my biggest tip:

“buyers don’t want it the way it is!”

Melinda Bartling

My advice? Hire a professional that can tell you how to update your home without ripping everything out. Above all else, you should look at the big picture. What are the biggest problems and what are the most cost-effective ways to make some changes? This is where you need to get creative.

What are your real home staging roadblocks?

You don’t have to spend a fortune to address your home staging roadblocks. I help my clients come up with affordable fixes all the time. It’s called preparing your home for the market on a shoestring budget.

For example:

  • Can you change a vanity top rather than ripping out the entire vanity?
  • Can you add a new vanity top with 2 sinks versus the original 1 sink?
  • How about buying some new bathroom mirrors and faucets?
  • Do you need to update any flooring…especially in the bathrooms or utility room?
  • Adding new register covers or switch plates after painting a room can do wonders
  • A few new light fixtures here and there will make a huge difference
  • A thorough house cleaning is the icing on the cake for the entire home staging project

None of these things cost a lot of money but don’t do them and it will cost you a lot of your hard-earned equity. Getting your home show-ready so it sells fast and looks better than other homes for sale in your neighborhood is imperative.

Being ready to play

Part of my job, not only as your Realtor but also as your home stager, is to go through every inch of your house and tweak whatever isn’t quite right. I’m like the wedding planner fixing the bride or the celebrity stylist at a Red Carpet event. I prepare your home for the photoshoot and am 2 steps ahead of the photographer. Your first day on the market is the most important. When buyers see your home online, I want them lining up to get in to see it.

You see, there are plenty of buyers out there. Your buyers are probably waiting for a home to come on the market just like yours. They’re ready, willing, and able. You have one chance to make a first impression. You’re being judged – will your house make the best dressed or worst dressed list? It’s up to you to remove those home staging roadblocks. Do you know what to do?

If you know you’ve got some things to do to your house before you come on the market, call or text me at (913) 515-3250, or contact me here and let’s see how I can help you prepare your home on a shoestring budget!

913-515-3250