Home Staging for the Outdoors

Seller Tips by Lynda B Staging

What is outdoor staging? Similar to indoor home staging, outdoor staging brings meaning and purpose to your property. By staging the exterior of your house, you are adding value to the property. People like to buy homes that appeal to them on a personal level. A properly maintained, attractive and warm-feeling home will always sell quicker than one that is left unkempt, vacant or just simply uninviting and cold. Creating emotional value in the mind of the buyer through home staging creates more value for you at closing.

For example, buyers tend to see rooms, bathrooms, property size and amenities, but they may not give value to any of these things unless you 'paint' a warm and inviting picture through home staging. With so many vacant homes on the market today, you can very easily stand out from the real estate 'crowd' by properly staging the entire home; including the exterior.

Sellers have the choice of creating value for buyers in every single space of the home, however creating that value will not occur inside the home if the buyers never walk in the front door. Outdoor home staging is one of the best marketing tools in which a seller can invest to bring buyers through that front door. The cost of home staging (whether you choose to go do-it-yourself or hire a professional) is truly an investment in retaining value in your largest financial investment; your home.

Consider this: Let's say that you had the choice between two homes with the same number of rooms, exact same features, and same geographical location. Would you choose the home that that was well maintained and had amazing curb appeal or would you choose the home that was unkempt and shabby?

If you answered that you would choose the home that was well maintained, then you already have the answer for selling your home quickly at the best possible price.

While it is always best to retain the services of a professional home stager when getting your property ready for showings, there are many things that you can do on your own to increase the curb appeal of your house.

Let's start with the obvious:

Stand across the street from your home and imagine that you had never seen it before. Is it attractive? Is it colorful? Does it look like it was well maintained and cared for? Does it invite you to come inside? If you answered 'yes' to all of these questions then congratulations; do nothing. You are ready to start showing your home to potential buyers.

However, if you answered 'no' to even one of these questions then read on for some great tips on outdoor home staging!

Curb Appeal – Front Exterior

Summertime is traditionally a bit easier to stage the exterior of a home. Wintertime can be a little more difficult to maintain color for curb appeal. However, you can maximize the attractiveness of your property at any time of the year by following a few simple steps.

Step 1. Clear the weeds and debris from planting beds and thin/prune plants if necessary

Step 2. Place low-maintenance Redwood Mulch in planting beds (Redwood Mulch retains its color all year)

Step 3. Add more green plants and ornamental grasses to offset the red color of the mulch and add a few potted plans (with colorful pots) for additional color.

Step 4. Replace your 'Welcome' mat. (A simple $20 investment can go a long way on first impressions.)

Step 5. Clean the side lites of your front door on both the inside and outside of the glass

Step 6. Wipe down the front door and clean out entryway lighting and/or sconces. Nothing is less attractive than a pile of dead bugs.

Curb Appeal – Back, Decking and Patio

Decks and patios need to be clean and fresh. In one afternoon you can power-wash your decks, concrete and patio furniture. If your patio furniture is rusted, old or just visually unpleasant, then you can use patio covers to help or simply throw out the old furniture. In most cases it would be best to invest in patio covers to help show off the size of the exterior. If, however, the rear exterior is relatively small then it would be best for you to just remove the patio furniture altogether.

Add a few colorful pots with greenery. Use larger pots/plants for large backyards and smaller pots/plants for confined back areas. Ficus trees are excellent for this purpose.

Staging the rear exterior to be as visually appealing as the front of the house will go a long way to increasing the value of the outdoor space for buyers.

Curb Appeal – Sides of the House

When staging the exterior sides of your property be sure to give the same attention to detail as the front and rear of the house. Clear all flower beds of debris and weeds, place Redwood Mulch in all bedding areas and add a few green plans to accent the red of the mulch. If your budget is tight, forgo the green plants but be sure to at least outline the planting beds with mulch.

Curb Appeal – Problem Areas

Remove all debris and tree limbs from the yard. Edge the entire yard and remove grass/weeds from driveway cracks. If there are any bare spots in the grass then invest in a bag of grass seed and place straw over the newly laid seed to protect it from winter elements.


For additional tips and techniques on home staging, please visit Lynda B Staging