When keeping a neutral color pallet during staging there is the risk of creating a cold environment devoid of the hominess that will attract buyers. The best way to infuse warmth into a sterile environment is to use texture and pattern to liven up the space. Texture and pattern are used to create visual interest in a home; to declare the home’s sense of style and to create an inviting setting that buyers will be drawn to. No one wants a bland home that feels flat and lifeless. The buyers need to feel connected to your property and see themselves living there. This can only happen if they feel a connection to your space, and lets face it no one feels connected to the home equivalent of dry toast. Accessories are a key ingredient in adding personality to your home and are a great way to incorporate both texture and pattern into your space. However, they are not the only way to provide dimension and style. Lets look at both texture and pattern and the many ways they can be added to your home to create a design style that will blow potential buyers away.
Texture is the surface quality of a material, and is both a tactile and visual sense. It’s the actual feeling of a surface if you touch it, it will be warm or cold, smooth or rough, hard or soft. But it is also something the perception we form of how something might feel based on our memories and past experiences. For instance you do not have to touch a specific countertop to know that it will be smooth and cool because you have touched others and recall the sensation. This is why playing with texture is a great tool when staging a home. It allows buyers to immediately understand the feel of a home and its visual style, something you can achieve before they even step foot in the front door. Subtle tactile changes indicate not only the purpose of an object and its place in a home but also allows buyers to picture how they would live in the home themselves. Nothing screams comfort like a mound of pillows on a bed or a couch you can just sink into and watch the big game with the family. Texture helps to create an image of how people will live their lives in your space.
There are many ways to incorporate texture into a home, some are more expensive and structural and others are more cost efficient and cosmetic, how you incorporate texture into your home is up to you. If you have a healthy budget a great way to incorporate texture is in architectural elements such a wood beams or trey ceilings that highlight tall rooms. Or on a slightly smaller scale adding chair rails, crown moldings and millwork will help your home stand out. While these items may be more expensive than just slapping up a fresh coat of paint the return on the investment is high. These elements instantly elevate a space and are what buyers are looking for to add charm and character to home.
Another way to add texture is through the furniture in your home. Wood benches, marble countertops, metal chairs and leather couches all have different tactile and visual senses that can help create a sense of style throughout your home. Glossy and smooth surfaces such as metal and marble will indicate to buyers that your home has a modern feel to it. While wood floors and benches combined with deep set upholstered couches have a more traditional feel. They key is to understand the architectural style of your home and the demographic of people who are attracted to that style. Once you know this, you can choose your furniture accordingly. If you live in a family neighborhood make sure your surfaces reflect a kid friendly atmosphere. Leave the high gloss cabinets and glass stair rail off your list of improvements and instead choose something that will be more forgiving of the wear and tear kids can place on a house. Nothing will scare a buyer off like walking through a home that they are considering for their family and feeling like they are in a museum where its all look and no touch.
Another great way to add texture to your home is in the floor. As we all know most buyers hate carpets. Rather than invest in new carpet try refinishing the hardwood floors underneath and adding an area rug. The hardwood floors are easy to clean and the rug will ground the furniture in the room and infuse it with a sense of warmth. There are a multitude of rugs for every size and style. So if you want a more modern feel without having concrete flooring choose a low pile in a geometric pattern, or if you have a more rustic style choose a chunky wool that you can really sink your feet into.
Of course, the easiest and most cost efficient way to add texture is though textiles and decor items. Do you have a leather sofa? Throw some fur and cotton pillows on it and add a chenille blanket. These different textures combined will create a great place to relax and make buyers want to settle in for a comfortable evening of pizza and Netflix. You can add texture with décor items by playing with different types of materials; glass vases, metal baskets and wood bowls all add different textures to your space while integrating together. These accessories and textiles can be used multiple times though out the home creating a sense of repetition and style that is cohesive.
Another way to add repetition and rhythm to your home to entice buyers is through the use of pattern. Pattern is the repetition of a graphic on a material. It is most often used in rugs, textiles and wallpaper, but can of course be used in other ways. Pattern can help define a space and covey a design style. The easiest way to incorporate pattern is by creating a feature wall using wallpaper. Whether you pick a bold pattern that shows off a unique space like a reading nook, or choose a more subtle sophisticated design for the master bedroom retreat, the effect will add visual interest and be memorable to buyers. You want the buyers to have a positive response to your choices so you need to make sure that you are not overwhelming the space with too much pattern. Keep a good balance by choosing to highlight only one area. Edit carefully and make sure you are still creating a space that will appeal to the most number of buyers. As with paint color keep your choices less personal and try to appeal to the masses. Of course pattern can also be introduced in pillows, rugs and window coverings, but an often-overlooked way to add pattern is in the tile in your kitchen and bathrooms. These are areas of the home you will generally need to update before you place your home on the market as nothing sells a home quicker than these two spaces. Here you can use pattern to update your kitchen. Choose something classic like a subway tile as it will appeal to most buyers, but try something unique like laying it in a herringbone pattern for that wow factor. You can echo this in other areas of your home, such as flooring, pillows, rugs and window coverings. Choose only a few patterns and repeat them throughout the home for a sense of cohesiveness. Remember to utilize both texture and pattern to transform your home from basic to extraordinary!