Tips and tricks home stagers use to make a home look more expensive

In this feature, we speak to local interior styling and home staging guru Alicia Walker from ‘Elite Living’ a business which prides itself on producing beautifully staged homes that buyers will fall in love with.

When preparing your home for sale there are many tips and tricks home stagers use to make a home look more expensive. Even on a budget, you can create a home that looks like it came straight out of a luxury magazine. Our decorating tips and interior design ideas will add an extra layer of style and luxury to your home.

Step 1
Achieve a simple and effective facelift for your living room by replacing and updating your cushions and throws.

Cushions act as the jewellery to your sofa and are an easy way to introduce fresh colour and texture to a room. Consider mixing up the sizes, colour, pattern and texture to create a designer feel rather than be too generic.

But more is not better. There can be too many pillows, so make sure you don’t go overboard. To elevate the feeling of luxury buy feather or rather, faux feather inners for your cushions. Replace the old flat inners with this lux trick and take your cushions from flat to fab.

Step 2
Hang art throughout the house. Art brings a home to life, statement art pieces create interest and wow factor when used well. Don’t be afraid to use oversized pieces to add drama in living spaces and pick artwork that will tie together your colour choices in the room. Place artwork in your entranceway to create an instant first impression and remember that not every empty wall needs to be decorated.

Step 3
Ground your furniture with a rug. Not only does it bring everything together, but it also lays the foundation and really sets the stage for the rest of the room. An area rug adds much-needed warmth, texture and colour.

Step 4
Update old fixtures and fittings in your kitchen and bathrooms to give a more modern feel. Replacing knobs, handles, pendants and light fittings through the house is an inexpensive way to modernise and update a home. Combine this with a new splashback in the kitchen to create a touch of lux.

Step 5
Use mirrors! Mirrors help to bounce light around a room to make it lighter, brighter and even sparkly. Clever mirror placement can make a room appear more spacious.

Step 6
Remember to de-clutter. Less is more to create a chic, cohesive look. Add a few key statement pieces like a beautiful coffee table, vase of flowers of interesting ornaments. Have a well-thought-out plan and stick to classics that make more of a statement.

Step 7
Flowers, plants and foliage are an inexpensive way to add texture, colour and life to a room. Find a favourite vase and add a colourful bouquet, or display a potted plant on a coffee table or bookshelf.

Step 8
Never forget to clean. A clean home is a loving home and no home that’s worth paying top dollar for is dirty.

Alicia has worked in Wellington homes for years and has ample knowledge on how important it is for locals to be able to visualise how they will live in your home.

At Tommy’s we like to support local businesses where possible. We see being a local business as a point of difference and feel strongly that we (locals) should stick together and support one another!

Article Contributed by
Alicia Walker | Owners of Elite Living Homestaging