Last Updated on June 28, 2023
American’s love affair with home improvement shows continues with the newest show on Discovery +, One Week to Sell.
In the latest Discovery + series, Interior Designer Taylor Spellman transforms stale homes into sold homes in a matter of days–all while working within the confines of a small budget.
While One Week to Sell certainly fits the mold for entertaining TV, it also packs quite a punch on the educational front too– and homeowners looking to sell can really learn a thing or two from this show.
And to that end, here are the five biggest takeaways you can learn from the series.
Tip #1 Don’t overlook the backyard
Oftentimes, a great deal of energy goes into making sure the front of the home is in tip-top shape that many sellers completely forget about the backyard.
Even before 2020 buyers cited livable outdoor space as one of their musts time and again, but now–thanks to the pandemic’s lasting influence on housing trends–buyers crave this feature even more.
Spend as much time on your backyard as you would sprucing up your front yard. It’s worth adding in some shrubs and flowering plants, adding fresh mulch or pine needles and clearing up overgrown bushes or shrubs. Don’t forget to stage a living area, too.
Buyers need to visualize being able to enjoy the open air, and they can’t do that if you don’t have any furniture out there. It’s a worthwhile investment to stage a living and dining area outdoors if you have the space.
Tip #2: Take inventory of your floors and find inexpensive ways to improve them
In many older homes that continue to sit stagnant on the market, often outdated flooring choices is one of the biggest culprits.
In many of the homes Spellman is tasked with improving, outdated and unsightly carpet is a big problem.
The best option to tackle this issue is of course to update the carpet with a more modern, neutral carpet flooring. The good news here is that you can typically update carpet relatively inexpensively, and it’s an investment that always pays off.
If new carpet isn’t in the budget think about purchasing large area rugs to hide your carpet’s imperfections.
Home owners should also consider luxury vinyl tile, too if their budget allows it. A welcomed move from carpet, buyers will jump for joy when they see these wood-like floors.
Tip #3: Maximize your space
No matter how much square footage your home has, you need to maximize it to show buyers how the home’s space can work from them.
A large dining room with only a small table feels like wasted space to many buyers and will leave them wondering how they can use the room to its fullest potential.
Take each space in your home room by room and consider if additional seating, lighting, accessories and decor or storage can and should be added.
Whatever you do, don’t leave rooms empty or almost empty if you can help it. Investing in items to fully stage your home will always payoff.
Take a look at the before and after below, do you see how modern furniture, rugs, fresh paint and some updated decor and accessories can completely transform a room?
Tip #4: Make your kitchens and bathrooms as functional as possible
Soon to be home owners usually zero in on two crucial areas: Kitchens and bathrooms. They want these spaces to be highly functional as that’s where they know they’ll spend the vast majority of their time.
Can you add an island in your kitchen for added storage? What about shelving in your bathroom to create more counter space? Maybe you can pull in a small table to create an eat-in breakfast nook.
Can you add in creative storage solutions to your small bathroom closet so that buyers feel like they’ll have ample room to store necessities? Remember, functionality is key in these two spaces.
Tip #5 Invest in your kitchen
Beyond adding in functionality to your kitchen, if you have any budget to spend sprucing up your home before you list, the vast majority of it needs to be allocated to the kitchen.
Even painting older cabinets, and replacing an outdated backsplash using inexpensive subway tile will please many buyers. If you still have room in the budget after you’ve made those changes consider investing in quartz countertops for a true wow factor.
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