Ask Dora - Staging Your Condo for Selling Success

In our last blog, This is How we do it - The Sellers Edition, we took a look at the tailored approach Condo Culture uses to get condos listed and sold. This week we continue the conversation of helping owners prepare to sell their condos by sitting down with our resident Interior Design expert Dora as she discusses tricks to staging your condo, the importance of a clean and staged unit and her process to staging the model suites at Kitchener Waterloo’s newest condo development, CIRCA 1877. With her keen eye for detail those staged suites were used to help successfully rent over 90 units in the building. As Lead Designer within the Condo Culture Design team, Dora has helped design the lobbies and amenities in some of the most sought after condo buildings in the Waterloo region such as CIRCA 1877 and Caroline Street Private Residences. Take a look at how it all came together.

Also be sure to check out this week's featured condo to learn more about a unique opportunity to own at CIRCA 1877 in Uptown Waterloo.

Q. What are 3 simple tricks to furnish / stage your Condo when getting ready to sell?

Edit all of the pieces you have down to only the essentials. A minimalistic approach is best when trying to get your condo ready for sale. This helps potential buyers visualize the space as their own rather than someone else's. The 'Less is More' theory creates easy sophistication in any space.

If you're buying new furniture, always pick scale appropriate pieces that fit the space. An oversized sofa or bed may make the room sizes appear to be smaller than they are. Don't overcrowd the spaces you're staging.

Keep things neutral, both for the sake of style longevity and the ability to reuse furniture pieces in different spaces. Color can be added in artwork and accessories, which can be changed seasonally or as trends evolve. Furniture pieces like sofas and chairs are more costly and best to get as much use out of as possible - this means possibly taking them to your next home which may have a totally different color palette.

Q. From your perspective why does cleaning and staging/furnishing your condo add value and help you increase your sale price?

If your condo unit is clean, organized, and has well thought out furniture and decor pieces, it will appeal to more potential purchasers. The goal would be to have your unit looking like a hotel suite that a potential buyer instantly feels comfortable and welcome in. If you can evoke that feeling in someone walking in the front door, you've not only added value to your condo unit but also increased the likeliness of selling it easily and quickly.

Q. What was your process / approach to furnishing the model suites at Circa?

This building has always had a boutique hotel vibe to me, something you would see in Soho New York or downtown LA. I wanted the model suites to have that kind of hotel suite feeling to them where you felt instantly at home and comfortable when you walked in the door - the same way you feel when you walk into a really great hotel room. In order to do this I carefully selected pieces with clean, modern lines and edited the accessories to be minimal and as organic in style as possible. The goal was to create lively yet minimalist spaces that represent a more urban and artsy lifestyle.

Check out these resources to learn more about Condo Cultures listing program or to get a free condo evaluation.