In today’s guest post, Hilda Cabral, principal designer of Hilda Cabral Design , is going to tell us everything we need to know about successful home staging in Toronto.

It wasn’t too long ago that the concept of staging a home for resale didn’t even exist. But today, home staging in Toronto isn’t exclusive to high-end properties or reality tv shows.…it’s an essential service designed to help you get the best possible price for your most valuable asset… your home.

As a designer and a home stager, Hilda is a unique combination of design aesthetic AND financial acumen.

For this article, I have asked Hilda to pretend she is advising one of her best friends on how to best stage her home for resale.

Here we go…

Home Staging in Toronto - everything you NEED to know

First impressions matter. It’s true that potential buyers form an opinion within seconds of visiting a property.

As such, styling the home for sale, if done properly, makes it so much more likely that this opinion will be a positive one. To begin with, I can tell you that there are more than a few misconceptions about home staging floating around the Toronto real estate market. Home staging is not filling a house with furniture, it is not just decorating, and it is not generic design. Instead, home staging is about showing the potential of the spaces throughout a property while establishing a connection with potential buyers.

How do we do that?

Declutter

We tend to accumulate a lot of things in our home because, well, we live there. The first step to home staging in Toronto’s red-hot housing market is to declutter by removing things that are personal, unnecessary, not aesthetic or taking up space. This helps the property look lighter, bigger, and more organized.

Clean, then clean again

You would think this is an obvious one… but you’d be surprised. Having a clean property is of utmost importance. From the floors to the furniture, everything has to be spotless. This extends from just being dust-free to properly painted walls (with appropriate colours), fixed drawers, polished floors, etcetera. You want potential buyers to focus on the actual property not on how many scratches are on the walls.

Organize the space

Once the home is decluttered and clean, then you can start thinking about the actual uses of the space. Houses tend to be more straight-forward in the sense that there is a defined living room, dining room, kitchen, and so on. Condos and lofts, however, can require some creativity to show these spaces. You want potential buyers to see just how much they can actually accomplish within the property, something they most likely wouldn’t be able to envision themselves.

Of course, not everyone wants the same thing, so you need to be creative of how you do so. The example above shows a one bedroom + den apartment a bit under 600 square feet.

Considering its size, location, and target buyer (most likely a young professional or couple), we wanted to show that the apartment, although small, could satisfy different needs. The way it was organized before only allowed you to envision a working space in the den, which could possibly be replaced by a dining room — meaning you would have to sacrifice one or the other.

By reorganizing a bit, we were able to not only bring personality to the space, but also show that there was enough room to have a proper bedroom, kitchen, living room, dining area and workspace. The potential buyer, then, can relate to whatever resonates more with them personally, whether that be space for entertaining, a place to work, or all of the ones featured.

Staging is not about your personal taste

When styling a property for sale it has to look good, of course. Yet, decor is subjective, so it’s best to keep in mind that it’s not about your personal style. It’s better to stick to neutrals and colours and styles that are not very controversial.

Keep in mind that this normally means you have to remove and replace furniture and accessories, even if you like them. I recently styled a property that had a very cool piece of furniture that worked for how they used the space but, when it came to styling, the piece just did not go with the flow of the house, even though it was a great piece in and of itself.

Don’t be afraid to add personality

That being said, don’t be afraid of adding character to the styling. Home staging in Toronto is not about just filling a space with furniture nor does it have to be synonymous with generic design. It’s about maximizing the space, highlighting the features of the property and, most importantly, establishing a connection with potential buyers.

From letting the seller know what can stay and what should go, to arranging any services the client wishes, and, of course, bringing in carefully selected furniture and accessories to make the property look its best, a good stager will be there every step along the way to make sure your home sells for its best possible value.

About the Author

Hilda Cabral is the principal designer of Hilda Cabral Design, which offers staging and interior services in Toronto. With a keen eye for design, Hilda excels at mixing modern, local, vintage, and affordable to style spaces with a kick of character that feel welcoming and comfortable. Because, after all, the most important feeling when you walk into a house is feeling at home.

You can contact Hilda at her website, via email and on Instagram.