Home Staging Trends to Look Out for in 2021

Thursday Jun 24th, 2021

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In 2020, we stayed at home. 

And all this time spent at home has taught us to reappropriate the space we live in. Our relationship with our apartments and houses has changed: our residences have an increasingly versatile role, in turn as places of work, relaxation or leisure. In 2021, we may cease to be confined, but the COVID experience will have had a lasting impact on us and will no doubt influence our real estate choices for years to come. 


Unsurprisingly, home staging trends are adapting to these major changes. And with good reason: the role of home staging is to enhance the value of a property to facilitate its sale or rental. It is therefore important to remain attentive to market developments to continue to seduce potential buyers and tenants. 

Here are a few tips to follow to optimize your home staging in 2021. First with some timeless rules that are even more applicable today and then the emerging trends that will define the year.

The timeless guidelines

Welcoming... but impersonal! 

This golden rule of home staging is more relevant than ever. To sell or rent a residence, it’s essential to depersonalize it, by removing all the extravagant decorations or family memories that you may love, but that won’t speak to everyone’s tastes... The idea is to allow anyone to be able to imagine themselves living there. Something that is hard to do when the space has photos of someone else! 

This is all the more true in times of COVID, where everyone is building a very personal relationship with their home. What is cozy for you is not necessarily cozy for everyone. Some people think that warm colors and thick materials are ideal, others swear by a minimalist aesthetic. The best is to opt for a simple, refined decoration that everyone can adapt to their taste.

How to stand out then? If your decoration is neutral enough, you can afford one original decorative object that highlights the charm of the property. For vacation rentals, a little local touch can transport the potential visitors and might be what you need to get them to choose your property over another. When planning your photos, don't hesitate to use close-up shots to highlight the original touches of your decoration. 

 

 

Tidiness comes first 

The second golden rule of home staging: display clean and tidy interiors! It’s imperative that the beds are made and that the bulkiest objects are excluded from the photos. 

Other bulky unattractive elements can be hidden before the photoshoot. We believe that this rule will be even more important in 2021. Why? 

Since we’re spending more and more time at home, it’s important to show a buyer that you can move around freely. Which means no more cumbersome furniture! Especially when apartments or houses don’t have a dedicated exercise space, we suggest making the rooms clean enough to be able to imagine transforming them into improvised gyms. 

Storage spaces have also become more important. Don't hesitate to devote some close-up shots to show how easy it is to organize the space. If you have particularly practical furniture that might convince a buyer, show it off!

 

2021-Specific Trends

Highlight the exterior spaces 

In 2020, we spent a lot of time dreaming about the outdoors. So we’ve learned the value of outdoor spaces, even when it's just a small balcony where we can spend a few minutes a day! Terraces, verandas, gardens... These living spaces are more important than ever. If your property has them, put them in the spotlight by showing how they could be lived in by decorating them with furniture (without cluttering them up too much).

 

Forbes magazine highlights this new craze for outdoor living spaces. In designing them, homeowners are emphasizing structures that protect the privacy of residents, the eco-friendly qualities of the gardens, and certain luxury amenities. 

Even if there are no outside spaces, your windows count for a lot! Show the outside from the inside, especially if you have an unobstructed view. 

The golden age of home offices 

The pandemic has turned the modern office upside down. According to The New York Times, 86% of Americans are satisfied working from home, and 1 in 3 employees would move to a new city if they had to continue working from home indefinitely. For the real estate market, this means buyers who judge properties according to their home office potential. 

 

If your property allows, set up comfortable office space and take pictures to show it off. Home office photography has become essential, just like photos of the kitchen or bathroom. 

 

Another consequence of the boom in teleworking is that open concept interiors have been dethroned. The preference is now for more compartmentalized spaces, which make it easier to concentrate by providing each member of the family with a little privacy. So think twice before knocking down walls and partitions!

The kitchen, the centerpiece of the house

You've probably noticed it: on your Facebook and Instagram feeds, culinary content is exploding! If your friends and family seem to have discovered a sudden passion for cooking, it's normal. Forbes magazine has identified home meal preparation as a leading food trend for 2021.

Our penchant for cooking has consequences in terms of real estate. If you plan to spend more time in front of the stove, you might as well make the experience comfortable. A well-equipped and organized kitchen can be the deciding factor for many. As we’ve covered earlier, order and tidiness are two important elements of home staging. They’re even more important in the kitchen, where utensils and ingredients can quickly become overwhelming. Set up storage systems that are both aesthetic and practical (boxes, jars for spices...) that will help your visitors imagine themselves there. 

 

Wellness and fitness

Taking care of yourself: this was an obligation in 2020. In order to survive crises, many of us were looking for a little inner peace through various relaxation practices. Our craze for well-being is reflected in our interiors: Yoga, meditation, sports... all this deserves a dedicated place if possible. 

The first space concerned is the bathroom. More than a simple functional place, it often becomes a home spa. If you chose to enhance the bathroom with equipment such as massage showers, don't hesitate to take close-up photos of these details that can tip the balance in your favor. 

Secondly, home gyms are on the rise! If your property has a suitable place for physical exercise, you can imply a work-out space by staging some sports equipment (weights or mats), without forgetting of course the needs for organization and storage. 


16 Dec 2020 by Joy Habib

 

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