Putting a home on the market in the fall can give sellers an advantage. Lower inventory means less competition, but shorter days, cooler weather, and holiday distractions can work against you.
Although plenty of staging advice encourages sellers to “embrace the season,” proceed with caution. Pumpkins, plaids and pilgrims may be perfect for fall, but they don’t belong on your home staging agenda. Here’s what to skip — and what to do instead — to keep buyers focused on the house.
7 fall home staging don’ts
1. Don’t let leaves take over the yard
As temperatures drop, those colorful trees will quickly start losing their leaves — and Mother Nature doesn’t care one iota that your home is on the market. What looks charming one day can look messy and neglected the next.
What to do instead: Keep the lawn, driveway, sidewalks and entryways cleared throughout the listing period — not just for photos. A few colorful leaves might say fall, but a yard buried beneath them says “yard work.”
2. Don’t let your landscaping become an eyesore
It’s not just the leaves — your landscaping is calling it quits, too. Perennials are fading, annuals are kaput, and garden beds and window boxes are looking rather sad.
What to do instead: Start by pulling dead or dying annuals, cutting back perennials that have gone to seed and trimming shrubs that have gotten out of control. Then rake up the leaves and debris collecting around the foundation.
Once everything’s been cleaned up, add some color back to the landscape with a few large, well-placed pots of cool-weather favorites like marigolds, ornamental cabbage, asters and mums.
3. Don’t ignore the cobwebs
Did you know late summer through fall is prime time for spiders? While you were sleeping, they were busy spinning their webs — under the eaves, across the siding and especially around outdoor light fixtures. Nothing screams “Halloween has officially arrived!” like walking up to a house full of cobwebs.
What to do instead: With spider webs, a garden hose with a strong sprayer should do the trick. If dirt, grime or algae have joined forces with the cobwebs, it’s time to bring in the power washer. Pay special attention to the front entry — buyers will be standing there with plenty of time to notice everything while their agent wrestles with the lockbox.
4. Don’t overwhelm buyers with seasonal scents
Smacking potential buyers in the face with cinnamon, pumpkin and spice the moment they walk through the door isn’t really all that appealing. Strong seasonal scents can quickly overpower a home — and the entire showing. Worse yet, a strong scent may leave buyers wondering what you’re trying to cover up.
What to do instead: As weather permits, open the windows briefly during the warmer late-morning or early-afternoon hours, and let some fresh air in. Create a little cross-ventilation with a window fan, and turn on exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathrooms to help clear out stale or lingering odors.
Nothing beats the clean, natural scent of fresh air — and most buyers will find it far more appealing.
5. Don’t leave buyers in the dark
Shorter days mean less natural light, and that can leave rooms looking dull and dreary, making it more difficult for buyers to fully appreciate what they’re seeing. Brighter light bulbs and open drapes can help, but don’t stop there.
What to do instead: Take it one step further than just throwing open the drapes — remove them altogether. The same goes for swags and valances that serve no real purpose other than décor. They block valuable natural light and can make a room feel heavy and dated.
Don’t just replace the bulbs — clean the fixtures and replace heavy lampshades with translucent shades to allow more light to filter through.
Finally, take advantage of mirrors, glass and other reflective surfaces to help bounce light around the room. Tuck small mirrors into open shelving or lean one on the mantel. A larger mirror placed behind a lamp or across from a window can reflect even more light and make the entire room feel brighter and more open.
6. Don’t be so quick to embrace ‘cozy’
I know this goes completely against the typical “home staging for fall” advice you’ve probably heard before, but consider this: Have you ever seen “cozy” make the Top 10 wish list for potential buyers? How about the Top 20?
Trust me. It’s not on the list.
Most of today’s buyers aren’t looking for “cozy.” They’re looking for space, light and function. There’s no need to toss more chunky throws, fuzzy plaid blankets or faux-fur pillows on the sofa — they’re not spending the night.
What to do instead: Forget about all that extra fluff. If a home feels too drafty or chilly for showings, turn up the heat. You can add a feeling of warmth without being quite so literal. Create a furniture layout that encourages conversation, allows for easy traffic flow and makes the space inviting enough that buyers want to step in and linger.
7. Don’t fall for kitschy décor
You don’t want buyers walking away remembering the pumpkins, gourds, corn shocks and other holiday-themed decorations greeting them at the front door or the pilgrim-and-turkey centerpiece on the dining room table. You want them to remember the wonderful curb appeal and how spacious that dining room was.
Even loading up your home with the colors of fall can be too much. A few subtle touches are one thing, but when buyers start noticing the decorating instead of the features, you’ve gone too far.
What to do instead: Avoid all that kitsch. If you absolutely insist on adding a little something, skip the obvious colors of fall, and opt for subtle metallics like antique gold, rubbed bronze or copper. And whatever you do, don’t overdo it.
When your listing is on the market, the décor should never be more memorable than the house itself.
Lori Matzke is founder and president at Home Staging Expert, Inc. Get connected on Instagram and LinkedIn.
