Well, I sat down this evening to write a post about whether or not to decorate your home for the holidays when your property is on the market. Turns out I still feel rather strongly about it and I realized I’d written a post on this same topic last year. (If you’re interested you can find the post here.)
For the most part, I still agree with myself:
- Pick one accent colour for holiday decor that works with your home decor, and stick to it.
- No “cute”, inflatable, or flashing anything.
- For every holiday decor item you choose to display, remove one daily decor accent of similar proportions. (Because, of course, you’ve already edited your knickknacks, tchotchkes, collections and everything off the fridge and floor, right?)
- Do not have holiday decorations visible when marketing photos are taken of your home – they become dated within about 2 weeks.
Just in case you need a reminder…potential buyers will check closets and cupboards. Prepack off-season and seldom used items to free up space. (Ideally, every closet and cupboard should be no more than 1/3 full. Viewers will be amazed at all the storage space you have!)
I’m seeing lots of white glass and ceramic holiday decorations this year. Would white work as your one colour? Clear glass is also a lovely material to decorate with during the holidays, or anytime.
Last year I suggested you could leave out cookies or cider and spices simmering on the stove. Don’t even worry about all that. Just make sure you’ve followed all the usual rules of staging:
- Declutter and edit
- Keep an overall neutral palette
- Keep your home immaculately clean
Enjoy the last holiday season in your current home, just be aware that the house is now a product for sale. You can go hog wild on decorations next year if that’s your tendency.
Have you decorated your home for the holidays while it was for sale? How much did you decorate and did you notice any reactions from potential buyers? Were they fascinated with your Christmas Village instead of the new windows and hardwood flooring you had installed?
