HOMES + I N S I G H T
8 Staging Hacks
for Everyday Life
After working with a homeowner to prepare their home for sale, we often hear from them how much they wish that they had brought us in sooner, before Shauna Lynn Simon they decided to sell the house, so that they could have enjoyed some of the CEO of Beyond The Stage Homes changes that we helped them to make! They especially love learning some of our home staging tricks and hacks, so we’re sharing a few of our favourite low-cost tips for your home, to help you to live better, regardless of whether or not you’re selling.
1. Zip tie your lamp cords (and other cables)
2. Use baskets to hide cables
In staging, few things are worse than seeing a long dangling cord behind a table. Using a zip tie to cinch these helps to clean them up and keep them out of the sightline. Wind up any extra slack in the cable or cord that is not needed and fasten with a tie (we often use a reusable Velcro tape in place of a zip tie). You may opt to bundle the cord close to the tabletop and tie, or tie the cord to the table leg at the top and bottom, bundling the cord at the base.
It’s not a fancy trick, but it can be incredibly effective. Hide routers, cables, and other messes using baskets. Consider adding a shelf under your desk to get the cords and cables off of the floor and place the basket on this shelf. NOTE: some items (such as routers) need room to vent, so be sure to account for and allow for this for your safety.
Cables and chargers can quickly turn into a mess of cords as well. You can tame them by grouping computer or tv cables together with a zip tie in a few spots to keep them from getting tangled. Take it a step further by labelling your cords (close to the plug) so that you can easily unplug the right device, without having to do any serious detective work to find the one that you need to disconnect. There are a variety of cord labelling systems available for sale, but it doesn’t need to be fancy – you can these create with any labels or tape that you have in your household already.
44
3. Hide your everyday toiletries in plain sight Hat boxes are an attractive way to hide everyday toiletries, and come in sizes large enough to fit your lotions and sprays easily! This will help to keep them organized, and within easy reach, without cluttering your counters.
4. Avoid splitting plaster with painters’ tape or masking tape Simply place a small piece of tape (approximately ½”) where you want to place your picture hook or nail before hammering. This will prevent the wall from splitting when you puncture it with the nail.
