Staging Your Front Porch for Summertime Sales

By: David Sporleder
Submitted: 2009-06-22 16:11:38
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With all the talk about staging homes for sale and making sure it has "curb appeal", it struck me how much you could do just in the front porch and walkway area to make a prospective buyer feel welcomed. I've driven by many a house with a sale sign in the yard that has a lovely front side with a well groomed yard, but the porches are often empty.

Porches and verandas always remind me of summertime when I was a kid. It was always the coolest place to be during the sticky-hot afternoons, making it a perfect place to socialize with a glass of lemonade. With the home and neighbourhood design trends leaning more and more towards character and nostalgic charm, it seems natural that the front porch would figure strongly into the desires of current home buyers.

The first step in making your porch stand out as a friendly welcoming area is to give it a good cleaning. Brush all those cobwebs away that let people know that this is an under-utilized space. Does the porch area need repainting? Since you want people to sit and spend time here, it's a good idea to touch up paint in this area, even if you aren't repainting anywhere else.

Take a look at the plants growing against the front of your house. If you have too much foliage right against the front of your house, it could be making your porch seem too dark and cave-like. Too few plants and it could make the area too bright and sparse looking. Adding planters of flowers or fragrant herbs can add some botanical interest and make your porch smell lovely as well. Try using repurposed items to hold plants in for added visual interest.

Light can be a big issue for porches. Too little and a porch is uninviting while too much will make it too hot. If you desperately need brightening up in the porch area, consider installing a skylight. You will get a brighter atmosphere without inviting the elements in.

Don't forget including some inviting furniture. Comfortable furniture truly makes a difference to how useable this area can be. Try to pick furniture that compliments the style of the outside of your home. If your porch or veranda is narrow, consider the size of your furniture so that it doesn't make the space too cluttered. A wide porch might be able to accommodate a few chairs and a coffee table in front but a narrow one will likely need to have the chairs with their backs against the wall of the house and a table set between them.

If your home style allows, consider also including a bit of outdoor art on the porch to make it feel more like an outside room. Appropriate types for using outdoors are paintings that are made specifically out of materials that can withstand the elements, as well as ceramic, concrete, glass, and metal items. Don't restrict yourself to garden art; many types of embellishments can be used just as well outside as indoors.

Don't forget a mailbox and good visible numbers for the front of your house as well. A good mailbox is an essential item for your house even if you don't have door to door mail service in your area. Consider what's going into your mailbox, if it's big items like newspapers, take that into account when looking at what size you're going to need. Big bold house numbers can really complete the look of your home. There are a huge number of styles available if you take a look around your local home supply store or on the internet.

All in all, what you're looking for when staging your home is to encourage people to want to stay and spend time in your home. You want them to want to live in your house and with the warmer summer weather, what better place to start than right at the front door?

Article source: Expert Articles