Don’t Forget the Garage: Garage Staging Ideas That Will Help Sell Your Home

So you’ve staged your home and feel ready to welcome prospective buyers. You’ve got the living room looking like a Town & Country spread, and the bathroom is pristine.

That’s all well and good, but imagine then taking a potential buyer to your garage, only for them to be greeted with dirt, clutter, and dinginess. The garage is an important but overlooked part of staging a house, one that can affect the value of your home by up to 13%.

A neglected garage can and will leave a bad impression on buyers, so you’ll need to know how to stage a garage that sells. Here are the top garage staging ideas for your home.

Garage Staging Ideas: Start from the Outside

The first place to start with any home staging is the outside. Curb appeal is everything in the real estate market, and your garage is a crucial part of that appeal.

First off you’ll need to make sure the garage door isn’t defective or beaten-up. Arrange for some quality garage door repair before you do anything else. After that, make sure to freshen up the exterior with a fresh coat of paint.

Clear the Mess

Garages are all too often mere repositories for our useless junk. In order to complete the house to home transformation, the buyer must be able to envision themselves living in the home.

This won’t happen if they are confronted with dozens of old boxes, tools, and garbage bags. Clear it out, throw it away, and put it into storage. Just get it out of sight.

Freshen It Up

The same rules about curb appeal apply to the interior of the garage. Arm yourself with some cleaning equipment and a bucket of paint, then get to work.

You want your entire home to look fresh and inviting, including the garage. This means scrubbing it down from top to bottom, emptying it out so that the buyer can fill the space with their own fantasies.

Lighting is Key

Lighting is probably one of the most important parts of house staging. With the garage, this can be especially challenging, given the lack of natural light available.

Your best bet is to go with halogen lighting which really exposes every inch of the space. Some strategically installed lightbulbs in the corners and on the ceiling will make the world of difference and remove the “creepy factor” that often accompanies garages.

Be Creative with the Space

These days a garage can be so much more than just a place to park your car. One of the best home staging tips to remember is that every room should inspire the viewer. If they hadn’t thought of it already, then your decor should make them consider it.

This means you should see what you can do with the garage, which is a valuable piece of space in itself. Perhaps transform it into a home office for the day or a recreation room. Maybe throw in some neon lighting or a bar, to show that a garage can truly be a major asset in a home.

Learn More

If you’d like to learn more about the best staging ideas for your home or have some other key questions about buying and selling, make sure to check out our forums for all the information you could ever need.