You may not think your front porch is an important part of your home’s marketability, but homebuyers would disagree. Nationally, front porches have increased in value by 61% since early 2020. With such a rise in popularity, now is the time to make your front porch an additional asset to your home. Use any of these three techniques to effectively stage your front porch.
Before you begin staging, do a little porch facelift. First, dig into the immediate porch surrounding areas. These include your landscaping, your home’s exterior, stairs, and walkway. Basically, anything that will take away from your freshly staged front porch. Your lawn and landscaping can easily be cleaned up by removing dead leaves and twigs before trimming back unruly bushes. You should also put down a fresh layer of mulch and fill in any empty areas with perennial flowers or bushes.
If your walkway is cracking or crumbling you may need to invest in a professional who can lay a new walkway or if possible, patch the old. The same is true of your steps. If they are boring concrete steps that are still structurally sound, you can cover them with stone veneers for a unique accent.
Another area around your front porch that can be covered are porch columns. These are generally boring in style but very necessary for structural integrity. You can easily add column wraps around your existing column.
Finally, if your home exterior is in desperate need of repainting, now is the time to do it. Choose a neutral color for your whole house but go bold with your front door. This will really draw the eye to your front porch and make your front porch staging shine.
Technique #1: Keep it Local
Homebuyers consider many factors when purchasing a home. One of the most important factors is the area around the home. Is your home located near a lake, near the ocean, or down the street from a well-known historical center? If you are lucky enough to live in an area with a locale that sells itself, you should make that a focal point of your front porch. Adirondack or rocking chairs are common seating arrangements on a front porch, but they can also be an ode to your home’s surroundings. If you live near a historical site you can opt for red, white, and blue cushions. If you live near the ocean your cushions or throw pillows can display seashells or waves. The same is true of additional decors like your welcome mat or door wreath. Simple and small additions here and there will remind homebuyers that your home is part of the area they want to live in.
Technique #2: Hint at Your Home’s Amenities
Is your backyard a pool-side oasis complete with a swim-up bar and outdoor kitchen? Or is your home in tip-top tech-savvy shape? Whatever lifestyle you have embraced within your home, let that shine through into your front porch staging. For example, if you have a backyard oasis you can add a small but fun display of sunglasses and a flamingo statue to a corner of your front porch. If your home is tech-savvy you could add a smart doorbell for homebuyers to see the moment they reach your front door. You can also add smart motion-activated lights for homebuyers who will be viewing your property in the evening. Whatever your home’s vibe, just bring those features to your front porch.
Technique #3: Accent your Architecture
Sometimes your home’s architecture is enough to make your front porch really shine. When this is the case don’t cover that aesthetic of your house with unnecessary frills. For instance, if your home has French country architecture details you should carry those over into the seating selection of your front porch with French country metal benches. If your home is more modern, stick with the modern theme by limiting frills and opting for sleek clean-lined furniture pieces and limited accessories.
Whatever front porch staging technique you choose makes it inviting. Homebuyers should want to sit and relax on your front porch so keep seating cozy. Remember it doesn’t take much to stage a front porch so that it reflects your home’s style and leaves a memorable impression on homebuyers.
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