Stone Care Experts’ Tips for Staging Granite Features to Sell Your Home
It’s summer — and that means that it’s home selling (and buying) time. If you’ve been ready to move for months, it’s exciting to be able to start going to showings, putting together a house wish list, and seeing yourself in new surroundings. However, to buy the new home of your dreams, you’re likely going to sell your own. This can be difficult, but there are steps you can take to help other people see your home in the best possible light. One great initial strategy is to play up features you already have that you know are very marketable. One such feature? Your granite countertops and natural-stone floors. According to the National Association of Home Builders, almost 60% of home buyers look for granite in the homes they purchase. Here’s how to stage your granite countertops and floors to have the maximum effect on your home’s selling prospects.
Make Your Granite Surfaces Sealed, Smooth and Healthy
Start with the health of your features and go from there. Fortunately, granite is relatively low-maintenance, and it doesn’t necessarily take much to coax a gorgeous luster out of well-cared-for countertops and floors. To care for your features well, though, you may need to make a few strategic swaps in your stone-care routine. For example, if you’ve been using regular soap or one of the (many) Internet-popular DIY cleaning solutions that use lemon juice, bleach or ammonia, now is an excellent time to stop that practice. There’s a lot of misinformation on the Internet about proper stone care, and this is one of those cases! These types of overly harsh solutions, as well as common household cleaners, will dull the professional finish and strip the protective seal, putting the stone at risk of stains and etches, leading to costly repair or replacement. That’s not the goal! You can avoid this by selecting stone-care products that are specifically formulated to care for natural-stone and quartz surfaces.
Show Your Granite Countertops Off to Their Best Effect
Once your countertops and floors are clean and cared for, it’s time to give them the best opportunity to look great in your home. Follow these staging tips to achieve the effect that you want: Limit what you place on your countertops and floors. Clutter doesn’t look sophisticated and expensive; cleared-off, clean granite does. If you’re able, remove all (or almost all) appliances from your countertops. Remove smaller area rugs and position furniture strategically to allow the most floor space possible. If you’re living in your home during your sale, this may be difficult—but these tricks will go the furthest towards helping your home look spacious and beautiful. Choose countertop accessories very strategically. Before an open house or a scheduled showing, place one vase of flowers or one plate of cookies in the middle of your otherwise bare granite countertop. Create a corner vignette of aesthetic (or necessary) appliances. If it’s not possible to remove all of your tools from your countertops, place them in the corner of your kitchen. Pair more functional appliances with stylish accent pieces; for example, if your blender or coffeemaker needs to stay out, place fresh fruit, small cups of cream, or a cutting board with bread and cheese out in front. (Look at high-end kitchen magazines to see how they’ve staged their offerings. It may not be practical, but it can help buyers imagine themselves at home in your kitchen.)
Consider an Additional Layer of Granite Polish
When potential home buyers walk into a home with clean, gleaming countertops, they often find that it’s hard to walk away! Now that your granite countertops are clean, healthy and staged to their best effect, smooth on a layer of polish to get that show-stopping natural stone effect you want. As before, remember that you need to care for your stone to make it look the way you want. Don’t pick up any regular furniture or floor polish, which may do more harm than good. Instead, rely on granite polish made by Stone Care Experts. Trust us: You won’t regret it!