Staging Bookshelves for Selling

Staged Bookshelves

As we all know, the way we live in our homes is different than the way we want to market and sell a property and one area we often get overwhelmed with is our bookshelves and what to do with them. When living in a home we often fill them to the brim. While it’s great to have the space and they’re useful for our needs, when staging bookshelves for selling consider this;  often buyers are overwhelmed by your staggering collection of books. They can get caught up looking at what’s in them over seeing them as what they really are – a big selling feature, especially if they’re built ins! Don’t let your buyers walk away from this value added feature.

Staged Bookshelves by Home Star Staging

Karen’s Tips for Staging Bookshelves for Selling:

1. Remove everything from the shelves.
2. Clean thoroughly.
3. Let the shelves breathe, you don’t need to fill each shelf.  Repeat: you’re selling the built in, not the books!
4. Stay away from using too colorful paperbacks or hardbacks (Often I take the sleeves off to reveal a black hardcover with gold or silver letters, perfect for staging)
5. If possible remove some of the shelving units. Many are adjustable and perfect for showcasing larger decor pieces.
6. Don’t place anything smaller than a cantaloupe back on the shelves. Anything smaller than this is what I call “visual clutter”.
7. Place framed art or other decorative items on the shelves as a creative way to showcase a collection of favorite pieces and inspire outside the box ideas for others to consider for their own items.
8. It’s not about the books when selling a home, it’s about the built ins and the value added feature of the shelves themselves!
9. Draw buyers into the room with purposeful staging on shelves. If they are in a library/office setting consider going with a theme to coordinate  and showcase larger pieces(world traveller? map collector? safari memorabilia? antique book collection?). Guest bedroom units? How about a vintage tea pot collection, books on bed and breakfasts in your area, a big glass jar of mints, a large alarm clock?)
   
   An artful arrangement of books & decorative items on book shelves that were staged to sell in a Dallas, TX home by Home Star Staging
   
   Built ins with removable shelving make great places for art & other decorative pieces
   
   Monochromatic colors work well when staging bookshelves to sell
10. By helping your buyers see potential uses for book shelves other than the usual suspects, you are actually creating value and equity!

Happy Staging Y’all!