Garage Home Staging

Staging a Garage

In your staging plan, you will want to focus on creating a space that looks orderly. In Step 2. Cleaning, Organizing and Decluttering a Garage, you created space by packing away all but the most essential items in the garage. In this step, you will set the stage for a garage that anyone can see themselves owning.

The most important color for a garage is clean.

• You can choose any light neutral color to paint the walls. We preferto use November Rain (Benjamin Moore OC-) because it goes with everything and looks very clean. Choose an eggshell finish for the walls so they can be easily cleaned with a damp cloth.
• Garage ceilings should be white as should painted trim. If your garage woodwork is stained, then make sure these mouldings are clean and polished.
• If the inside of the garage is unfinished, then whitewashing the walls will help brighten the space and help make the space look cleaner.

Here's one place where lining the walls is the best option.

• If you have storage shelves, then these should be against the outer walls of the garage. Take heed not to put more than 3 or 4 shelving units in a garage. If you have built-in storage units, then they should suffice and you probably won't want to put any free-standing units in the garage.
• The center of the garage needs to be kept absolutely vacant. Prospective home buyers want to see that there is plenty of room for one, two or three cars in the space.
• A workbench or other work space should have a few tools (this will tell buyers that this is, in fact, a usable workbench). Keep the top of the work space clear which gives the impression that there is a lot of room to work.
• Make sure thathousehold chemicals do not make the wrong impression. Rodent traps, bug spray, etc., should not be stored where buyers will see. Put these in a storage box on a high shelf and tape it up - you don't want to advertise that this home needs these items.
• If you keep your items stored in categories (sports equipment, garden tools, auto supplies) your garage will be orderly enough for the pickiest buyer. Remember to keep shelves just 1/3 full.
• Keep in mind that sometimes buyers want the garage door open. This will impact your curb appeal so a neat garage is crucial when showing your home.

Lighting is very important in a garage as these areas tend to be dull and drab as a rule.

• Replace light bulbs in all the fixtures with the highest wattage allowed.
• If the garage has windows, remove old drapes or blinds and make sure the windows stay very clean throughout the on-market time.
• Add to your checklist for home staging some new light fixtures in the garage if it is still dark after completing the two suggestions above.

• The least expensive option is a do-it-yourself epoxy coating on the floor. This product gets rolled onto the garage floor like paint and can really update an old floor.

• If a coating isn't an option, consider garage floor tiles that snap together to form a grid. These super-strong tiles look terrific and can really dress up an otherwise plain space.

Accessories will warm up a space or define it's purpose. Usually this is not a problem with a garage. It is what it is. If you are storing items from other areas of the home in the garage, limit the number of boxes to a dozen or fewer medium-sized boxes. Yes, the garage is for storage, but you don't want to give the impression that the house doesn't have room for all your things. Try and put as many of these boxes in off-site storage as practicable and keep only those you will actually need while the home is on the market.

All finished with the garage? Outstanding! Let's move on to the last place we need to visit - the great outdoors.

Go to Clean, Organize and Declutter the Outdoor Spaces or Staging the Outdoor Spaces and Curb Appeal. Or, return to our home page from Garage Home Staging.