15 Quick Tips for Staging Your Home with Pillows

15 Quick Tips for Staging Your Home with Pillows

If you’re in search of easy, affordable ways to get your home ready to sell, there’s no better option than adding some high-style throw pillows indoors and out. Unlike paint and wallpaper, toss pillows are a relatively affordable way to spice up your space without hiring a professional or draining your DIY bank.

Using your design eye and some trendy pillows, you can transform your space into one that’s well-suited for the most challenging real estate markets! Settle in and get ready for some serious pillow talk with these quick and easy staging tips.

Keep it Neutral, Or Not

One of the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to staging is to keep your colors neutral. The idea is that easy-to-match solid colors will help buyers better envision their own décor in your space.

In fact, a study by the Institute of Color Research revealed that people tend to make subconscious judgments about an environment within 90 seconds of viewing, and that 93 percent of that is based on visual appearance, including color! Peppering your home with neutral-colored pillows in tan, brown and gray is a good way to play to that notion.

On the other hand, there may be some solid benefits to skipping the neutrals. According to interior design experts, a bright pop of color or a bold print can really do wonders for small seating areas or otherwise monochrome spaces.

They also work well to help large furniture stand out and to complement and highlight your home’s structural features, such as the finish of the wood or the molding. The bottom line: choose pillows that complement your home’s style and aesthetic, and don’t be afraid to play with colors if you think they add style!

Quick Color Tips:

• Pair brightly colored cushions with neutral-toned furniture and vise-versa.
• Consider red toss pillows if you’re working with hardwood with red undertones, and blue toss pillows if you’d like to draw out the bluish tones of ash.
• Stick to solid-colored throw pillows when dressing up furniture with busy prints or patterns and patterned toss pillows when decorating solid-colored furniture.
• If you prefer neutral pillows but still want an eye-catching look, consider decorating with high-style pillows featuring a subtle texture, like linen or tweed.
• Swap colors with the season. For example, you can add dark-toned purple and deep orange in the fall and capture the spirit of spring with pastels.

Take it Outside

There’s little more valuable in the real estate market than a functional, well-appointed outdoor space. Potential buyers are very likely to see your patio, backyard and screened-in porch as a value proposition that will help them relax and unwind after a long day.

And, let’s face it: house-buying is stressful, so play up this asset! If that’s not enough to convince you, a study by the National Association of Home Builders revealed that 83 percent of buyers look for a home with a patio, while 80 percent desire a front porch.

Now that you know your outdoor space is high on the list of sought-after home features, you can get to decorating! Outdoor throw pillows are by large the simplest, most affordable way to dress up your porch or patio, even if you’re working with old, out-of-date patio furniture. Don’t be afraid to cover up stained or worn-out wicker, wrought iron or wood with eye-catching patio furniture cushions that match or to finally make your big patio visions a reality with unique and creative outdoor designs.

Quick Outdoor Tips:

• Always choose porch or patio pillows made with outdoor fabric that’s UV-resistant by top makers like Sunbrella and Solarium.
• Use patio throw pillows to cover up stained or worn-out cushions or implement new patio cushions to cover up aging furniture.
• Consider matching your outdoor pillows to a set of all-new seat cushions for a great-looking, uniform style that catches the buyer’s eye.
• Complement your solid-colored patio cushions with a set of high-style patterned patio pillows in a contemporary print.
• Choose outdoor throw pillows that match the season or pick novelty styles that helps you celebrate certain holidays.

Experiment with Texture

One of the best ways to give off the air that your home is the perfect place for a wide range of unique buyers is to complement it with sumptuous, royal textures in any room throughout your home. This is an especially useful tip for those sellers who have decided to move before placing their home on the market and are dealing with a home full of relatively bare spaces. For rooms with hardwood floors and neutral-colored walls, velvet and tweed are top-notch choices for bringing in some serious warmth.

In carpeted rooms or rooms with heavy upholstered furniture, we highly recommend choosing subtle, lighter-weight textures like linen or 100 percent cotton in refreshing colors that help lighten up the atmosphere. Color plays a big role here, too, and you’ll want to choose colors that draw out the room’s architectural features and permanent accents while also playing to your personal sense of style, whether it be neutral and easy-to-style or unique and eye-catching.

• If staging in the winter, warm a room up with luxurious tweed or velvet toss pillows that bring in warmth and comfort.
• For screened-in porches and patios or for staging in the summer, cool things down with lighter-weight linen or cotton toss pillows.
• Contrast your solid-colored furniture with a subtle patterned throw pillow with accents like raised embroidery, sequins, buttons or gem accents.
• Complement rustic décor with burlap toss pillows and more contemporary styles with subtle textures with matching trim.
• Use popping textures, such as embroidery or bobble textures with your solid-colored furniture and choose subdued styles to contrast busy patterns.

Pillows…. they’re not just for fighting anymore!