Professionals Real Estate 
How well you present your property can mean the difference in making the sale and getting the price you want. Each room is important, but potential buyers have special areas of focus.
The kitchen:
Often considered the hub of the home, and will be a room of keen interest to a potential buyer. You need to stage this room so it addresses the needs and wants of the viewer.
- Group items that are non appliances in a neat arrangement, consisting of no more than three of the items. It could be a set of 3 canisters, a 3 pot showing of herbs, or a collection of mugs with a teapot. This creates an uncluttered looks and emphasises the open space of the area.
- The inside of the fridge counts too. Make sure it is clean and well organized. Group the foods and drinks in their appropriate groupings.
- Head to the pantry and carry out the same exercise. Organize them so the items are in their proper food groups, and all the labels are facing out.
- Limit the number of appliances that are on your benchtop to three.
- Remove anything that is hanging like your pots that could obscure the view and the flow of the rooms.
- Dress up your kitchen table with a nice neutral covering and matching napkins so it blends in nicely with the décor of the kitchen. Make the center of the table the focal point by placing a nice flower arrangement there.
- Focus on your kitchen lighting. The goal is to have this room look as bright as possible so capitalize on the outdoor lighting as well. Remove any window coverings that could be blocking the natural light. Use extra lighting that you have available like the one in your range hood, but without the fan on.
- If your kitchen has the space, stage a breakfast area.
- If your kitchen has the option to include an eating area, you can set this up with a few bar stools at the island, or even use a small café table and chair set.
- Slip outside and take a look inside the kitchen window and see how your kitchen presents itself. It should create a warm pleasant view. Create a focal point that can be seen from this view like a nice plant or even a collection of herbs growing.
Moving onto the dining room:
This room can be perceived as an added bonus to a prospective buyer. Be sure that this room compliments the kitchen and fits in with the theme of the rest of the house.
- You want to create a flow of the atmosphere from the kitchen into the dining area. If the kitchen is ultra-modern, then the décor of the dining room should be. Make sure you use the appropriate accessories to reflect this.
- It is easy to break the ambiance of the kitchen if the dining room does not match it. For example, a kitchen that presents itself as a relaxed homey room to be in, then leads to a formal living room is going to create confusion.
- Create the illusion of space in the dining room but putting the table in the center of the room and reduce it to its smallest size. Gauge the number of chairs that should be around the table according to the number of bedrooms that you have. For example a three bedroom house would use four to six chairs around the table.
- Emphasize the brightness of the room by raising the window coverings, and use the strongest light bulbs that you can. If necessary add some accent lighting.
- Pay attention to the presentation that your china cabinet is making. Focus on an attractive staging for this.
- Use accessories like table runners and fresh flowers as the focal point.
- For the walls, focus on neutral art like nature or still life or even sketching’s. An alternative is to hang a size appropriate mirror.
- Take some extra time to set the table so it looks attractive, warm and inviting.
