Portland Home Offices Add Big Value
What’s the biggest home-buying trend in Portland this year? The home office! With more and more people working from home — especially in this tech-focused city — a home office of some kind is essential for many home buyers.
If you’re selling a home in Portland, your real estate agent has probably already talked to you about the importance of staging your home. Whether you already have a home office or want to show off some extra space as an office, here are some tips to keep in mind:
1. A great office is an asset to your home, but a messy one could be a liability, sending buyers into a fit of anxiety over the work that YOU need to do! That’s the last thing you want. Even if you have someone coming to do the actual staging for you before your home is shown, organize, organize, organize! Piles of paper, unused printers and dusty bookshelves are a no, as is small clutter like paper clips and pencils. Tuck it in a drawer or somewhere out of sight (but if your office has a closet for storage, don’t cram it full). If you don’t have time to go through everything, get some boxes and store it.
2. If you don’t have an office to stage, consider making use of a smaller bedroom, spare alcoves, or just a corner of the living room for a small desk and chair set-up. Check out sites like houzz.com and Pinterest to get ideas to make your mini-office neat, visually interesting, and enticing. If the buyer sees it and says “Wow, I would actually WANT to work if I had that office,” you’ve scored big!
3. Styling it yourself? Reuse and repurpose furniture you already have, rather than buying new “home office” stuff. After all, one of the best things about home staging is that it helps you start the pre-move paring-down process! If the desk in your home office is huge and you’re getting rid of it anyway, do so, and find a small table to set up instead. Light, simple furniture is best, even if it doesn’t meet the traditional “office” mold. After all, your house is first a home, then an office!
4. The home stagers’ mantra: Lighting. If your office is tucked in a corner, make sure you have a nice lamp shining on the desk. Floor lamps work well, too. If you can set up your home office near a window, even better. Keep colors light — white, beige and pastels look great, and light blues create a feeling of peace and productivity.
Living and working in Portland, all without the commute — what’s not to love? A tidy home office staged and styled right will boost your Portland home’s value, and buyers will love it too.
