Restyling your home for sale – it's not about your taste
- Liesa Jossel, owner: Home Stagers Cape Town
- 20 hours ago
- 2 min read
When you're selling your home, one of the most important things to remember is this: it's not about your taste. We all have our own preferences – and that’s exactly the point. Staging aims to appeal to the greatest number of people.
Tone down your colours
My preference is for bright colours. Orange, turquoise, mustard... and I’m not shy about putting them all in the same room. My house is full of clashing patterns and bold choices. And I love it. But I also know that if I were selling, I’d have to tone it all down. Because while I like my space to be full of personality, a potential buyer might just not.
It’s the same when people have collections. A wall of knives, a serious wine display, a display cabinet filled with ceramics from around the world – it says something about who you are, and that’s wonderful. But buyers aren’t looking to get to know you. They’re trying to imagine themselves living there, and your house needs to encourage them to do that.
How do home staging consultations work?
When I do a consultation, I walk through the house the way a buyer would. I look at how the space works. What’s the flow like when you walk in the front door?
Is it clear which room is the lounge? Is there enough space to walk around the dining table without having to sidle past a chair or squeeze through a narrow gap?
Sometimes I find a huge bedroom being used as a home office, while the actual bedroom is tucked away in a smaller, darker room. That works when you’re living in a place, but when you’re selling, you want to show off your biggest assets. You want buyers to walk in and say, “Oh wow, I love this bedroom.”
I pay attention to things like where the best view is and whether we’ve placed the furniture to take advantage of it. Is the couch facing a blank wall when it could be angled toward the mountain? Can we open up the curtains a bit more and show off that light?
Simple changes make all the difference
Often, it’s about doing simple things with what you already have. Bookshelves, for instance, don’t need to be emptied or hidden – but they can be colour-coded or spaced out a bit so they look intentional, not crammed. Accessories can be swapped around to create better balance. A few extra cushions and a neatly folded throw can completely change the mood of a tired sofa. I’m not trying to make your home look like a hotel. I’m trying to make it look like a place someone would love to live in.
Restyling for sale isn’t about perfection – it’s about potential. It’s about helping people see how the space can work for them, not just how it works for you. And often, it only takes a few small changes to make that happen.
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