10 Low Budget Home Staging Hacks to Use in Everyday Life

Our home staging clients often tell us how much they wish that they had brought us in sooner, before they decided to sell the house, so that they could have enjoyed some of the changes that we made! They especially love seeing some of our home staging tricks and hacks first hand, so we’ve decided to share some of our favourites with you! You can put these low-cost ideas to use in your home, regardless of whether or not you are selling.

1. Use baskets to hide cables
It’s not a fancy trick, but it can be incredibly effective. Hide routers, cables, and other messes using baskets. NOTE: some items (such as routers) need room to vent, so be sure to account for and allow for this.

Consider adding a shelf under your desk to get the cords and cables off of the floor.

2. Zip tie your lamp cords (and other electronics)
In staging, there is nothing worse than seeing a long dangling cord behind a table. By zip-tying these, they can be cleaned up and out of site. Wind up extra slack in the cable or cord not needed and tie. You can bundle the cord close to the table top and tie, or tie the cord to the table leg at the top and bottom, and bundle the cord at the base. It’s easy for cables and chargers to become a bit of a mess as well. Group your office or tv cables together and zip tie in a few spots to keep them from getting tangled. It’s also a great idea to label your cords (close to the plug) so that you can easily unplug one when you need to without needing to do serious detective work to find the right one to disconnect. There are a variety of cord labelling systems available for sale, but it doesn’t need to be fancy - you can these create with any labels or tape that you have in your household already.

3. Use painters tape or masking tape to hang art on plaster walls
This will prevent the wall from splitting when you puncture it with the nail. Simply place a small piece of tape (approximately ½”) where you want to hang the nail before hammering.

4. Disguise your everyday products
Hat boxes are an attractive way to hide your everyday toiletries, and come in sizes large enough to fit your lotions and sprays easily!

5. Freshen your furniture with touch-up markers
While it’s not the most glamorous fix, this is a trick that is often used in home staging, and works great for giving furniture a quick touch-up from nicks and scratches. When you’re selling your home, even though you are not likely selling your furnishings, showing care of these items will help to show pride of ownership in your home.

6. Get rid of your fireplace's brass trim
One of the biggest things that can show a fireplace’s age is a brass trim! Pick up some black barbeque paint and cover the brass for an instant update!

7. Fix outdated backsplashes
Have an out-dated backsplash but can’t afford to replace it? Painting it will give it a fresh new look! This is intended as a temporary solution, but with the right paint, it can last for a few years. Not recommended for floor tiles.

8. Yes, you can paint brick!
Paint brick to give an instant update, whether on the interior or exterior of your house. Again, you’ll want to ensure that you are using a paint designed for this type of surface; you’ll be amazed by the finish.

9. Need a table runner? 
Create a “make-shift” table runner from an old drape with a few tucks and folds (if you don’t intend to use the drape again, you may wish to cut it and add some hem tape to create a proper seam).

10. Get a custom closet for less!
Hang all similar colours together with matching hangers and add baskets to your shelves. Use space saving hangers for best results – your closet will look and feel much more organized and spacious!

How To Hang Artwork Like the Pros!

As a home stager and designer, I often get questions from clients, friends, and family about how to ensure that artwork is hung properly:

• How high should they be hung? 
• Should we stagger groups of artwork, or align?
• Should the art go behind the bed, or behind the lamps, or both?
• Is this piece big enough/does it work well in this space?
• What type of screws, nails, and tools do we need?

Hiring a professional designer to take on the task of hanging the artwork answers all of these questions, and more. We have the tools, the training, and all of the equipment (including a ladder that works great on stairs)!

That said, if you are interested in tackling this task on your own, these tips will help you to (almost) hang artwork as well as the pros do.

Nails, hooks and more

Picture hanging hooks come in a variety of sizes, based on weight handling capabilities, so be sure to select the one that best suits your needs. Standard single nail hooks will hold up to 30 lbs. There are 2 and 3 nail hooks that will hold more weight, so be sure to review what your needs are before purchasing.

An alternative to the standard picture hooks is the fairly new Monkey Hook®. These do not require a hammer, and are simply thread through the drywall, holding up to 50lbs on their standard hooks! We recommend using ONLY on drywall.

Once you have found the perfect wall art for your space, and you’re ready to hang, you need to purchase my ultimate favourite picture-hanging tool – I can’t leave home without this, and clients are mesmerized when I use it. I know, it’s starting to sound a bit like an infomercial, but trust me when I tell you that this little tool will change your life, regardless of the type of artwork that you are hanging.

Ready?

It’s called the Hang & Level™, and I’m pretty sure it’s magic. I have included a link to buying this online, just in case you want to see what the fuss is about. If you choose to purchase one, there are some handy instructions on the back of the packaging, but I’ll sum it up for you in 5 quick and easy steps:

1. Hang your artwork from the hook of the Hang & Level™ tool.

2. Position on the wall where you wish to hang the artwork.

3. Once in position, remove the artwork from the hook, and press the “button” on this hook into the wall (you’ll notice a small indentation mark on the wall).

4. Place your nail, or the bottom of your picture hanging hook if using a hook, on this marked spot, and hammer in your nail/hook.

5. Hang your artwork on your nail or hook, and use the Hang & Level™ built-in level to ensure it’s straight.

That’s it! Seriously! No need to measure how far down your wire or sawtooth sits on the back of your frame. It’s that easy!

Now, unfortunately, this handy tool won’t work for all pieces, but it does work well for most, and will significantly reduce the amount of time needed for your art hanging project.

Moving on, here are a few basic guidelines for positioning your artwork:

Gallery Walls:

• These do not need to create a nice, neat square or rectangle – consider an offset shape that creates a visual balance.

 

Hanging pieces side by side or stacked

• Be sure to leave 1” – 3” between pieces, depending on the size of the piece (larger items can have more space between them).

How high should you hang it?

Standard:

• Most pieces should be hung at a standard eye level (60 in from ground to centre of artwork).

Above a sofa or bed:

• Minimum 6” above the back of the sofa or headboard, and no more than 10”.

Above a console table or sideboard:

• Generally 4” – 6” – there may be exceptions, especially if there are other artwork pieces in the room, in which case you’ll want to align the centers of the pieces of artwork with each other.

Above a mantel:

• For most mantels, we recommend 3” – 6” above.

Additional tips:

• For hanging artwork on plaster walls, place a piece of painters or masking tape where the nail will go BEFORE hammering – this will keep the wall from splitting.
• Carry a magnet in your tool pouch or pocket – this will give you quick and easy access to nails, without the risk of choking on them!
• Remember scale when selecting which pieces will be hung where – ensure that large walls have a large piece or grouping of small pieces, and smaller walls are host to smaller display pieces.

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