How much clutter is too much? Need advice... (agents, very expensive, furniture)

[In the Pines]

Okay - I've seen the threads about what buyers don't like to see in a seller's home. Now, I'm asking for more specifics:

Should all personal photos be banned or are 3-5 personal photos scattered throughout a 2600 sq. ft. house okay?

My kitchen counters are clutter free but I have a custom designed and built cubby over my wall oven with a few cookbooks and a knickknack. Do I remove all the cookbooks to show all of the beadboard backing or will that look totally bare. (currently the beadboard is visible on 1/2 the cubby)

What about furniture? No doorways are currently blocked and I have large rooms but should I put a few extra pieces in storage to make the room appear even larger? Can rooms look too big?

I have one area of wallpaper in the house - in the formal foyer at the front of the house and it's covered in a very expensive, very Charlestonian paper. Since I live in Charleston, I think this should be okay. After all, we bought the house from professional designers and they chose that paper. Is one small area of high quality wallpaper really a big turnoff?

My husband's office - ugh... he works from home so there is no way to totally de-clutter his space. If I remove his golf ball collection from the wall and neatly store his work samples in the closet, will that be enough? Unfortunately, the computer and accessories have to remain out and visible.

Thanks for any advice. Most agents have told me my house is fine as is but from what I'm reading on CD - they may not be listening to their clients.

[HomeStager]

Should all personal photos be banned or are 3-5 personal photos scattered throughout a 2600 sq. ft. house okay?

I personally would remove them for two main reasons.

1) They create a distraction. Buyers start wondering about the people who live there, instead of picturing themselves living there. It reminds them they are in someone elses home, instead of viewing it as being their home. You want them to start owning it right away.

2) Security/Safety reasons. Say some weirdo is looking at your home, and gets fixated on a family member, and now knows, where they live and what they look like.


If the frames are attractive and look nice where they are, consider putting something generic in them like photos of nature scenes, or pictures of your gardens, or attractive sites in your town/city.


My kitchen counters are clutter free but I have a custom designed and built cubby over my wall oven with a few cookbooks and a knickknack. Do I remove all the cookbooks to show all of the beadboard backing or will that look totally bare. (currently the beadboard is visible on 1/2 the cubby)

It is helpful to show buyers suggestions of what such things can be used for. Just edit the cubby down to 1/3 of what is there now, if you have it full. Leave a few books, the one knick knack, and show off the beadboard.

What about furniture? No doorways are currently blocked and I have large rooms but should I put a few extra pieces in storage to make the room appear even larger? Can rooms look too big?

As long as traffic flows easily and freely through and around the furniture, it sounds like what you have is fine.


If anything should go into storage, it's stuff making clostets looked jammed packed, if any of yours are.

I have one area of wallpaper in the house - in the formal foyer at the front of the house and it's covered in a very expensive, very Charlestonian paper. Since I live in Charleston, I think this should be okay. After all, we bought the house from professional designers and they chose that paper. Is one small area of high quality wallpaper really a big turnoff?

The turn offs related to paper, mostly have to do with the prints of personal taste. If the print as you say, is customary for the style and period of the home, I would leave it.


My husband's office - ugh... he works from home so there is no way to totally de-clutter his space. If I remove his golf ball collection from the wall and neatly store his work samples in the closet, will that be enough? Unfortunately, the computer and accessories have to remain out and visible.


Sounds fine.

Thanks for any advice. Most agents have told me my house is fine as is but from what I'm reading on CD - they may not be listening to their clients.


My suggestions regarding your concerns were few and minor. Your place does sound fine. Best wishes!!

[In the Pines]

Thanks for the advice. I hadn't thought about putting generic photos in the frames - great idea! The one area of my home that is always immaculate are my closets and cupboards. Seriously, I think it's an illness to be as organized as I am about my closets! I even sold one of my homes a few years ago because the buyer loved seeing the sweetly organized baby closet for my newborn and said could imagine herself living somewhere so sweet. So - I hope all buyers care about closets b/c that is my strongest area! Thanks again for your suggestions!

[janetvj]

Originally Posted by In the Pines

Thanks for the advice. I hadn't thought about putting generic photos in the frames - great idea! The one area of my home that is always immaculate are my closets and cupboards. Seriously, I think it's an illness to be as organized as I am about my closets! I even sold one of my homes a few years ago because the buyer loved seeing the sweetly organized baby closet for my newborn and said could imagine herself living somewhere so sweet. So - I hope all buyers care about closets b/c that is my strongest area! Thanks again for your suggestions!

Wow...can I borrow you? The only areas in my house that aren't fit to be seen by man nor beast are the closets and the cupboards. There isn't any clutter in sight, but behind closed doors it's frightening! Any suggestions on where to start?

[In the Pines]

Well - living in an area where attic space is largely unusable due to high temps, and having no garage, the first thing to do is to get rid of everything you won't use or haven't used within a set period of time. Outgrown kids clothing, old toys, etc. I'm also a firm believer in having a space for everything. So after getting rid of your unwanted stuff, group your remaining items into piles by category (mementos, holiday decorations, etc.) and then package them neatly into containers. After everything has been grouped together - go through your house and determine the best place to store "like" items in one spot. For example, one of my window seats contains all my paper mementos (cards, newspaper clippings, etc. ) while the closet in our home office is large enough to hold all my holiday supplies together. I do have an extensive antique china collection that I keep in climate controlled storage b/c I don't have a china hutch anymore - so, I guess I'm cheating there. :-) But hey - when you have no attic or garage, you have to compensate somehow.