Selling my home: decorate or not?

deshaine

So, I've decied after 11 years at my current address, it's time to move. I want to have the house listed FSBO by Dec 1. Should I have it decorated for the holidays or leave it as it is year round?

I have a BEAUTIFUL cathedral vaulted ceiling in my living room and a 9 foot tree that looks amazing...
I also have a 3 year old and I don't want to steal this holiday memory.

Advise is appreciated...

MissingMinnesota

I would decorate just not heavily. You want to leave space open so the house looks bigger and not cluttered but you also want it to look like a home. A decorated tree with a couple presents under it might actually show off the ceiling height better then having nothing there. Just don't cover every end table, every window, etc with a holiday nick nacks and you will be fine.

jcubesmommy

Just another opinion: leave it as it is because Christmas is considered "personal" - even though you have beautiful things the potential buyers are looking for a house for all seasons and one that they can make thier own

LoriT129

DECORATE! We had our house for sale during the holidays and the realtor suggested we keep it simple but homey! Get rid of the clutter ~ everyday clutter and holiday clutter. Pack it up in boxes and stack them neatly in the garage/basement or rent a storage unit. Another piece of advice we received and got MANY positive comments on ~ before we left the house for show I would put cinnamon & vanilla in a small pot on the stove and set it on high and boil it for about 15 minutes. I also found some essential oil that smelled like sugar cookies and put a drop on the lightbulbs. Make it smell good and like *home*! People LOVE that! Good luck!

Another thing we did was put white lights on the Christmas tree and turn them on whenever it was being shown. I'd leave a small light on but let the Christmas tree light the room. It looked great!

deshaine

Thanks! I'm not sure what we will do...

I am not an over-the-top-holiday-decor type of person... we have a few things, like the tree, that are prized and displayed normally. We are considering moving out while it's on the market. Who knows?? But thanks for the ideas.