We’ve all heard that saying…but do you know why?

More importantly, do you want know how it can help sell your house? 

There are three parts to the equation, the  first being that the eye is drawn to color and light.  Always, and immediately.

It is not a conscious decision- it’s a reaction, in our DNA. It’s easier to identify things, and is probably a survival instinct from our earliest days as a species. (You may need to stand back from the screen, but photo above is a shot of  an orange, a tomato, and a butternut squash. Hard to tell in B&W, huh?)

We see something colorful or bright and shiny, it gets our attention, arouses our curiosity, and we look. This is the begining.

There is a (necessary) story to this next part.

Almost 20 years ago, I was recruited by a design client, and for a very brief time, I  sold fairly high-end cars.  I knew something about cars, so it  was not that much of a stretch;  the retail grind was getting to me, so I was ready for a change.

Part of the training was a 3 day event at a professional race track in Lime Rock, CT (where Paul Newman used to race), where we drove these high-performance cars. 

Professional race instructors were in the car to ensure our safety, but we were definitely encouraged to…push the car to whatever our comfort level was.

I was one of the more fraidy-cat  drivers, concerned that on the turns, my steering skills would not keep up with the speed/shorter reaction time.

I will never forget what the instructor told me: “Look ahead, look into the turn. The car will go where you are looking”.

He was right! That’s why no matter how vigilant we are, if we look away from the road as we are driving, the car starts drifting in that same direction.

The same is true of our bodies-they follow where our eyes are looking.  That’s why professional sports players  practice their shot or swing, to get into that groove.

So we’ve got color (and light) catching  buyers’ eyes, and bodies moving toward what they are looking at…here’s the connection, and how it is going to help sell your house: 

Color-via paint, artwork, draperies and accessories-and different types of light are  used   skillfully positioned by a professional Stager, to call attention to the room’s best features, and to draw people into the room.

When buyers are actually IN a room-not  just standing in the doorway, peering in-all sorts of  good things can happen:

They notice things, and it registers:  Mouldings, the view, and in and in this NYC  apartment, the charming built-in mini bookcase. Supermarkets know the longer you stay, the more you buy.

They experience the space.  They see hosting holiday dinners, then immediately wonder if they have a big enough table…or if their rug will go with that wallpaper.

They compare ideas:  Against what they know or own,  the-always-knows-what-to-do sister in law’s house, or those shows on TV. Against all those other, sloppy, un-staged houses they have been seeing.

They’ll open closet doors, sit on the sofa, maybe see how the shower works in the bathroom. Touching is one of the clearest buying signals, showing ownership.

In other words, they will bond with the space, and try to see it as their own.