in-ter-i-or-i-ty com-plex, n.

in the fields of design psychology and décor analysis, an Interiority Complex is a feeling that one’s interior is inferior to others in some way. Such feelings can arise from an imagined or actual design-related inferiority in the afflicted room or space. An interiority complex is thought to drive afflicted individuals to over-decorate or under-decorate, resulting either in a less than spectacular achievement, extreme schizotypal decor, or both.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Gee your house smells terrific!


Consumers today are using scent to decorate, adding an individual touch that represents their personality and tastes. Companies are branding scent to create an emotional connection with the brand, evoking a mood or memory, so why shouldn't homesellers do the same?


The decorative fragrance market has surged in recent years, and will grow to an estimated $7.2 billion by 2010, according to Euromonitor. According to Scent Technologies, LTD, the sense of smell is the most powerful human sense as it has a direct trigger to the brain invoking instant reaction. The Sense of Smell Institute recently conducted a study which indicated that pleasant odours do in fact increase lingering time in stores and museums, so of course, we would expect the same to hold true in a home!



According to our research the most popular scents are consistently:

  • Vanilla
  • Fresh Linen
  • Gingered Pumpkin
  • Pumpkin Spice
  • Lavender
  • Cinnamon
By the way, on a recent airing of The Brain in Love with Dr. Daniel Amen stated that studies show that women become more amorous when exposed to the scents of licorice, vanilla, lavender and pumpkin pie.


We also know that according to the National Association of Realtors, 61% of purchases are made by married couples, 21% by single women, 9% by single men, and 7% by unmarried couples.


Women make the household purchases in 80% of homes.


Moral of the story: Use scents to help women fall in love with your listings!

By the way, do you have a homeowner with a smelly pet, or pet evidence? If so, share this little factoid with them. According to The Humane Society of the United States:

  • 39% of U.S. households own at least one dog.
  • Nearly 34% of U.S. households own at least one cat.

This means that between 61-66% of homeowners do not own a cat or dog. Whether the reasons include allergies, aversions or other personal preferences, it's clear that a large portion of prospects viewing your listing with a household pet could turn off a potential buyer.

Try to encourage your sellers with pets to come up with creative solutions to keeping pets and their "pet evidence" out of sight when their home is on the market!

For more home staging tips and hints that will help you sell YOUR home faster and for more money, be sure to sign up for our newsletter and join our Facebook Fan Page where we give away room makeovers, staging consultations, insider tips, sales and events and more! 

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