10 Essential Home Staging Tips

Staging a home is an important step that takes place early in the moving process. At this point, you’ve made the decision to move and sell your home, but it’s not complete yet. You might be wondering if home staging helps sell a house. Staged homes sell, and often much more quickly according to buyer’s agents. Forty-seven percent of buyer’s agents report that home staging has an impact on most potential buyers’ view of the home, according to the National Association of Realtors^Ⓡ.

Whether hiring a professional or using existing furniture for a budget friendly route, you have options. Learn how to allow potential buyers to see themselves and their families living in your home.

1. De-Personalize Your Space

The purpose of staging your home is to allow buyers to see themselves in the home – and not you. When you list your home on the market, you are detaching yourself. Your home becomes a showroom designed to entice a future owner.

Wedding and family photos should go into storage, and more generic pieces of art can take their place. Be sure to remove anything that may be political or religious in nature to create a generic space.

These items can be proudly displayed in your new home, but for now, your home should be clear of any personal touches. This includes cleaning off your fridge, keeping countertops clear and keeping clothes stored out of sight. Your house doesn’t need to be bare, but buyers don’t want to feel like they’re walking through an occupied home.

2. Declutter

Openness and space sell homes, and unnecessary items may turn off some buyers. Staging your home provides the perfect opportunity to rid yourself of excess clutter. Identify items to donate, sell, or throw out, and take action. If you plan on keeping items but think they detract from the marketability of your home, now is the time for storage. You can plan to store those items, along with any personalized items until the time comes to make your move.

3. Deep Clean Your Home

Even if you keep a clean home, now is the time to put in some elbow grease. Clean baseboards, dust off ceiling fans, scrub windows, blinds, the list goes on.

A professional cleaning service is a great option at this step. The deep clean can also be a family activity to cut down on professional cleaning costs.

4. Focus On Rooms Buyers Care About

The living room, primary bedroom, kitchen, and dining room are the most important rooms to stage. According to the National Association of Realtors^Ⓡ, forty-six percent of buyers report a positive impact of a staged living room, followed by forty-three percent who report the same of the primary bedroom. Potential buyers will be spending most of their time there and have an interest in seeing those rooms come to life. When staging a home for a quick sale, focus on these key areas.

Along with making sure these rooms are sparkling clean and functional, aim to provide a feeling of warmth and comfort. For home staging ideas on a budget, accent pillows, rugs and a made bed go a long way. Anything to help buyers picture themselves in your home is key.

5. Paint Neutral Colors

Colors are very powerful and can distract from the marketability of a home. Bright, fun, unique colors showcase your personality, and you may enjoy that in your home. But in the selling process this can turn off buyers.

While sometimes time-consuming and costly, painting your home can make a big difference in the sales price and time on the market. When staging your home, consider painting over bold colors with a gray, white or taupe – and don’t forget to prime!

6. Brighten Up Your Space

Neutral paint colors will help brighten up your home, and natural light helps as well. Open your blinds and consider light colored curtains with tasteful patterns.

When you know your home is being shown, turn on all the lights. Dark lighting, paint colors, or décor can make a room look smaller. This, and any clutter, can have a negative impact on the potential buyer’s impression of the space.

7.  Freshen Things Up

Make sure your home smells good – but not overpowering. Strong perfume can be unappealing to buyers and could give the perception you’re hiding something.

 An old trick used by realtors for open houses is to make fresh baked cookies. Consider doing that the night before a day of multiple showings.

If necessary, consider replacing carpets in your home, but know this is an added expense. To save money on this and other costs of staging a home, fresh plants and even fake plants can add life to a space as well.

8. Make Minor Repairs on Visible Defects

Tiny nicks on the walls, scratches and holes can signal neglect to buyers. These are things buyers will notice almost immediately if left unattended.

Touching up paint, caulk and spackle when necessary gives the buyer less to worry about. Focus on cosmetic repairs such as wiping down light switches, polishing door handles or cabinet hardware.

9. Focus On Curb Appeal

Make a strong first impression on the outside of your home. Some critical buyers won’t even enter your home if the outside gives off a bad first impression.

Home staging ideas on a budget include a tasteful doormat, potted plants, and sweeping around the door. You can boost curb appeal by power washing the home’s exterior, cleaning up landscaping or hanging a wreath on the door.

10. Hire A Professional Home Stager

Staging a home can be a lot of work, though in most instances, it’s an affordable option if you are living in the home. If you are selling a vacant home, you may wish to hire a professional to give your property a warm and homey look. Professional home staging can be a costly up-front investment and vary depending on your area, square footage, number of rooms and staging items.

Moving After You Sell Your Home

The goal of proper staging is for your current home to spend less time on the market. This means more time for you to focus on other aspects of your move.

After all the hard work that went into selling your home, we can help ease the next steps in the moving process. Whether you are moving long-distance or local, our network of more than 300 agent locations can help. If you have a local move within the same state, our agents perform those moves under their own businesses’ independent authorities and names. 

Review our Moving Planner to keep you informed of each step all the way through move-in day. We can help you move out of your current home and into a new one, stress-free.