There’s a lot of work that goes into getting a home ready to sell. Between the home improvement projects, the inspections, finding a realtor, and getting the house listed, it can feel like a never ending to-do list. While all of those things are important, it’s also important to make sure the home is putting its best foot forward while on the market. This is precisely what staging your home is meant to do.

Clear the Clutter

There’s a fine line between looking lived in and cluttered, especially when it comes to staging. One of the first things you should do when staging your home is to remove any clutter. Stacks of mail, piles of books, and toys strewn about rooms don’t have any place in a staged home, even in the rooms where it makes sense for them to be. You want to make it easy for potential buyers to see themselves living in your home. Clutter makes it difficult to do that, and can leave buyers feeling uncomfortable, even cramped. If it isn’t actively contributing something positive to the room, it has to go.

Clean, Clean, Clean

All the decluttering in the world can’t make up for dirty surfaces though. If you want your home to look its best when it’s staged, it has to be clean. A clean home is essential to a good first impression. If there was ever a time to give your home a white-glove cleaning, preparing your home to stage and sell would be it. Pay special attention to any reflective or shiny surfaces, the corner areas, and floors. Details matter here. A dirty home may leave buyers wondering if there is something wrong with the home, and can be a distraction. Cleaning it provides you with the best possible backdrop for staging.

Choosing Furniture Pieces

Once you’ve got your home prepped for staging, it’s time to get started. You’ll need to select the furniture to be used to stage your home. If the furniture you own is of high quality and in excellent condition, you might consider using your own furniture. Otherwise, renting the staging furniture may be a good option. Consider the interior design styles your home naturally lends itself to. Select furniture that fits comfortably within those styles. When choosing wood furniture to use to stage your home, make sure you choose wood furniture that has been cared for properly. Like cleaning, such furniture avoids distracting buyers with flaws and promotes feelings of positivity towards the property instead.

Set the Scene

The whole point of staging is to help potential buyers imagine themselves living in the home. To that end, setting specific scenes within the home can be invaluable. Think about what happens within each room and how you might create snapshots of life within the home that show off that room’s purpose. Books, vases, and trays can be helpful items that help you create an Instagram-worthy vignette in a room. Remember to step back often. This will help you toe the line between a tastefully staged lived-in look and cluttered.

Keep it Neutral (Mostly)

As far as appealing to a wide range of buyers goes, one of the most common pieces of advice is to make sure your color palette is neutral. Whites, creams, tans, greiges, and other similar colors tend to provide an appealing backdrop to most settings. That doesn’t mean you can’t include periodic pops of color though. Feel free to work color into your vignettes as you stage your home. The occasional pop of color can add interest and vibrancy to your home. Just make sure you don’t overdo it.

Stage Extra Rooms

It’s important to remember the extra rooms in the house as well when staging your home. Empty rooms can seem dull and boring, and make it more difficult for buyers to imagine themselves living in your home. Help them out by staging extra rooms as well. You could set up a small, simple home office or stage an art room. Showcasing a collection is a good option as well, provided it’s a collection of something that isn’t too niche and is appropriate for viewing by strangers. Best to leave anything political or religious out of it.

Choose Accents Carefully

Whether it’s a centerpiece for a table or a mantle decoration, any accents you choose to use when staging your home should be chosen with care. These items should be in perfect condition and help set the scene within a room. Again, you don’t want to distract buyers with imperfections and things that don’t fit. Accents can be a great way to bring color to your staging and to draw the eye to a focal point within the room. Abstract sculptures, coffee table books, and throws can be great options for living rooms and other rooms throughout the house. Wondering what to do about the kitchen? Place a nice cutting board on the counter. Just leave the knife out of sight.

Don’t Forget Outside

Most people think about staging the inside of your home, but it’s important to remember to stage your exterior as well. It should be neat and tidy, with carefully cultivated plant life. You can set scenes outside by taking advantage of its features. If you have a garden, leaving a tastefully arranged setting featuring a watering pot, gloves, and maybe a small trowel can add a cute sense of hominess to your yard, while roasting sticks might be used to draw attention to a fire pit.

Staging your home is one of the most important and effective ways to make sure your home looks its best when getting ready to sell it. Start by making sure the house is clean and free of clutter. Choose the furniture, colors, and accents carefully to appeal to the widest selection of buyers. Create pictures within rooms that are indicative of how life might go within them, remembering to do the same to extra rooms in the house. Don’t neglect the outside of your home either. This will help you make sure that each area of your home is literally picture perfect and ready to sell.

Looking to sell your home? Contact us to learn more about how we can help!