Are you trying to sell your home? Getting a house ready for showings is no simple task. From upgrading paint to clearing out clutter, there’s a lot that goes into preparing a home for sale. It’s important to stage your home in a way that highlights its strengths and downplays its weaknesses while appealing to a large pool of potential buyers. To help you sell your home fast, try following these home staging tips:

1. Improve Curb Appeal

First impressions are important. That’s why it’s crucial to make your home stand out from the second buyers pull up to the curb. Home staging starts outside and should include some upgrades that can be seen from the road. Some things to consider include replacing the mailbox and welcome mat, upgrading exterior lighting and house numbers, cleaning the roof, siding, and gutters, and painting the front door and shutters a bright color. Make sure flowerbeds are cleaned up and filled with small shrubs, seasonal flowers, and year-round greenery. If your front porch has room for furniture, add a couple chairs to create an inviting outdoor living space.

2. Refresh with a Neutral Palette

Living room with neutral beige walls

You may love having bright, colorful walls in your home, but neutral paint colors tend to be the best approach when it comes to home staging. Painting your walls with neutral colors such as soft, not-quite white, light gray, or beige tones will make your home feel newer and fresher. In your kitchen, you can paint worn wood cabinets with darker tones to complement dark kitchen counters and balance light walls.

3. Define Rooms

One of the best home staging tips you should follow is to make sure each room in your home has a single, defined purpose, and every space within each room also has a purpose. This helps potential buyers see how your home’s square footage can be maximized. If you have a finished basement, make it into an entertainment room. Transform a junk room into a guest bedroom. If you have a finished attic, turn it into an office space. Even if the buyer doesn’t need to use the room for that same purpose, this practice shows that every inch of your home is usable space.

4. Put Away Personal Items

Family photos hanging on wall

You want buyers to envision themselves in your home. This means part of your home staging process should involve removing personal items, such as family photos, children’s artwork, keepsakes, etc. Try to keep clothes hidden away as much as possible, and keep bathroom counters empty except for hand soap and hand towels. Put away all toys and anything else that is personal or shows who currently lives in the home.

5. Focus on High-Traffic Areas

While it’s best to stage your entire home, home staging may not be possible in every room, especially if you’re still living in the home while you’re trying to sell it. If you can’t stage the whole house, focus your efforts on high-traffic areas. These are the rooms that buyers see first, such as the living room, dining room, kitchen, and primary bedroom. These are also the rooms that will be photographed the most for real estate listings.

6. Improve Lighting

Natural light in living room from large window with tied back curtains

A great home staging tip is to take advantage of your home’s natural light. When staging your home, open all blinds and curtains, or remove them entirely if you can. This helps give your home an open feel. If you have dark areas of your home, add light fixtures to make your home appear brighter and more inviting. Update outdated or broken light fixtures with modern ones, and use warm light bulbs that provide a soothing, inviting glow. When preparing for a showing, turn on all lights, including those in closets.

7. Keep It Clean

A cluttered home can be difficult to sell. It distracts from your home’s features and prevents buyers from seeing how the space can be used to its full potential. Get rid of as much stuff as you can when staging your home. Box up everything that you don’t need on a day-to-day basis and put it into storage. This includes things like seasonal clothes, games, souvenirs, hobbies, etc. Go through your pantry and get rid of expired food to free up space. Anything you can do to empty storage space is beneficial. In addition to decluttering, you also need to clean every part of the home, from the floors to the ceiling. Don’t overlook things like appliances, bathtubs, sink drains, closets, or behind the toilet.

8. Add Pleasant Aromas

Close up of hand removing pan of chocolate chip cookies from ovenA great way to make your home seem fresh and appealing is to replace odors with pleasant aromas. Pets, kids, foods, and other conditions can make your home smell unpleasant. To remove kitchen odors, you can wipe down the sink with a sliced lemon and grind it in the garbage disposal. Another great trick to getting rid of odors is to add an inviting smell by baking cookies or cinnamon rolls or burning vanilla-scented candles. It’s best to avoid using air fresheners, as these can trigger allergic reactions in sensitive people.

Find the Right Real Estate Agent to Help You Sell Your Home

Following these home staging tips can make your home more appealing to potential buyers and help it sell faster. Here at Local Realty Group, we understand how stressful selling a house can be. That’s why we want to take the stress off your shoulders and handle the details for you. We know the ins and outs of the real estate market and want to help you sell your home quickly and for the best price possible. Find out how we sell your home and reach out to us today to get started!