Any size mirror adds an extra dimension to 
a room, but big ones like this one really 
earn their keep. DreamyWhites blog.
You say you're getting your home ready for market? Or your home has been on the market and you're not getting offers?

Let's look at staging solutions that work for any home, the solutions that really make a difference. 

Prioritize 

Focus on the kitchen and baths. 

Concentrate your time and money on making these rooms beautiful. 

Kitchens and baths cost more money to remodel than other rooms, so if yours are outdated, compensate with extra cleanliness and extra décor luxuries. 

Otherwise, you can expect buyers to use obsolete fixtures and appliances as bargaining chips during negotiations. 

If you are really motivated, your best bet might be to bite the bullet, and invest in new kitchen appliances and bath fixtures.   

Reflect light

Place a mirror in every room. A mirror is one of your best staging props. One mirror can sell a room, because it will fill an empty space, or brighten a drab corner, or increase the apparent size of a room. 

Don’t limit mirrors to just baths and bedrooms. Foyers, hallways, and even kitchens can sport mirrors. For what they cost, they are excellent investment pieces that you can take with you when your home sells. 

One large plant in this room is all it took to
 take the hard edge off the
simple color scheme and overly 
modern vibe. Henry Brown Interiors.

Freshen Rooms

Please include greenery in every room. Do you have a live plant, some cut foliage, or a silk plant or flowers in each room? Get rid of small house plants, and bring in the large and lovely stuff that impresses people, and brings a room to life. Today's quality faux plants and flowers are not your mother's plastic "cemetery" flowers. 

Pretty up storage areas

Stage all closets and inside all cabinets. Yes, buyers do look in these areas. If they are crowded, sloppy, or ugly, that’s the feeling that buyers walk away with. A well-staged closet is organized, clean, and even scant. 

Storage areas like these are your opportunity to suggest the lifestyle any home buyer wants to step into. Examples: A colorful hatbox on your closet’s top shelf, some gourmet foods in your pantry, or some beautiful toiletries in your bath vanity.

Freshly painted trim makes a room 
come to life and look new again.

Add “jewelry” 

Make sure that trim paint is fresh or very clean. When the woodwork around doors and windows, the baseboards, and any crown molding is newly painted (or looks that way), your rooms sparkle. 

Savvy buyers know that painting trim is time-consuming, tedious, and requires more skill than painting walls.

They don’t want to do it themselves, and they don’t want to pay to have it done. 

Get out your magic eraser before deciding whether or not your trim work needs painting. Clean it up, touch it up, or else repaint it. 

Here’s what not to do

People are curious so don’t display family photos. Decorating with pictures of yourself and your family and friends is distracting, and takes the buyer’s eye and mind off your home’s best features. You’ll be ahead of the game if you don’t use any artwork with a face.  

Get up to speed. Decorating with outdated colors makes your home feel stuck in time and unloved. Concentrate on the colors that look new and modern. An old home painted in today’s trendy colors rates better than one done in the mauves and forest greens of the ’80s, the pinky beiges of the ’90s, or the browns of the '00’s. Contemporary décor suggests that your home’s infrastructure – the plumbing, heating and cooling, electrical systems, foundation, and roofing – are all up-to-date as well. 
  
Empty is good. Minimalism is good. Resist the temptation to fill every space on bookshelves, counters, and tabletops. Leaving some spaces open is pleasing and restful to the eye. It’s breathing room, and gives the impression that there is plenty of room for everything in your home.   

Aromas matter. Big time. You can't ignore the importance of scent. You may be accustomed to the everyday aromas of your home, but people touring your home will pick up the scent of the litter box that wasn’t cleaned, the basement where mildew is a problem, or the laundry room that smells like old shoes. 

Bring in a good friend or your Realtor, to sniff test your entire home, and give you an honest opinion.
   
Do not fear off-white walls. They are less likely 
than colors to be deal-breakers. Some blues
add life to this room, but buyers know they 
have a clean slate to start with. Photo: BHG.   

Be generic. You don't need all your spaces to make a statement. Don’t decorate to please yourself. Decorate to please most people. Generic doesn't have to be boring. Neutrals and simplicity can be beautiful on their own. Count on a variety of textures and large props to be the finishing touches of your decor.

Get the look, get the book


When you are choosing paints colors and decorating styles, it helps to know the likely demongraphics of your buyers. Listen to your Realtor to determine the kind of people who are your target market. And follow the advice I give in my $4.99 eBook, DIY Home Staging Tips to Sell Your Home Fast and For Top Dollar. You’ll learn all the tricks and techniques that make your home the one your kind of buyers are looking for. 

If you want to sell your home fast, and you want to pull as much money from the sale as possible, review these do’s and don’ts. The real estate market might be crowded, but it doesn’t take major renovations and expensive decorating to make your home stand out from the competition.