7 Tips for Staging a House for Sale (With Pictures)

When you’re selling a home in Ellicott City, Owings  Mills or elsewhere, your REALTOR® will talk to you about home staging. Staging is the best way to show prospective buyers all your home’s best features – and to encourage them to make an offer – so your real estate agent will most likely tell you to make it a priority. Check out these seven tips for staging a house for sale (with pictures) to get inspired for your own home.

7 Tips for Staging a House for Sale – With Pictures

Use these staging tips to sell your home faster – and for more money – by getting buyers excited about making an offer. First, depersonalize, declutter and clean every room. Then:

1. Upgrade your rugs
2. Create vignettes
3. Rearrange your furniture
4. Invest in closet organization
5. Go for light, bright and fresh
6. Choose fluffy, new towels
7. Add mirrors to cozy spaces

Focus on the rooms your REALTOR® tells you are the most important to buyers – usually, you’ll want to start with most of your effort in the kitchen, the foyer, the living room and the master bedroom.
Here’s a closer look at each.

#1. Upgrade your rugs.

If your flooring isn’t new – and in most cases, it’s not – you’ll want to focus on creating a blend of warmth and style with upgraded floor coverings. Whether you choose simple patterns, solid colors or over-the-top, posh faux fur rugs, the important thing is that your rugs pull together your existing decor and match each room’s color palettes.

#2. Create vignettes.

Vignettes – small scenes that create focus to set the tone of a room – are essentials in home staging. The key here is to create a unit of decor that draws the eye. For example, you may want to hang a garden hat and place a plant by the back door, right where the sun shines in, and complement it with a wicker basket or a vase of freshly cut flowers. In the kitchen, you could put a recipe book on a stand (with the pages open to an apple pie recipe), a jar of cinnamon sticks and a rolling pin. Arrange pieces in odd numbers for even more visual appeal.
Pro tip: Don’t overdo the vignettes. You want to give prospective buyers a springboard from which they can imagine living in and utilizing the space – but if you create too many, it’ll look cluttered and confusing.

#3. Rearrange your furniture.

Many people need to take some pieces of furniture out of the house for staging, and that’s completely normal. That’s because without realizing it, we sacrifice mobility for comfort in our own homes. But when you’re staging a house for sale, you want to show buyers that it’s easy to move through the house – and that traffic flows rather than jams. Arrange your furniture into conversational groups, keeping clear walking paths around everything.
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#4. Invest in closet organization.

You want prospective buyers to see that there’s plenty of storage space in your closets – it’s something buyers actively look for – so remove about a third of your clothing and put it in storage until you move. Then, invest in tools to keep your closet organized, such as baskets and bins. Pick up everything off the floor (including shoes) and make sure every item on each shelf is tucked away or neatly organized.

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#5. Go for light, bright and fresh.

When you’re staging your home for sale, open all your window treatments. Tuck back the drapes, pull the blinds high and, if the weather’s nice (and it’s quiet outside), open the windows. You want prospective buyers to enjoy your home the way you do, and with plenty of outdoor light pouring in, they’ll be able to. (You’ll still turn on all the interior lights – but natural light really helps sell homes.)
Pro tip: If you have dark walls, consider painting them in lighter, neutral colors. Dark rooms look smaller and less inviting, so talk to your REALTOR about how you can make these types of spaces more appealing to prospective buyers.
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#6. Choose fluffy, new towels.

Outfit every bathroom in your house with fluffy, new towels – and don’t let anyone use them. Only bring them out for showings, and put them away immediately after you arrive back at home. These small-but-luxurious touches add plenty of visual appeal, and you can use the new sets in your next home.
Pro tip: Roll some towels and put them in a basket or on a shelf to create a spa-like ambiance in your space.

#7. Add mirrors to cozy spaces.

Mirrors make rooms brighter and help them appear larger. Try placing a mirror across from a window with a great view in any space – it’ll really open things up. You can build a gallery wall that combines mirrors and neutral-themed art, or you can opt for a large mirror (either on the wall or free-standing) to brighten and visually enlarge any room.

Are You Selling Your Home in Ellicott City, Owings Mills or Another Nearby Community?

If you’re thinking about selling your home, we can put it in front of all the right buyers so you can sell it quickly – and at the best possible price. We’ll market your home aggressively using a variety of advertising methods, including online and print where appropriate.
Your first step: Find out how much your home is worth. We’ll compare it to other, similar homes in the area (including those that sold quickly, those that are currently on the market and those that never sold) to find out exactly how much a buyer is likely to pay for it. You can always call us at 443-955-1227 or fill out the form below, too – we’ll be happy to talk about your options and help you start moving toward your next step.