Home staging is a selling strategy, the art real estate agents and interior designers use to make the premises they’re trying to find a buyer or a tenant for more appealing and valuable. Furthermore, the entire business industry was built by home staging experts, who’re great at arranging houses, apartments and even offices the way that they get sold/rented out faster and for higher prices than the owners could realistically hope for.

Knowing the selling points most clients pay attention to and working with what the house has to offer, they manage to draw more attention to its advantages, conceal the existing cons or at least make them less visible, boost the general value of the premises, make them imprinted in the prospective buyers’ memory and convince them that the house/apartment they’ve just visited is exactly what they were looking for.  

Even the slightest changes they make, like moving the couches, changing curtains, removing rugs and old pillows, polishing the floors or making the kitchen seem roomier and lighter, make a lot of sense regarding the overall image of the house and its chances to get sold faster and for a better price.

Let me reveal a few home staging secrets you may use to prepare your house for the grand opening and make it more desirable in the eyes of the possible buyers.

10 tips to stage a house for the market

1. Take care of the curb and the hallway

Those constitute the business card of the house, so they have to be attractive, neat and bear the style of the property. The siding and the landscape have to be well-maintained, the front door area should never be messy and the hallway has to be bright, clean and roomy. Stage the curb a bit using elegant flower pots, outdoor furniture and lights, as well as take care of the sheds and garage areas – the skeletons in the closets of most opened houses on the market.

2. Get rid of the outdated decor

You plan to move soon anyway, right? Then, it’s about that time when you toss away your old squished pillows or rugs your grandma gave you, as the buyers looking for a fresh, new home definitely won’t understand their sentimental meaning, but rather get distracted and thrust aside by their worn-out look. 

3. Say goodbye to clutter

Organize things you need to keep and take to the next home as soon as you sell this one and get rid of everything you do not intend on bringing with you to make the house look clean, spacious and organized.

4. Move the furniture

Assess the items you have and move them around the house to see where they look best. Get rid of the pieces that look too old and shabby. Furthermore, halve the furniture in your home while preparing it for the market and move the pieces that might contribute to the house’s appeal away from the walls to make the rooms seem bigger. Dress up a slightly scratched dining table with a pretty table cloth, a vase of fresh flowers, fruit bowls and other appropriate accessories. Throw a fluffy blanket on the couch in an effortless manner for a homey atmosphere. Arrange chairs and couches into cozy ‘floating groups’ and position them to improve the traffic flow in the room, open it up and leave some space for the homebuyer’s inner decorator’s imagination.

5. Concentrate on the kitchen

As a good segment of modern homebuyers proves, the house is often bought as a useful accessory to its kitchen, but not vice versa. Thus, it’s rather important to make your home’s kitchen look its best. Have a painting contractor transform your old-fashioned cabinets by repainting them in a bold, yet classy color like black or white. Add pendant lights above the kitchen aisle. Get everything off the countertops and wipe them to shine to make them appear more spacious and polished. Organize cabinets to show off the storage opportunities.

6. Show off the hardwood

Area rugs are great for the everyday use, but your pretty high-quality hardwood floors are the ones that scream ‘value’ and help sellers justify the price of the houses placed on the market. So, roll those rugs up, shove them in storage, polish the floors and let them dazzle every visitor. If hardwood floors at the house you’re getting ready for the market opening aren’t in the best condition, spend some money on refinishing. This investment will definitely pay off later.

7. Keep it neutral

Avoid busy patterns and bold colors on walls, kitchen cabinets and bathroom tile not to make the house too personal. Stick to the neutral tones to create a canvass the potential buyers may use to picture their stuff and decorations on. Every homebuyer appreciates a freshly painted house anyway, as he will most likely have no time or money to remodel right after the purchase. Introduce a few colorful décor elements, though, to create focal points in interior and add a bit of modern style to it.

8. Up the lighting game

Do you remember the last time you went house/apartment shopping? Did you catch yourself admiring how bright the space looks? Yep, great lighting makes everything better. Use it to draw attention to the selling points of the house, create an inviting atmosphere, make the space seem more open, fresh and bright. Ask an electrician to install spot and ambient lights wherever appropriate and let as much natural light in as you can.

9. Arrange artwork creatively

Move your favorite pictures and paintings from their stereotypical places, break up straight lines, experiment with grouping and display the pieces you’re proud of the most in an unusual way to make them stand out, tell the story of a house and encourage the decorating talk.

10. Draw attention to the storage – one of the three house selling points

Homebuyers will never get enough of it. The more storage room and options your house/apartment has to offer to the buyer, who’s eager to move into the larger space - the better. Empty the shelves and racks and walk the visitors through the storage closets. Make them dream about putting their stuff away after moving in.