If you’re selling a home, the best way to get top dollar is to stage it! Real estate agents agree that staged homes not only get better offers but also sell more quickly! Some people hire professional stagers, but here are some practical DIY suggestions on how to stage your home to sell.

The Initial Impression: Curb Appeal

They say that you never get a second chance to make a first impression, so you want buyers to like what they see the moment they step out of their car! You don’t need to hire a landscaper, but it’s best if the house is recently painted or the siding is powerwashed, the yard is neat and there a few attractive shrubs. Also, adding a pop of the color red to the front of your home is a huge trick agents and stagers recommend. Consider painting your door with a fresh red coat, or simply add some red flowers in a pot.

Put the Kibosh on Clutter

The less furniture in the home, the bigger it looks and the more potential buyers can imagine living there! It may take two sofas and four chairs for you to be comfortable in your living room, but getting rid of half will make the home show better.

Be thoughtful in how you position what’s left. Many experts recommend against pushing furniture to the walls but suggest clustering it in conversational groups. The important factors are that the windows are clear and the walkway through the room is obvious.

Surfaces should be clear. That means little or nothing on coffee tables and at most a couple pillows on a sofa.

Show Off Storage

Clear out most of what’s in your closet. Move it to your new home or temporarily stash it with friends. When buyers open your closet doors – and they will – let them see a neatly arranged space with shelves, coordinated baskets and shoe racks, and those not completely filled up. That suggests there’s plenty of space for them to spread out their belongings!

Straighten out your junk drawers and get rid of what you don’t use. Hide away some of your dinnerware so that your cupboards look roomy.

Storage furniture is a big help in creating roominess! Think storage beds, storage benches and storage ottomans with a few items neatly laid in the drawers.

Depersonalize

You’ve put your unique stamp on your home design. Many sellers are proud of it and find it hard to let it go. Nonetheless, a generic look attracts the widest range of buyers.

Start with colors! Interior paint is the upgrade with the biggest bang for the buck, and neutral colors are the way to go. Grey-beige, aka “greige,” and off-white help buyers imagine moving in and overlaying it their own tastes. That being said, a pop of color, as in pillows or a single accent chair, appeals to most people walking through.

Put away any quirky decor, even though it may disappoint you to stash that souvenir of your favorite vacation. Also, anything that is all about you, such as family pictures or your diplomas, needs to be packed up and saved for your new home.

Finally, erase all signs of pets. That means not only cleaning and airing to remove odors but also hiding water dishes, pet baskets and toys. Make sure your four-legged friends are elsewhere when buyers come through.

The Rooms That Matter

Kitchens and bathrooms sell homes! If you’re going to put money into a makeover, these are where to concentrate. Even if you don’t upgrade, a facelift will help!

In the kitchen, pack up the unused small appliances and the holiday dishware. Use up the dry goods or give them to food shelves. A coat of paint on the cabinets brightens the room! New cabinet handles and drawer pulls cost next to nothing and make a huge difference.

You can brighten a bathroom by restaining grout and recaulking. Cut down the number of products in cabinets and drawers and next to the sink. Also, it’s amazing what matching shower curtains, mats and towels can do to perk up a bathroom!

Other Home Staging Tips

• Great lighting welcomes people to come in and enjoy the warmth! Increase the wattage of your bulbs. Have multiple lighting types in each room such as overhead lighting, pendants and floor and table lamps.
• Show off your bedroom with an immaculately made bed covered by an attractive comforter or duvet.
• It seems everybody’s working from home these days. For many buyers, a home office is a must! If you don’t a have room that can serve, carve out a niche somewhere for a desk with a lamp and some shelving.
• A few touches of nature cheer the heart and make buyers readier to see the house as a home! They could be anything from large plants in floor baskets to cut flowers on a table to a bowl of citrus on the counter.
• Give buyers that new home smell with scented candles, fragrant flowers and a diffuser in the entryway. We don’t always notice odors such as the lingering traces of yesterday’s dinner, but it’s best to greet viewers with something more welcoming!
• Make the floors an asset to the home’s aesthetic. Clean them, and hide blemishes or brighten things underfoot with an area rug.

Staging a home doesn’t have to be a major undertaking! A few well-chosen enhancements will bring in more and better offers when you list your home.