How to Stage Your Home to Sell

n a manner of speaking, staging your home is putting its best foot forward: you're setting up each room to look inviting to prospective buyers of all types. Showcase your home’s best features, and minimizes any flaws. Clean and clear Ideally, you’d start with a completely empty home, painted in neutrals and perfectly clean. In reality, you get as close to this ideal as you can by boxing up personal items, clearing out closets and stacking everything neatly in your tidy and [now] organized garage and attic. Items that must stay out in the open need to go in bins or baskets to keep your home free of clutter. This includes toys and kitchen and bathroom items you need to use daily. And of course everything must be dusted and cleaned of fingerprints and footprints! Start the staging Your rooms should look inviting, but they still need to have the minimum furnishings possible so buyers can imagine their own belongings in there more easily. Play to the strengths of each room by accenting its best features. Create conversational groupings in common areas. Light it up Bright lighting make the room look warm and welcoming. Chase away dark corners by using both ambient lighting and accent lights. Head outside Your patio and yard should also be selling features. Clean up the furniture, make sure the cushions aren’t sun-faded, and get the garden in shape. If you don’t have a green thumb, large potted plants can dress up the exterior. Make every space count Dress up a Spartan guest room with a comfy chair and pretty lamp to create a cozy reading spot. The guest room should be obviously a guest room; the same goes for the office. Ambiguity in a room’s purpose can be confusing to homeshoppers. Make it clear what each room is for. If you have an oddly shaped landing, or a little nook in the living room, don’t ignore it: show its potential. Keep up daily This can be the hardest part! But while your home is on the market, you need to keep the garbage empty, the laundry folded, the pet toys out of sight, and the cap on your toothpaste. It’s hard to show your home while you’re still living in it, but you need to think about what a new homeowner will be looking for: a fresh start and a place for their family and their belongings. You want your home to appeal to the most number of people possible. Keep these tips in mind to help your home sell quickly and for more money!