How to Stage Your Home for Sale: 12 Expert Tips

September 27, 2021 by Julia Weaver

In today’s market, it’s critical to stage your home to attract buyers, sell faster, and for top dollar. In fact, 83% of buyers’ agents agreed that a professionally staged home helped their buyers picture themselves living there.
We’ve asked experts to share their best piece of advice on how to stage your home for sale to give your home the extra touch it needs to stand out from the rest. So whether you’re moving to San Diego, CA or Toronto, CA, staging will highlight your home’s best features and show its maximum potential. 

Hire professionals to stage your home

If you want top dollar for your biggest investment, invest in a home staging company. Or, at the very least, hire a home staging company to come out and provide a home staging report outlining what needs to be completed for your home to be show-ready. Buyers are savvy and want their money to be spent wisely. Have your home offer that. Place confidence in professional staging to market your home. Showcasing all it has to offer is worth the investment. – Disciplined Design

Staging helps increase the perceived value of your property

Staging is important because it’s the most visual part of marketing a home for sale. Every home has a range of value depending on the condition of the home and the way it is presented. By staging, you’re marketing your product to its ideal buyer demographic and increasing its perceived value, therefore giving you a higher return on investment and a quicker sale. – Simply Organized and Staged

Appeal to the target buyer of your property

When staging, most people try to make the house appeal to as many people as possible which can result in a plain, generic, unmemorable look. You don’t need to appeal to all buyers, but rather to the most likely buyer for your property. Imagine the target buyer for your property and then include details that will appeal to that buyer to make an emotional connection that makes your property memorable. – Wall to Wall Staging

Home staging is about marketing your home

Home staging is not interior design. It is a critical element in your marketing plan meant to position your home for the most effective sale possible. Home staging is meant to neutralize and depersonalize the home so potential buyers can visualize their own lifestyle in the property, resulting in top dollar and fewer days on the market. Skipping this vital step of staging and preparing the home for sale will inevitably leave money on the table. – Liz Pensiero

Be sure to hang art properly

One of the biggest mistakes I see sellers make is not hanging art at the correct height. The best height to hang art on walls without other furnishings/architectural features surrounding it is to have the center of the art be 60 inches from the floor. Many people say eye level and while 60 inches is eye level for someone who is 5’6”, it most definitely is not for anyone else. This is why most tall people hang art too high. If you’re doing a grouping of art or gallery wall, simply make sure the 60-inch mark is at the center of the overall grouping. – Home Staging Resource

How to stage your home for sale: Imagine your home through buyers eyes

Go with the flow is one way to stage your home for sale

From the landscape to furniture placement, continuity and flow make for a good mix when staging a home. Create irresistible curb appeal with nicely maintained landscaping, added annuals and perennials, well-groomed walkways and driveways, and an inviting stoop and front door. Inside, make sure each room depicts what its function is, enhances the highlights of the room (i.e. fireplaces or upgrades), and allows the buyer to envision themselves in the space. – Interior Stylist

Always opt for a neutral interior

Staging is less about the seller’s style and more about appealing to buyer demographic trends and lifestyle. If in doubt, consider a light neutral color palette (limit patterns as they can be dated) and accessorize with a few strategic pops of color. De-personalize, declutter, and create lifestyle vignettes that give a nod to the locale. – Citrine Interiors

Staging is an art

Always stage a room like you are a professional photographer and anticipate what those MLS photos will look like. Always remember less is more. Always showcase the house and not the things in it. Always accentuate all the positives – views, flooring, beamed ceilings, etc. Always know who your buyer may be. – Everything Creative Designs

Create a cohesive, clean, and warm atmosphere

Pops of consistent color palette themes throughout the home create a cohesive, intentional feel. Artwork hung at appropriate positioning and making sure all artwork is level creates a clean visual aesthetic. Light and bright bedding and towels create an intentional luxurious spa-like feel, and layers add to the luxurious feel. Faux plants can easily be sourced and bring warmth and a calming feel into any space. The scale of decor items matters. Groupings of small knick-knacks look like clutter on MLS pics. – Clean Lines Staging LLC

Be sure to keep your home clean, minimize patterns and specific styles, create focal points, and make sure it smells and feels great. No cooking garlic or sauerkraut before showings, and keep the thermostat comfortable. – Joy Home Design-Staging & Interiors

Don’t think like an interior designer

Staging a home is about optimizing it for sale, which means marketing. Don’t stage or decorate the home how you would live in it. Create a great first impression in a picture-perfect home. – Stageasily

Create a story the buyer can connect to

The secret to getting your house sold for more money is by creating a compelling story, through staging, that evokes a strong emotional connection to your home. If you can get a prospective buyer to walk in and immediately remark: “I’m in love!” instead of “Well, this would do,” you’ve set the stage for more, and higher, offers. –Ventura County Home