De-clutter



The most important thing you can do to prepare your home for sale is to get rid of clutter. One of the
major contributors to a cluttered look is having too much furniture. When professional stagers descend on
a home being prepped for market, they often take away as much as half the owner's furnishings, and the
house looks much bigger for it. You don't have to change things that drastically, but take a hard look at
what you have and ask yourself what you can live without for the time being.



Furniture Groupings



There is a common belief that rooms will feel larger and be easier to use if all the furniture is pushed
against the walls, but that isn't the case. Instead, furnish your space by floating furniture away from walls.
Reposition sofas and chairs into cozy conversational groups, and place pieces so that the traffic flow in
a room is obvious. Not only will this make the space more user-friendly, but it will open up the room and
make it seem larger.



Home Lighting



One of the things that make staged homes look so warm and welcoming is great lighting. As it turns
out, many of our homes are improperly lighted. To remedy the problem, increase the wattage in your
lamps and fixtures. Aim for a total of 100 watts for each 50 square feet. Don't depend on just one or two
fixtures per room, either. Make sure you have three types of lighting: ambient (general or overhead), task
(pendant, under-cabinet or reading) and accent (table and wall).



Make it Bigger



To make a room appear to be bigger than it is, paint it the same color as the adjacent room. If you have a
small kitchen and dining room, a seamless look will make both rooms feel like one big space. And make
a sunporch look bigger and more inviting by painting it green to reflect the color of nature. Another design
trick: If you want to create the illusion of more space, paint the walls the same color as your drapery. It will
give you a seamless and sophisticated look.



Neutral and Appealing



Painting a living room a fresh neutral color helps tone down any dated finishes in the space. Take a
chance and test a quart of paint in a warm, neutral hue. These days, the definition of neutral extends way
beyond beige, from warm tans and honeys to soft blue-greens. As for bold wall colors, they have a way of
reducing offers, so go with neutrals in large spaces.



Colour Experiment



Don't be afraid to use dark paint in a powder room, dining room or bedroom. A deep tone on the walls can
make the space more intimate, dramatic and cozy. And you don't have to go whole hog - you can paint
just an accent wall to draw attention to a dramatic fireplace or a lovely set of windows. If you have built-in
bookcases or niches, experiment with painting the insides a color that will make them pop — say, a soft
sage green to set off the white pottery displayed within



Three’s Company



Fixing the right accessories can make a room more inviting. When it comes to eye-pleasing
accessorizing, odd numbers are preferable, especially three. Rather than lining up a trio of accessories
in a row, imagine a triangle and place one object at each point. Scale is important, too, so in your group
of three be sure to vary height and width, with the largest item at the back and the smallest in front. For
maximum effect, group accessories by color, shape, texture or some other unifying element, stagers
suggest.



 

Raid Your Yard



Staged homes are almost always graced with fresh flowers and pricey orchid arrangements, but you can
get a similar effect simply by raiding your yard. Budding magnolia clippings or unfurling fern fronds herald
the arrival of spring, summer blooms add splashes of cheerful color, blazing fall foliage warms up your
decor on chilly autumn days and holly branches heavy with berries look smashing.

Serene and Inviting



Serene and Inviting



Create a relaxing bedroom setting with luxurious linens and soft colors that will make a potential home
buyer want to hang out. Bedroom staging trick: If you don't have the money to buy a new bed, just get the
frame, buy an inexpensive air mattress and dress it up with neutral-patterned bedding. And remember
to de-clutter. By cleaning out your closets, you're showing off your storage space, which sells houses - it
always ranks high on buyers' priority list winter



New Faces



If you can't afford new cabinets, just get new doors and drawer fronts. Then paint everything to match and
add new hardware. And instead of replacing the entire dishwasher, you may be able to get a new front
panel. Check with the manufacturer to see if replacements are available for your model. If not, laminate
paper, which goes on like contact paper, can be used to re-cover the existing panel.



Repaired Wood​



Unfinished projects can scare off potential buyers, so finish them. Missing floorboards and large cracks in
the sidewalk on the way to your door tend to be a red flag, for example, and they cost you less to fix than
buyers might deduct from the asking price.



Prime and Polished



Having tile professionally painted can make a bathroom look brand new. And accessorizing can make
buyers feel like they're in a spa. Put out items like rolled-up towels, decorative baskets and candles. It's a
great way to create a polished look, and it doesn't cost much to do