When it comes to selling their home, homeowners want to sell it as quickly as possible and for the best possible price. After all, no one wants to bother with weeks of showings and low-ball offers. If you want to ensure your home quickly sells for a great price, staging is one of the easiest ways to make it happen. Staging a home is a great way to showcase your home’s best features while also making it easy for buyers to envision themselves living there. In an industry where first impressions make all the difference, it’s easy to see why home staging is such an important part of the selling process.

According to the National Association of Realtors, a staged home spends 73% less time on the market and sells for 25% more than a home without staging. Furthermore, 82% of agents said staging a home made it easier for their buyers to visualize the property as their future home. That’s because staging makes it easier to show a home’s best assets so that it appeals to a larger pool of buyers. Whether it’s improving the lighting to brighten the space or adding warmth with cozy throw blankets and a few specks of greenery, staging a home makes a significant difference when selling a home.

There are several ways to stage a home including hiring a professional staging company, doing it yourself, or even staging your home virtually. However you decide to stage your home, know that your efforts will almost certainly pay off! Consider the following tips for creating a well-staged home.

Declutter

Perhaps the first and most important step in staging your home is to get rid of all the clutter. Clutter distracts buyers from all of your home’s features and it also makes your home look smaller. This is the time to go through each room in your home and get rid of any items you no longer need. It can also be a great way to get a head start on packing items you don’t use everyday. The more you can get out of your home, the more spacious and organized your home will appear to buyers.

Give Your Home a Deep Clean

You want your home to feel fresh and clean when buyers walk in so it’s time to give every room in your home a deep clean. This means dusting blinds, washing windows, wiping baseboards, scrubbing sinks and showers, and even having carpets or floors cleaned. This will help to eliminate odors that might be lingering in the home and it will make your home look tidy and well kept.

Depersonalize

Buyers need to be able to visualize their family living in the home and this can be difficult if your walls are adorned with family photos and your refrigerator is a display of all of your child’s latest artwork. Remove all family photos, keepsakes, refrigerator art, posters, and personal collections of any kind. Make sure your countertops are cleared off, your clothes are hidden away as much as possible, and toys are packed away neatly in closets. You want to make the home look devoid of any clutter and leave little evidence of the home’s current inhabitants.

Go Neutral

One of the most effective ways to freshen up your home is to add a fresh coat of neutral paint to each room. Choose a neutral color scheme that will make the rooms in your home more appealing for all potential buyers. Now is the time to get rid of that bright accent wall or repaint your child’s purple bedroom. Get rid of any wallpaper and stick with neutral tones to create a sophisticated backdrop throughout your entire home.

Define Each Room

Make sure each room has a clearly defined purpose. If the room is a bedroom, make sure it serves as a bedroom and not a bedroom/workout combination. If you have a spare room, turn it into an office. A finished basement can become an entertainment space. A junk room can be transformed into a guest bedroom. Even if the buyer doesn’t plan to use the room for the same purpose, it still shows them how they can maximize the space in the home.

Rearrange Furniture

Think about rearranging the furniture in some of your rooms. The way you have it laid out might not be appealing to potential buyers. Likewise, it might be taking away from your home’s potential. For example, rather than having two large sofas in one room, consider switching them out for a couple of chairs and a coffee table to create a more open conversation area. When placing furniture, opt for a layout that can be utilized by family and friends or for entertaining.

Make Small Improvements

You don’t have to completely renovate your home, but a few inexpensive changes can really improve the overall look of your home. For instance, changing out light fixtures or ceiling fans can really make a difference and can brighten the space in your home. Updating cabinet hardware, sink faucets, and other fixtures throughout the home is another relatively inexpensive way to make your home look more appealing. In some cases, you may want to replace appliances or replace carpeting to really freshen up the home and bring it up to date.

Style Your Dining Tables

The kitchen table and dining room table are a great way for buyers to envision themselves enjoying family meals together and a bare table can look uninviting. Spruce up your tables with a nice centerpiece or floral arrangement. You can also add a seasonal table runner to dress up the table and add a little more color to the space.

Boost Your Curb Appeal

Finally, don’t forget about the exterior of your home. After all, this is your home’s first impression. Consider a few simple projects that can really make a difference such as pressure washing the walkways, cleaning out the flowerbeds, planting a few flowers, adding some potted plants, and replacing old light fixtures. Add a new welcome mat and hang a wreath on the front door to create a warm and inviting entrance to the home.