Home Staging Tips & Strategies

Staging a House to Sell

Preparing your home before selling is just as important as pricing and marketing it correctly. The goal is to present your home in a way that appeals to the widest range of buyers, not your personal taste.

If you're wondering how to stage a house for sale, it starts with creating a clean, inviting space that allows buyers to picture themselves living there easily. Small changes can make a big difference in how your home is perceived both online and in person.

Below are simple, effective home staging tips to help you get your home ready to sell faster and potentially for more money.

With most buyers starting their home search online, professional photography plays a major role in attracting interest. In many cases, this is where the first showing truly takes place.

Living Room Staging

• Remove any unnecessary furniture throughout your home to help open up each area.
• Pull furniture away from the wall in certain rooms such as the living room to help create more space.
• To help freshen up a room, consider replacing dated curtains with newer ones.
• When hanging pictures, group smaller, like-kind art together.
• If you have cords and wires showing from TVs, receivers, lamps, or any other electronics. Consider tucking cords away so they are not visible.
• When staging a home, you likely hear the word de-personalize. One way to do this is to pack away any family portraits you have around the house.
• A lot of households have magazine racks packed with old editions that never get looked at. Pack them away or recycle them!
• When looking for ideas to staging a living room, you will notice that walkways don't usually look bare. Consider adding a long narrow rug to fill in the space.
• When hanging art throughout the house, hang the largest artwork on the largest wall.
• After removing your old magazines, add a nice coffee table book in its place.

STAGING COST: The median cost to stage a home is $675 for each home.*

Staging a Dining Room

• Remove any extra table leaves and store them away to help make the dining room feel larger.
• Properly set the dinner table as if you are having guests over for a special occasion.
• Hang light-colored curtains from floor to ceiling. This will help give the perception of taller ceilings.
• Clean and open blinds to let in more natural light.
• For the time being, replace low-wattage light bulbs with 100-watt light bulbs to brighten up darker rooms.
• Add more life and color by bringing in different kinds of plants into the house.
• Add an extra lamp or two to bring in more light in dark areas that are hard to light.
• Add mirrors for more light and to help give the perception of an open area.
• Don’t hang art and pictures on every wall. Consider leaving some walls bare.
• When home staging, hang wall art at eye level.

Kitchen Staging Ideas

• Clean and pack away most of the items that are usually stored on your counters.
• One old staging tip is to add a bowl of fruit to bring in more color.
• Staining or painting dated cabinets can be time-consuming but can easily transform a kitchen.
• After updating your dated cabinets, also consider replacing the old knobs and hardware.
• Another way to de-personalize when staging a house is to remove all items from the refrigerator.
• Spice up the kitchen! There are many quick and easy ways to add a new backsplash to add more personality.
• Consider replacing that old, dated faucet with a brand new faucet.
• Loud and bold colors can be a quick turn off for home buyers. Consider repainting any rooms a more neutral color.
• One easy way to add more natural light is by simply cleaning all windows inside and out.
• Fix any leaking faucets. Plumbing issues are common things buyers look for when looking at houses.

BONUS: Thirty-two percent of buyers’ agents believe staged homes increase the dollar value buyers are willing to offer by one percent to five percent.*

Bedroom Staging Ideas

• Organize your closet by hanging clothes in groups and have them facing in the same direction.
• One way to make a room feel more relaxing is to remove TVs or any other entertainment items.
• Replace old bedsheets with new, white textured linens.
• Make a bedroom feel more inviting by making the bed and adding new pillows and throw pillows.
• In smaller bedrooms, it’s hard not to have the bed pushed into the corner. Consider pulling the bed away from the wall to help balance the room.
• Bookshelves tend to collect more than just dust over the years. Clear out all bookshelves and built-ins.
• Clean out and pack away half of the stuff in the closet. Homebuyers almost always look into the closets when looking at homes for sale.
• When cleaning out the closet, replace any un-matching hangers so they all match.
• Some homeowners have complete sports or princess themed bedrooms. It’s a good idea to transform these rooms into a more neutral bedroom.
• When transforming a playroom over to a neutral bedroom. Clean up and store away most of the toys. This will help when its time for moving.

Bathroom Staging Tips

• Put away toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, and any other toiletry items.
• Add new, white towels to the bathroom. Consider folding towels into thirds to take up less wall space.
• A commonly overlooked home maintenance task is old, moldy caulk. Remove and apply new white caulking around the bathroom.
• Hide or store away wastebaskets.
• Add one new bottle of nice hand soap on the bathroom counter.
• Roll small, light-colored hand towels and place in a basket on the counter.
• Make sure you thoroughly clean the bathroom. Including the bathtub and even behind the toilet.
• Hang a new, white shower curtain or clean the old one to make it look new again.
• This is a pet peeve for not only most real estate agents but for some homebuyers. Always keep the toilet seat lid down.
• Quiet doors will go unnoticed but a squeaky door will stand out to a homebuyer. Fix any squeaky doors throughout the home.

Home Staging Trends for 2026

• Stage rooms with multiple purposes in mind. Consider setting up a home office that can double as a guest room to appeal to remote workers and flexible lifestyles.
• Create a warm, inviting feel instead of making rooms look empty. Add simple touches like throw blankets, pillows, and textured décor to make the space feel lived-in but not personalized.
• Focus on staging outdoor areas just as much as the interior. Patios, decks, and even small balconies should include seating, plants, or lighting to showcase usable living space.
• Stage your home with listing photos in mind. Arrange furniture and décor to look clean, balanced, and visually appealing in online photos, since this is often a buyer’s first showing.
• Consider virtual staging if your home is vacant. It can help buyers visualize the space without the cost of physically staging each room.
• Stage a dedicated workspace whenever possible. Even a small desk area can make your home more appealing to buyers working from home.
• Use soft, neutral tones with contrast and texture to avoid a cold or overly sterile look.
• Highlight smart or modern features such as updated lighting, thermostats, or energy-efficient upgrades if your home has them.
• Add simple lifestyle touches like a coffee setup in the kitchen or a neatly styled tray in the living room to help buyers emotionally connect with the home.