Staging your Home to Sell: 6 Top Tips for a Quick Sale

Staging a home to sell is no easy task, especially if you're looking to use these techniques to sell your house fast.

For this reason, we've put together 6 home staging tips that we feel will benefit your home and ultimately lead to a fast house sale!

6 Top Tips for Staging your Home for a Quick Sale

1) First, Clear the Decks of Clutter

Clutters make a house look dirty, darker and its rooms much smaller.

Each of the rooms should be tackled in turn to ensure that they are tidy as this is the basis of good home staging. There are many storage solutions that can be cheaply bought including under-bed boxes, stackable plastic boxes and sets of hat boxes in descending sizes.

While tidying each room, use the opportunity to have a good clear out of unwanted clothing and other items. Those in good condition can be donated to your local charity shop or sold online. Home staging requires homes to look minimalistic to highlight the light and size of each of the rooms.

All clothes and shoes should be tidied into wardrobes and drawers. In the kitchen, all work tops need to be cleared so that they look as large as possible.

In the living areas, piles of old newspapers and magazines need to be dealt with because they will never be read. Discarded books should put back on the bookshelf and all other items returned to their 'homes'.

The bathroom is another of those rooms that becomes quickly cluttered with bottles of shampoo and shower gel. These should be tidied away. If you have no storage room, there are under sink cupboards that can be bought in DIY shops at reasonable prices.

2) Check what DIY jobs are needed

Before you start the home staging spring clean, check the paintwork in each room objectively and ask yourself:

• Does it look fresh and clean?
• Is the paintwork in a neutral colour or did you paint one wall to be a bright ‘statement’ wall?

Potential buyers like a property that is like a blank canvas for them to stamp with their own character and style so bright walls are best quickly repainted in a neutral shade. White, magnolia and dove grey are popular choices for colours along with the soft earthy tones. This is one of the top home staging tips.

It is also worth re-painting any walls that are marked where posters used to hang. If your walls are covered with wall paper, are there any places that need re-sticking? Both of these little jobs make a big difference when you stage your home.

Check that there are no minor DIY jobs needed in the room such as damaged light switches, discoloured light fittings or cracked pane of glass. It is absolutely no good if you are going to invest time in staging your home and be let down by numerous small problems that could have been fixed/mended/replaced long before your first viewing. If you don't have time to sort these, it is well worth bringing in professional help. Be sure to check out reviews of any company before proceeding with any sales talk!

3) Deep Clean Every Room

Once you have cleared the clutter, each room needs to be given a thorough and deep clean – top to bottom to ensure that it all looks good. This is an important part of the staging process.

• Clean all the paintwork – especially grubby hand marks on the doors
• Dust and polish all wooden furniture and shampoo soft furnishings
• Move the furniture around to find which layout gives the best impression of space
• Wash all the curtains and blinds- replace any that look tired and faded
• Clean all the lampshades
• Wash/shampoo the floor and carpets
• If cupboard doors look dated, invest in new handles

4) Remove Personal Items

The idea is to make your house look clean, tidy and appealing.

It is important that prospective buyers can imagine themselves living in your space. An important point for the staged home is that personal items need to be stored away. Although you love all the family photos displayed in every room from an interior design point of view, they make a room look cluttered and too personal. Prospective buyers need to see the interior design of each room as a blank canvas where they can quickly add their furniture and decorations to make the room feel like theirs.

5) Add Character to each room

Once you have cleared the debris, re-painted any walls and given the rooms a thorough clean, you can bet it will look more appealing to prospective buyers.

To complete your home staging appeal and to give them a fresh, modern look, it is worth scouring charity shops for a replacement lampshade or colourful throw to complete the ‘new look’. House plants are very popular at the moment too. These are cheap to buy and are a clever way to cheer up a dull corner or large empty surface – ferns look particularly dramatic and lush.

To emphasise the colour scheme in each room, buy some carefully chosen boxes of tissues! This home staging idea can look particularly good on a coffee table - a simple touch that seems to appeal to all buyers!

Another home staging trick that is used by professional home stagers on a dull day, is to increase the amount of light in each of the rooms by switching on wall lights or table lights - and this is one of the home staging tips to follow whenever you have a house viewing- particularly if the weather is dark and gloomy.

6) Maximise Outdoor Space

Private gardens have become extremely important in recent years and buyers have them listed high on their list of priorities. There are some clever home staging tips that can help transform your outside area into something special.

You can really showcase you back garden with some smart home staging to appeal to buyers. The first task is to give your garden a big tidy up by cutting the grass, trimming the edges, digging the flowerbed and pruning all the bushes and hedges. If you have a garden shed, tidy it up inside and out and give it a coat of wood preservative – the difference this makes is amazing and will lead buyers to believe that your garden is easy to care for and manage.

Perhaps you can create an al fresco dining area? This is another one of the most popular home staging tips right now. If the only possible space is by the garage wall, why not paint the wall and decorate it with fairy lights, this will transform what was a dull part of your garden.

If you have a space you already use, make it look appealing. Give the paving slabs a good clean and then ‘stage’ it with a small table with tablecloth and chairs (charity furniture warehouses are great hunting grounds for garden furniture). Again, this home staging idea will have buyers envisaging sharing a glass of wine together on a summer's evening.

Vegetable patches are trending so if you have a bare stretch of flowerbed, why not quickly do some clever staging and transform it into a veggie patch? For speed you can buy small vegetable plants rather than growing from seeds - perfect for home staging an evoking a feeling of 'The Good Life'.

Why is Home Staging Important?

Home staging has been an integral part of selling a house for many years now. It has become even more important in 2022 because the statistics prove that home staging can lead to both your home selling for more and selling quicker.

It has become a common and effective technique within the property industry.

Below we take a look at some of the main aims of home staging.

What are the Main Aims of Home Staging?

In recent years ‘staging a house to sell’ has become a popular phrase in the property market and means preparing your house to sell. The aim of staging your home is to showcase all its best assets so that potential buyers will be impressed and be able to visualise themselves living in your house. If you put effort into staging your house, it could be one of the most lucrative things you do as it will help your house to sell fast – and for the highest price.

If you decide to stage your home to attract potential buyers, remember it has been around for many years.

Today, this idea has been carefully watched and changed. Key areas for home staging have been clearly defined – the kitchen, living room, bedrooms and gardens.

Not all sellers stage their homes so you will be at a clear advantage if you do stage your home. If you cannot put in the necessary time and effort yourself, there are a number of professional home staging companies that prepare all types of properties to go on the market.

Home staging has gained in importance, not only for when prospective buyers visit your home but when the British estate agents take the photographs of your property. First impressions really do count and if you stage your home correctly, it will help you to sell your home quicker. An attractive home makes prospective buyers feel confident that they will be able relax once they have unpacked as there are no problems with the property that need to be dealt with straight away. If there are any issues with the house these can deter buyers or be used as a tool to lower the price.

Home staging definitely brings with it many bonuses and certainly helps to attract buyers. If you are short of time, hiring some professional home stagers is certainly an investment worth considering. That said, home staging is a project that can be done successfully by you as the house owner without too much effort as the first step in selling your home. 

What are the Benefits of Home Staging?

There are a number of benefits that come with staging a home and they include:

• According to a survey carried out by Movewise, 94% - reported that staged properties sell faster than un-staged ones. 61% said these properties sell up to twice as quickly, while almost one in 10 had seen staging lead to a sale three times faster
• In addition staged homes sell for more - somewhere between 1-3% price increase.
• A staged home makes it easier for potential buyers to envision what a room will look like
• A staged home will generally spend less time on the open market
• Online photos of a staged home look better than those that are not
• And many more

Additional Advice on How to Stage a House for the 'Big 4 Rooms'

Where potential house buyers are concerned, the most important rooms in your house are the kitchen, living room, bedrooms and the bathroom. Space is the main criteria or, if your house is not large, the clever use of the available space. The demands on kitchens and living areas have changed since the pandemic so it's important to keep updated with the latest home staging techniques!

The Kitchen

This room is no longer used just for cooking, but as a gathering place for the family. Emphasise any sitting/eating area by setting the table for a meal on the days you are having the photographs taken or you have a viewing.

Have a good tidy out of the kitchen cupboards to maximise on space so that all your sauce pans and kitchen utensils can be stored away. If you have the space and need for an extra cupboard for storage, this could be worth buying – ether from DIY store or charity furniture warehouse. 

Check that the grouting between the kitchen tiles is clean and in good shape. If the grouting looks dirty, a paste made from bicarbonate of soda and white vinegar will  have it looking good. A finishing touch for your newly cleared work surfaces could be a large vase of fresh flowers or a house plant.

The Living Room

Try and make your living room as spacious and versatile as possible as this is important to everyone – as it is one of the most important rooms in the house. It needs to be versatile if one family member is home working or the children will need a study area. Ensure that the room maximises on natural light. If the living room appears dark, light natural coloured curtains will make it feel much lighter. Arrange the furniture to give a spacious feel to the room and make sure the coffee table is clean and free of clutter - although some fresh flowers will make the room feel welcoming.

If you can, create a small office area with a small table and angle-poise lamp. If there is not space in the living room, perhaps there is in the hallway or under the stairs - or in the dining room .

If you have a dining area in your living room, try and define this as a separate area by standing the table and chairs on a large rug - this is clever home staging as it emphasises the versatility of your living room . Setting the table attractively when viewers are looking at your property is another one of those clever home staging tips!

If you have a separate dining room, it is important to make it look as attractive and versatile as possible. A separate dining room is an outdated idea, these days, but with some clever home staging you can show the room can be used both as a dining room and home office

The Bedroom

Bedrooms are important because they need to feel spacious and calming. When you are home staging your house, spend time trying to create a welcoming oasis in the master bedroom, with plenty of natural light. If the room appears dark, replacing dark curtains with light ones can make a positive difference. Arrange the furniture to look appealing and always make the bed look attractive with the clever addition of some scatter cushions and a throw.

When you are staging your children's bedroom; check if moving any of the furniture will make the room look larger. Have a sort out of toys and get rid of any that are no longer used t0 help free up some space. Storage space in children's bedrooms is important.

The Bathroom

Although not listed as one of the important ‘Top Four’ areas for buyers, it is still worth spending time and effort to give your bathroom a makeover! The bathroom, after all is the most neglected room in the house!

The first stage as we mentioned is to ‘clear the decks’ and get rid of the countless bottles and tubs! This may involve buying a cupboard – either a wall cupboard or a floor-standing one that fits under the wash basin. If dirty linen is the problem and there is no room for a linen basket, one of the new-style laundry sacks that hook on the back of the door could prove ideal.

Often bathrooms are dark and don’t have enough natural light. You can help maximise on the light there is by giving your bathroom a fresh coat of paint – white is ideal, but if you think it is going to be too stark, this season’s trending soft earthy tones work well.

Once you have completed your bathroom’s makeover, it is time for the staging. Try beautifully folded, coordinated bath towels and a trailing plant perched on the wall cupboard. In addition, fern on the window sill will ensure that it looks good for buyers.

Bonus Tip: Make your Home more Eco-Friendly

An increasing number of house buyers are looking for more eco-friendly properties to buy. Only 39% of all houses in the UK have adequate loft insulation. Fitting loft insulation is a relatively straight forward DIY job to undertake- if your loft has easy access. Large rolls of insulating material can be bought from DIY stores and these are rolled out between the joists to help conserve up to 25% of your homes heat. The required thickness of insulation is 250mm.

The results are impressive and for the cost of a few hundred pounds you will have made your home more appealing - and you will be saving money on fuel bills in the run up to your house move.

Add Smart Technology

There are many different smart home devices that perform different tasks in the home. These include smart lighting options - using Wi-Fi as well as individual thermostats for radiators that can be individually programmed.

In the bathroom, a smart shower can prove a good investment as it is good to replace an old and inefficient showerhead with a new and cost-effective shower that will improve the style of your bathroom and ensure that you soon start to save on money and water.

Investing in some of these certainly take home staging to the next level but if they help you find a buyer for your property more quickly and you get a good price for your home, this must be a win-win situation.

Related: Top 10 Property Must Haves

The Bottom Line

All of our ideas and tips are great ways to stage a house to sell and will help you to sell yours quickly and for a good price. None of our suggestions are outrageously expensive and the biggest investment you will be making is your time.

Nothing will knock the value of your home more than if it is looking tired, cluttered and old-fashioned, but with good preparation using our home staging tips, your house will be very appealing to all types of house buyers and house buying companies alike!

Without a doubt, home staging can make a house sale easier to achieve!