Most, if not all, real estate agents would agree that it is incredibly beneficial to stage your home for potential buyers. Not only is it intended to neutralize your home so that others can see themselves living there, but it is also to polish the overall look of your home and make it look more expensive. There are plenty of home staging companies that can be hired to do a variety of things. They provide services from rearranging your existing decor to taking you out shopping for entirely new furniture and decorations. As you can imagine, it can get pricey, quick and before you know if, you’re putting in more money to stage your home than you will get back in the final sale. Thankfully there are a number of things you can do yourself to enhance your home to buyers, all the while spending little to no money!

One big opportunity to interest buyers is to keep the color of your walls to warm, neutral colors. Now that’s not to say you can’t have some fun with your painting. A dark plum colored wall is a nice touch to keep the space inviting and romantic while still having a personal touch. Look for colors that aren’t going to distract potential buyers from the rest of the room. A harsh white can be just as a turn off as neon yellow. Instead, choose a cream or off white to give the room some softness. In addition, softer neutral colors can give a small space the feel of a bigger area. Especially if you have conjoined rooms such as a kitchen and family room, it is better to keep the color the same throughout both rooms. It really opens up the rooms to keep the space large.

When it comes to decorating a helpful hint is to first take a picture of the room and use the perspective to see which areas are cluttered and which need a little more life. Book cases and other big furniture displays are visually very appealing. While decorating a bookcase it can be easy to stack up too many items making it look overworked and cluttered. Try using only a selective amount of books (5-10 depending on book and shelf size). It is good to add texture such as a sculpture or coral arrangement that isn’t overwhelming but gives the bookshelf a lively feel. Some pops of color also help to keep things fun and sophisticated. For this, a little plant in a vase is perfect. Additionally, in order to keep buyers focused on the house, and not who currently lives there, make sure to take down any personal photos in common areas. This keeps the room neutral so people can flow through and shows a home anyone can live in. Remember, it’s not that others don’t want to see your lovely family, you just want them to visualize themselves living there instead.

The kitchen is a HUGE selling point for most potential buyers. There are some great home staging techniques you can do to update your kitchen and make it look upscale while still staying on budget. The first step is to clean clean CLEAN! Scrub every nook and cranny as if the sale of your home was based solely on this room alone. Next de-clutter the counter space. Leave three to four essential appliances out and hide the rest away. Not only do the counters need to be simplified but so does any furniture that is in the kitchen. Again, this is designed to let others envision their own furniture and decorating taste in the space. Pot racks can signify that there is not adequate amounts of cupboard storage space, so either take the rack down completely or limit it to hanging only two incredibly clean items.

Last piece of advise: Don’t stress yourself out. Chances are your home is already a great home that will have no trouble selling, this is just a way to help that process along and hopefully get a little more cash in the end. Be thorough but don’t let this overwhelm you, moving is stressful enough already! Use it as a way to show your decorative side off, research other homes that have been staged, and figure out what works with your space. Enjoy!