Top 30 Staging Tips

1. Clean Grimy Bathroom Walls: Mix a spray bottle with one part water and one part bleach. Spray it on the wall and the mold will disappear. Dirty bathrooms are a huge red flag in homes for sale, and if you are staging a client's bathroom - you want it to sparkle.

2. Scour Shower Doors: A grimy glass shower door can ruin a bathroom. Instead of replacing it, clean it with a mixture of one part muriatic acid and 10 parts water. Scrub the door with steel wool.

3. Paint Old Tiles: If your client has dated tiles in their bathroom, but doesn't have the budget to replace them, just get them painted. First coat the tiles with a high-adhesion primer; next, brush on a ceramic epoxy covering. Wa-lah, fresh new look!

4. Pedestal Sinks: If your client has a small bathroom, using a pedestal sink can really open up the space. Get rid of any outdated vanities in half baths and replace them with a beautifully cut pedestal.

5. Gender Neutral Masters: When staging your client's home, unless they are single and having their master decorated for themselves, you want to ensure the room is gender neutral. This is especially true if the home is being staged to be put on the market. Remove any bright one-sided colors and replace them with neutrals. You can add pops of color with the pillows and decor.

6. Ugly Fireplace:  If your client has an ugly fire place in their home that really sticks out like a sore thumb, you can "hide" it by painting it. You'll want to paint it the same neutral colors as the walls to hide it, or you can paint it in a way to help it standout if the fresh new color coating adds beauty to the piece. Fire places are structural focal points, so if you can freshen it up to stand out, while looking beautiful, use it to your advantage. 

7. Fireplace Screens: If your client has an ugly, outdated coppery fireplace screen, you can remove it and freshen it up with spray paint. Just be sure to use a fire resistant brand.

8. Fireplace Focal Point: If your client's fireplace is unattractive, freshen it up with a good strong cleaning and polish the tiles. Sometimes you can make it look much better with these steps and some decor, instead of having to paint the whole thing. Especially if the undertones in the fireplace match the undertones in the room.

9. Outdated Kitchen Cabinets:  Most of your client's may not have the budget to replace all of their cabinets in the kitchen, but you do want to get rid of that outdated look. Simply stain your client's cabinets to a color that appeals more with the theme of their home and makes them stand out. 

10. Go Stainless: No matter your client's budget, if you are working on staging a kitchen, convince them that stainless steel appliances are the way to go. These days, you can find brands that offer stainless steel appliances that are significantly different in pricing and far more appealing. 

11. Fill Hardware Holes: If your client's kitchen has unsightly hardware holes (because you want to replace them with new versions), the best tip is to have them filled in. Dip a toothpick in glue and place it inside of the stripped hole; then, cut off the excess piece. Once the glue dries, you can then add more modern hardware onto the cabinets.

12. Granite Counters: Granite counter-tops can get expensive, but are a great investment to any staging job. You can help your client save some money by doing the demo in the original kitchen with your client and then ask suppliers if they have remnant pieces from old jobs. They may have enough to add to your client's kitchen without having to buy a whole piece.

13. New Kitchen Appliances: Even if your client can't afford to update their kitchen appliances with stainless steel ones, if the ones they have are outdated, it's important that they have them at least replaced with newer (inexpensive) models. This is crucial when listing the home for sale.

14. Inviting Porch: Even if your client only has a tiny stoop, make it say “welcome home” with a clean doormat, potted plants in bloom and — if they have the room — one or two pieces of neat porch furniture.

15. Built-In Bookshelves: There's a fine line between filling them with clutter and staging them. The trick is to arrange neutral items in clusters. Make sure that no single accessory stands out too much. That way, you'll show off your attractive built-ins, and not your client's personal belongings.

16. Back Off The Walls: It's commonly thought that putting furniture up against walls will make the room look bigger. This actually isn't true. Take your client's couch off the wall and bring it forward in the room. "Floating" furniture makes the room easier to navigate and gives the room a bigger feel.

17. Add Flowers: Nothing brings more life to a house than adding some greenery. It's great to use fake plants, but be sure to bring some live ones in. You can use easy to maintain plants like succulents, or can lighten up a room with a fresh bouquet. 

18. Focus On Lifestyle: When staging a home, don't just think of the space as a house. Imagine it as a lifestyle, your client's lifestyle. And you want to stage and decorate in a way that fits their personal lifestyle and daily habits.

19. Use White Linens: If you are staging a home to sell, and want to find a way to go neutral and elegant, using clean white linens help gives a bedroom a spa & hotel like feel.

20. Awkward Spaces: Whether your client has an odd nook or space underneath the stairs, be sure to emphasize the use of the space. Space under the stairs could be used as a desk area, a nook can be cozied up to be a comfortable reading spot, etc.

21. Remove Pet Odors: Home owners love to deny that their homes smell like their pets, but 90% of the time - they do. Removing any pet odors is essential in a home staging project in a home for sale. It's the first thing buyers will get hit with and will really leave an awful impression.

22. Carpet Nightmares: Although few and far between, if you end up with a client who has carpeting in their kitchen or bathrooms, for the love of home staging - remove them!

23. Low Ceilings: High ceilings are appealing in our current market. If your client has low hanging ceilings, you can draw the eye up and make the room seem taller by adding a lot of vertical pieces. You can add tall bookshelves (if it works for the room), tall decorative pieces in vases, and be sure to get those curtain rods near the ceiling and have ceiling to floor length curtains. 

24. Old Hardware: If your client has outdated hardware, and you need to save some money, you can simply remove the hardware and paint them with the appropriate spray paint. You'll be surprised how different a bathroom can look when the brass is removed for a more polished nickel look.

25. Remove Shabby Wood Panel Walls: If your client can afford to have them ripped out, cover it up. Use wood filler to fill in all the cracks between the panels. Then, use a sponge to wipe away the excess filler. Once it's dry, paint the room in one neutral color. You'll see an unattractive wall go from standing out to blending into the space.

26. Front Doors: You want to set the tone of the house at the front door. If your client's house will be bright and cheery with bold colors to accent it's features, paint the front door a glossy bright hue. If your client is going to have a more rustic charm home, use a door that incorporates that theme.

27. Hanging Mirrors: It's incredibly important to use mirrors to enhance the size of a room, and reflect more light throughout it. Use a mirror in every main area of your client's home - if possible.

28. Layered Lighting: Every room should have three kinds of lighting: ambient, which provides overall illumination and often comes from ceiling fixtures; task, which is often found over a kitchen island or a reading nook; and accent, which is more decorative, highlighting, say, artwork.

29. Pick Paint Last: Although most clients want to start at the base of the room by picking the wall colors first, it's smarter to pick the furniture first. It's a lot easier to choose paint colors that match the furniture, then it is trying to find furniture your client loves, that goes with the color in the room.

30. Let Your Room Breathe: Give ample space between furnishings, and understand that less is more. If your client's room is cluttered with too much furniture, it will weigh down the room and make it look outdated. You want it to be easy to maneauver through.