Eight Easy & Affordable Staging Ideas

you ever walked into a home and thought "Wow, I can really see myself living here!" Chances are that feeling was created by some artful and strategic "staging" of the home to create a vision of a desirable lifestyle, designed to appeal to a broad range of buyers. As the seller, you want prospective buyers to see their future in your home, not your past. Below you will find eight easy and affordable ways to help you set the scene for a quick and successful sale of your home.

Have

De-Clutter

You've likely seen this on TV—the incredible transformation of a home created by a few days of dedicated cleaning, culling and organizing of the amazing variety of "stuff" that creeps into a home over the years. De-cluttering your home helps it appear larger and more appealing. Take that much-the-worse-for-wear recliner and put it and other mis¬matched furniture in storage. Box up your knickknack collection. Clear the dining room table of half-finished craft projects, tidy up the garage, and pare down the contents of your closets to what you're wearing at this time of year. Donate items you no longer use to charity and/or have a garage sale. Take a load or two to the dump. Rent a short-term storage locker to hold everything else not needed during the selling of your home.

Paint

A can of paint is worth its weight in gold. By renewing the paint throughout your home, you create a clean slate for someone else to write their future on—one minus the dirt, scrapes and other milestones of your family's day-to-day living. A neutral palette is best: an unusual colour choice that was the hot trend of a decade ago may not appeal to today's home buyer, and they may have difficulty envisioning their own furnishings in place.

Lighting Logic

If it's antique or vintage, a light fixture can certainly add character to a home. If, however, they bring back memories of disco dancing or flower-power, it's probably time to head off to the home renovation store for some updated light fixtures. They need not be expensive but they should reflect today's styles and energy efficiency considerations.

Mirror Magic

You’ve heard about how magicians “do it with mirrors”? Wave your own magic wand to make rooms appear larger and brighter through the simple addition of some strategically placed mirrors. Stores like Homesense, Winners, IKEA, Pier 1 and Home Outfitters often have stylish and reasonably-priced mirror options that can create some room enhancing illusions.

Refresh The Bathroom

Appealing and modern bathrooms are always among the biggest check-boxes on a buyer’s list of must haves. If your bathroom looks dated, invest in some minor improvements to bring it into the 21st century. You dont need to invest in a complete renovation, but refrsh the paint (white is best), invest in some new ceramic tile if necessary, and update the lighting fixtures. Accessorize with a new bath mat, replace the shower curtain and keep the vanity uncluttered.

It’s Curtains For The Curtains!

Have the same old curtains or blinds been in place since you moved in? It’s time to take down out-dated window treatments and let natural light perform one of its best tricks illuminating a room to make it seem larger. If you can’t leave your windows bare, replace the old curtains with some new basic cotton or linen curtain panels, and tie them back during viewings and open houses.

At The Threshold

You can reinforce good first impressions by some simple updating of the porch and doorway. Buy some new hardware: a new lockset, door kocker, bell and kick plate should be considered if the current hardware is showing its age. Brushed nichel or bronze fittings are good choices. Buy a new porch light that coordinates with the new door hardware. A new mailbox would also be a good investment. Repaint the door if the paint is peeling or cracked