Six Easy Tips for Staging Your Own Home

There's no question that staging your décor is advantageous when you're trying to sell your home.

The strategic editing and placement of your furnishings can be enormously important to boosting its appeal. Fortunately, conducting your own staging need not be complex by following a few easy guidelines:

PRIORITISE BY ROOM
You'll get the most visual impact by staging your living room, master bedrooms, kitchen and extra bedroom(s), in that order.

DE-CLUTTER
Cleaning will be easier after you pack away at least 90 percent of your own décor and personal artifacts. Your goal is to create a minimally decorated space buyers can imagine moving in to.

DEEP CLEAN
Everything must be groomed, sparkling and odour-free inside and out. That includes making sure all your windows are clean inside and out as this will allow all your hard work to sparkle brighter than ever!

DIVIDE AND CONQUER
Plan to remove about half your furniture to give the impression of optimal space. If it's all unpresentable, use stylish rental pieces or fake "pop-up furniture" for showings. Tip: Wherever possible, move display furniture away from walls (a technique known as "fl oating") to create groupings that are tied together visually with area rugs.

ACCESSORISE INSIDE AND OUT
Create an atmosphere of airiness, friendliness and cheer by selectively adding new fl owers, potted plants, attractive seating and welcome mats outside, perhaps fresh fl owers and bowls of fruit inside.

OPTIMISE LIGHT
Add brighter light bulbs, pull back or remove curtains, clean windows and clean (or perhaps update) light fi xtures to add to the overall impression of positivity.