How to Stage Your Home on a Budget

Planning to move? If you’re a homeowner, you may need to sell your current house first. For some, this could take a few short months. For others, it could take years. Selling and marketing a home, along with its many quirks and its neighborhood characteristics, can be tricky – especially in a saturated market. Thankfully, there are proven ways to greatly increase the chances of your home selling quickly and at the right price. One such way is by staging your home to appear as inviting and aesthetically pleasing as possible to all potential home buyers.

However, this may mean taking your personal style out of the equation. For those whose houses are filled with collectibles or jam-packed with vintage antiques, it may be time to clean it up. Remember: just because you love porcelain dolls (everywhere!), doesn’t mean others will appreciate your unique taste. When buyers walk into a potential new home, they need to be able to visualize themselves living in the house. Staging a home can transform your once cluttered space into a blank slate for home buyers, increasing the chances that your house will sell.

Thankfully, you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on updates and furniture to make your home more marketable. Here are 10 easy ways to successfully stage your home on a budget.

Declutter closets, cabinets and rooms

Step one of staging a home is to declutter and organize every nook and cranny of your house. That means rooms, closets, pantries and cabinets. Chances are good that serious potential buyers will open cabinets and closets to assess a home’s space and storage situation. Prepare for the tour by eliminating all clutter from surfaces around the house. When staging your closets, Houzz recommends leaving 20 to 30 percent of the space open and empty, so that buyers can visualize what it will look like once your belongings are gone. If you have nice floors, show them off by removing unnecessary rugs and mats off the floor. When showing your home, I recommend renting a short-term storage unit or asking to borrow a friend’s basement to store all of your clutter – at least, until you can move.

Apply a fresh coat of paint

Remember that time your 10 year old daughter insisted on painting her room hot pink? Now would be a good time to undo that. Before selling your home, I recommend painting your rooms a neutral color. Stick with a grey and beige palette (also referred to as “greige” by decorators) to appeal to the general public. Touch up stairwells, baseboards and crown molding.

Don’t “over-stage” your home

Don’t get carried away when staging your home. Going overboard with anything, even flowers or decor, can be a mistake. After all, you don’t want potential buyers to get so distracted with what’s in your home that they forget to look around at the home. To strike the right balance between a staged home and a lived-in home, avoid setting your dining table to perfection. Over-staging and over-styling with a full table setting can make the house look inauthentic and overly formal. Instead, opt for a table centerpiece, such as a flower arrangement in a vase or a bowl of fresh lemons. Add a table runner, a bottle of wine, wine glasses or stacked plates to make the dining room more comfortable and inviting.

Make your rooms appear larger than they really are

The bigger the rooms, the better – especially when it comes to bedrooms and bathrooms. Thankfully, you don’t need to start knocking down walls just yet. First, try decluttering your house. The more items stuffed inside a room, the smaller the space will appear. Also, opt for light, neutral paint colors in rooms. According to Forbes , paint colors and palettes that instantly make a room more spacious, include: white, light citrus tones, sea shades, and pretty pastels. Other tricks for making a room appear larger, include: positioning mirrors to create more light, and minimizing the use of window treatments and drapery.

Deep clean your bathrooms, carpets and living spaces

The most important step in staging a home is to actually clean it up. You can either do it yourself or hire a cleaning service. Either way, you’ll want to make sure your floors are squeaky clean, your surfaces are dust-free and your bathrooms are spick-and-span. Simple things, like unmade beds, dirty toilets and dusty air conditioning vents, can really turn buyers off. Also, check your carpet and rugs for stains. Depending on their condition, it may be a good idea to have these professionally cleaned before showing your home.

Make your home appear gender neutral

When it comes to painting and decor, try to stage your home to be as gender neutral as possible. This may mean sprucing up your man-cave (i.e. hiding the nintendo and adding some decorative pillows) or playing down your home’s girly factor (i.e. replacing hot pink colors with neutral tones). Opting for a neutral palette throughout your home will go a long way in impressing potential buyers.

Keep your home smelling fresh and clean

Make a good first impression on buyers by ensuring your house smells fresh and clean. Potential buyers who walk into a house smelling of last night’s roasted brussels sprouts or closet moth balls will probably not be making an offer on your home anytime soon. After all, who would want to inherit a stinky house? If you have pets, make sure to eliminate odors from your home by washing dog beds and refreshing Fluffy’s kitty litter. Neutralizing candles, air fresheners and diffusers are all inexpensive ways to improve your home’s scent.

Put away personal photos

When staging, cut down on clutter by putting away personal photos and picture frames scattered throughout your home. Not only are pictures distracting for potential buyers, but they could also make your house look downright messy. Surfaces, such as desks, bookshelves and tables should be free of pictures. However, to make your home feel “lived-in,” I recommend leaving a few (three or so) appropriate family photos on display in your home.

Borrow furniture from friends

Maybe your space lacks a certain something or your couch is badly soiled. Either way, you should make sure your home is staged with clean, neutral and smart-looking furnishings. Renting furniture from a company can be expensive, which is why I recommend borrowing pieces from family and friends. Assuming your home doesn’t take years to sell, your friends can surely part with a few items for a month.

Add fresh flowers to various rooms

Fresh flowers can go a long way in making a home more inviting and authentic. Head to your grocery store, farmers market or personal garden, and pick a few, inexpensive flower arrangements to don throughout your house. I recommend having flowers in the kitchen, bedrooms and possibly, the entryway as well.

Once you’ve successfully staged and sold your old home, it’ll be time to figure out how you’re going to move into the new one. To find full service moving companies or self-service movers, you can search Moving.com’s network of licensed and insured moving professionals. Using our Get Free Quotes Now tool, you can compare free competitive moving quotes from professionals. You can also find great discounts and prices on the best truck rental companies in your area. Best of luck!