Home Staging Ideas

Looking for a little inspiration and some great home staging ideas for your home? Look no further. You have found the most comprehensive site about home staging there is.

If you have already read about our complete three-step process for staging a home to sell, then these ideas will supplement the extensive knowledge you've already gained from our site. (If you want to read about the three-step process, go to our Home Page to begin your journey.)

Or, maybe you're the type that likes to get quick ideas on a range of staging subjects. Perfect. Then we have quite a few that follow for you!

Here are some great home staging ideas that we have used for projects in the past 15 years -- with a little inspiration thrown in for good measure:

• Know who has outlets, closeout rooms, blowout racks and super sales in your hometown area. When budgets get tight, knowing who has plain drapery panels from time-to-time at ridiculously low prices (i.e. 75% off and more) can save you time and money. Sometimes, having a jumping off point, such as a drapery color, makes all the difference and can define a staging color scheme for a room. Similarly, we have purchased sofas that have had small upholstery tears that are priced at giveaway prices because the retailer didn't want to deal with the repair. You can stitch these up quickly for no money at all, and the impression is that the sofa is new and in pristine condition. We've even negotiated better pricing on these blemished upholstery pieces -- you can too!
• Know the competition. We frequently visit open houses in neighborhoods where we will be staging rooms. We want to see what the "norm" is for the neighborhood as far as fixtures and finishes so that the homes we stage are better than the others on the market. If our competition has a nice dining room chandelier, we make sure ours is better -- of course we find a great price, too. Sometimes we move the dining room chandelier to the breakfast nook to give it an "upgrade".
• Art can be expensive to buy and even more expensive to frame. Photos are a good substitute for art when money is tight -- but not personal photos! If you live near a large city, take photos of prominent landmarks or architectural features nearby. The art will "ground" your home as part of the neighborhood and the art will suggest the advantages of living near such a world-class city. If you live in the country, photos of the surrounding countryside, flora and fauna will reinforce this locale as well.
• Pillows are wonderfully inexpensive ways to add texture and color to rooms. We buy pillows every chance we can -- if the price is right! Consider buying throw pillows if the price gets below $4 or $5 especially if they are in good, plain colors that will make terrific accent colors for the rooms you stage. Even if they don't work out, you can always change the covers (simple no-sew projects) to get the color you need. Buying pillow forms from stores usually end up costing twice as much!
• Everybody wants granite except that it costs so much. We've used a service that clads laminate countertops with a granite overlay. Much less expensive and the same granite look.
• We love putting rolled up towels in a gnarly basket in the bathroom. The texture is irresistable and the spa suggestion is unmistakeable.

To learn more of our home staging ideas, check out the room-by-room staging suggestions we've included in this site. Go to Step 3. Design to Sell Fast! from Home Staging Ideas.