Selling your home is always a big job, but if you can stage it well, you are sure to get some great offers. For many homes, the living room is a central hub, so getting the staging right will do a lot for the first impression that your home makes. If you keep the tips below in mind, your living room staging will be a success!

Start with a Thorough Cleaning

You can’t stage a room well without cleaning it well in the first place. A deep clean will help your room look and smell better and will help your potential buyers to feel comfortable in the living area. Start by taking care of obvious messes and stains, then get into the more subtle aspects of the cleaning project. It is a good idea to vacuum thoroughly, and you may want to rent a carpet cleaner if you have carpets in the living area. The cleaner you can make your room, the more appealing it will be to buyers.

Furnish the Room

Choosing the right furnishing for your room is an important part of the staging process. While you are staging, try to choose furniture that is the right size for the room and that goes together well. Go for furniture placement that creates good flow. It's virtually impossible to perfectly match wood furniture and stains , so it's usually better to go for complementary furnishings rather than to try to find a perfect match and not quite get it right. You want to curate furniture that makes the room feel open and livable, and you must take the time to clean any furniture that may have stains or imperfections. Spending time to make your furniture shine will make a big difference for buyers.

Selecting Art

Choosing the art for staging your living room may seem simple, but it has a few tricks that can make a really big impact. Staging is all about finding a balance between depersonalizing the room while also not leaving huge blank walls. Choose art that emphasizes the benefits of your area, like a landscape of local scenery. You can also focus on the purpose of the room to choose art that curates a feeling or says something about what the room is for. Finding art that is open for interpretation and not distracting can help buyers to imagine themselves in the room and avoid getting distracted.

Lighting

Lighting is an awesome and important part of staging because it is easy to alter and can make a big impact. Whether you change out fixtures or just light bulbs, getting the right light for your living room can make it much more appealing for potential buyers. One of the best things you can do for the lighting in your living room when you’re staging is to take advantage of natural light. Natural light tends to make everything look better and more open, which is always a plus when you’re trying to sell a home. If the main fixture in the room leaves things a little dark, it may be worthwhile to set up a lamp or two to add more light and make the room feel even more functional.

Decluttering

Depersonalizing your living room is often as easy as taking time to declutter. Clutter can be fun sometimes, but in a staged living room it can be a big distraction. When you are working on the staging process, take time to get rid of any knickknacks and extra stuff you usually have lying around. When you’re staging, everything you leave out must have a purpose. Figuring out whether items are adding value to the room or taking away from it can help you to declutter more effectively.

Air Freshening

Even if a room looks great, it can be a hard sale if it doesn’t smell good. When you are staging your living room, be sure to think about the sense of smell as well as how things look. Smell is a big part of the human experience and can bring up memories for people. Learning to harness the power of smell in your staged living room can help you make the experience more pleasant and the room more appealing. Look for a scent that is light and fresh and smells clean more than anything. These kinds of smells will help contribute to the room and avoid making it seem like you are trying to mask a bad smell in the room.

Painting

Painting may be the last thing on your mind when you are staging your room, but you may need to do it to make your home look as nice as possible. If there are scuffs or problems with the current paint, take the time to take care of them. If you have bold paint colors, it may be worthwhile to paint in more neutral colors so that you can appeal to a wider audience and give your buyers a chance to imagine what they might do with the room if they were to move in.

Accessorizing

It may seem a little weird to talk about accessorizing the room after you have just gone through the trouble of decluttering. However, a few well-chosen decorations can help your living room look more like a home and make potential buyers feel comfortable and excited about the room. Try to choose accessories that connect the room and help to create a homey feeling and flow. Choosing smart accessories and decorations will improve the look and feel of the room and make everything feel even better.

Learning how to stage your living room will help your home be more appealing and improve the likelihood of a sale. People like to walk into a room and feel comfortable while being able to imagine the possibilities. That is the magic of good staging, it makes the living room look great while also revealing the potential.

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