How much furniture should I use to stage a house?

The purpose of staging furniture is to tickle the buyer's imagination. After renting for 35 years, you probably have a good idea of what furniture layouts looked the best. Try to recreate one of those! Mirrors can also create the illusion of larger spaces.

i have been blessed by a an awesome realtor agent. sold my 1st house in 1 week, the second after 24 hours. this is what he told me to do- remove any thing personal.....family photos, toiletry's from the bathrooms, have the place clean. no clutter on table tops, end tables, coffee tables. shampoo carpets, mop the floors. wash the windows. keep the yard tidy. leave a few pieces of furniture- beds in the bedrooms, a place to sit in the living room. any closets, bath or kitchen cabinets- remove about 2/3 of contents. avoid the scented room perfumers. paint your walls in a neutral color- boring beige works.

have the pets secured in crates/cages- post a note saying do not pet or release from crate. clean the cats/ gerble/ hamster/ tarantulas/ snakes habitat daily. remember - no bad odors.

If the house is empty of furniture and you want to rent staging furniture, you need everything sparkling clean and newly painted.

The master bedroom needs a queen bed, pretty bedding, side table with only a lamp and flowers, Good overhead lighting is a big step. Open curtains to let in natural light, and use sheers to block bad views. A tray with a tea or coffee cup, spoon, napkin, a flower, on the bed, at an angle, gives a classy comfy vibe. Some stagers use big cardboard or fiberboard blocks to create the look of a bed.

Every bathroom needs to be sparkling. Clean and paint any fingerprints or smudges. Leave nothing in the medical cabinet and in drawers and cabinets. People will snoop. Have beautiful towels on display, and a new shower curtain. If you can, have a small vase of flowers or a shiny bowl or tray to catch attention.

The kitchen and dining areas need to look like an expensive furniture store's display. Lovely tablecloth, cloth napkins, china, silverware, base with fresh flowers, bare decor on the counters, sparkling backsplash. It's okay if things come from Dollar Tree or your basement as long as they are clean and shiny. The table itself should show the maximum amount of seating without being crowded, even if that is only for two. Stage for the size family you expect to rent to.

The living room and common areas should be almost bare and very clean. Make views as broad as possible. If the house is open from the entrance to the end of the house (living room, often) it will make the house look twice as big. Wide open curtains, clean windows, sofa and chair or loveseat focused on a fireplace, modern tv, or window view (not with a furniture back toward the entrance) a rug, one table, flowers -- all make the first sight of the interior memorable.

And paint the front door.

Happy staging! Bless you 😇

We just "staged" mom's house to sell. The real estate agent said that there should be no personal photos, no religious artifacts, and almost no knicknacks. She also said that small accent pieces of furniture should be removed. For example, mom had two loveseats, two chairs, a coffee table, a large round accent table (with her elephant collection) and four small accent tables in the living room. We removed the round table (and elephants) and four small tables. Took all but two large art pictures off the walls and moved one floor lamp in. It looks sparse, but you can really see that there's room in there. The agent says there should be enough space and "air" that people can envision their own possessions in there.

colorful pillows on plain couch, chocolate chip cooking baking in the oven, good lighting, they always say "less is more" but too sparse is ugly and too much stuff, people cant use their imagination where their stuff will go. My neighbors' real estate agent staged her house and it never looked better and sold in a few days.

I am thinking of the same question, September could put on market and have been downsizing since 2006. I do do baking. Got what I don't need boxed already. Some took to my storage locker, but it is not heated so cannot take much access over there so designated a room for boxes/totes mainly. Doing inside sales of items sales on weekends. Problem, I have caged parrots and rodents, the weather to hot to stash them in vehicle and no one in my area can put them up. Last time I had realtor, I covered pets but curious eyes got the realtor's client bit, so much for cleaning walls and floors. I had sign on cages and they were covered. So I am doing more downsizing.

use small amounts of furniture in each room to demonstrate the room purpose, like a SMALL dining table with 2 chairs, a bed and single night stand in a bedroom, keep it simple and minimal to make the house seem larger, NO personal items like photos or personal collections, a generic vase on a mantel or candle set but limit these, generic curtains or blinds. The idea is to look neat, clean, spacious, and roomy. For open house day burn a scented candle or scent burner to smell like baked cookies or apple pie to add atmosphere.

Thanks for the good advice! I was probably going to put too much in the house. I do have the walls painted in a very soft gray. New flooring all through the house. Wish me luck!

Less is more. Not filling room to the brim helps potential owners see furniture/room size. If it is a bedroom, stage it like a basic bedroom. A person should never have to step over, around objects in the floor to see while on house tour. e Cleanliness, not cluttered, and smelling good will also enhance selling potential.

One of the most important things to remember is don't use too many pieces of furniture- which can make a room look small and overcrowded- and use appropriate sized furniture. Carry the color theme throughout the house, place fresh flowers for a homey feel and sweet smells!!