How do I decorate my home for an open house?

Hello Ann! Is it possible to buy some slipcovers for your sofa and chair? You don't show a picture but I am hoping you have somewhat of a standard style so you could find slip covers that would work. If you pick a neutral color like a gray, brown or off white you can add some decorative pillows for a pop of color. If you will be showing your home you need to start removing all personal items like pictures, and declutter everything else down to a minimum. The less things you have out and about the bigger and more spacious your home will look. You are probably downsizing when you move into an independent community living facility so now is the time to start down sizing.

Throw on a pretty throw across the back of the sofa and add a couple of throw pillows on each side. Same with the chair. Tuck the throw into the back of chair behind cushion and add a throw in a solid color.

Hi, Ann,

You're wise to prepare, well in advance.

Clean closets out to a minimal amount of items and store the remainder if you wish to keep them. Space hangered items as evenly as possible. Store shoes in original boxes or bins. Hang a lavender sachet in the closet.

Clear kitchen and bath counters of all appliances, cookie jars, spatulas. Clean out all kitchen upper and base cabinets and carefully arrange glassware, dishes, cookware, cutlery, etc. to maximize space. Enhance lighting with L.E.D. bulbs. Clean all mirrors and glass surfaces, sweep lampshades, polish furniture.

Shampoo rugs if needed, but at least apply baking soda for a few hours, then vacuum.

Scrub walls and apply a fresh coat of paint, if possible.

Stage your bedrooms with no more than 4 bed pillows, a nice quilt or comforter, matching lamps on equal (or near equal) height bedside tables if space permits.

Vacuum draperies, if they are staying with the house. If not, clean the draperies and pack for your move.

Clean well any appliance being sold with the house. Dirty appliances signal a home not well cared for.

Clean and organize basement, pantry, laundry, garage areas.

Make sure your furnace has a clean filter.

Have the yard cleaned of debris, remulched if needed, and some potted plants near the entry to greet visitors.

Your bath can have new white fluffy towel sets for show, and some unwrapped guest soaps and a fresh roll of bath tissue and a bottle of bath salts, and a small plant, if space exists. Remove personal toiletries during viewings. Make fixtures and tile shine. Wipe windowsills of dust.

Decorate your diningroom table with a small floral arrangement, or 4 place settings. It's usually wise to remove extra chairs unless you have a very large dining space.

Place a bowl of uncut lemons on your kitchen counter, or a small pot of rosemary.

Although some real estate agents have asked homeowners to bake bread or cookies, it's wise to hide these prior to a viewing. You don't need a visitor dropping cookie crumbs or otherwise in your clean home.

Insist that visitors remove shoes, and no drinks permitted.

Take your valuables/personal papers with you, or secure them in advance. Sometimes people are more curious than you would be, yourself, in someone else's home.

I'm with Em, a nice throw for the sofa and chair in a color that coordinates with the print on them. Get solid pillows of a color that compliments the throw and is another color in the print.

Also, here are some suggestions for selling. Ask your realtor for suggestions on what should be done for your area. Go to open houses in your neighborhood and check out the competition. Great curb appeal (bright flowers and grass cut and trimmed, shrubs trimmed, garden weeded) is very important. Power-wash the outside of the house, including trim, sidewalks and driveway and clean the windows. Clean and put out awnings and patio furniture to call attention to the outdoor spaces. If it looks bad from the outside, a lot of people won't waste their time walking inside. That makes everyone think that the home was not taken care of and underlying issues could be present. Make sure your front door looks welcoming, maybe a fresh coat of paint, if it's a painted one. A new welcome mat is nice. Remove all personal things (pictures, stuff hanging on the refrigerator, etc). Also remove any furniture and stuff in closets and kitchen cabinets not needed and any other kind of clutter (put it storage if you have to). Organize everything left into an orderly fashion. If the walls are dark, paint them a light color (it makes the rooms look bigger and brighter), especially walls that take a lot of abuse from children, pets and furniture. Other than some paint (neutral colors), it really isn't necessary to do a lot of updates as the new owners may have different tastes and could possibly change it anyhow. Only fix what needs to be fixed (you don't want it to look like you didn't take care of the home). Keep everything clean so you're not running around before a showing, making sure windows are clean. Make the beds when you get up. Before a showing, open all window coverings and let the sunshine in. Turn on all lights even on a bright sunny day, the more light, the better. If you are home during a showing, turn off the tv and computer and go outside so the buyer can explore your home comfortably. Be careful burning candles, a scent you like may not smell so good to someone else . The smell of a strong scented candle could also trigger an asthma attack or appear to be covering something up. Flowers could also trigger allergies or asthma. A few potted plants could catch the eye and accent certain points in your home. Maybe add little white lights to a tree to show off the crown molding or other feature. The smell of clean or some freshly baked goods is much more enticing. And if necessary, spray an air neutralizer. When your home is being shown, remove all animals and put away their paraphernalia if at all possible. Good luck

I would keep it simple and maybe remove any sentimental items (photos) so that potential buyers can envision their family living there.