Should You Stage Your Living Room?

When you’re selling a home in DC Ranch, your REALTOR® will talk to you about staging. Staging is incredibly important – in fact, homes that are staged sell, on average, 88 percent faster than those that aren’t. Typically, they sell for more money, too.

There are some rooms you can “lightly” stage – but your living room isn’t one of them. In fact, staging your living room can make a tremendous difference when you sell your house. Here’s what you need to know.

Should You Stage Your Living Room?

Experts agree: You should definitely stage your living room. You can ensure that buyers can envision themselves living there if you:

Rearrange (and possibly remove some) furniture
Swap out eccentric, bold or quirky art with more neutral designs
Repaint the walls, if necessary
Open the blinds and turn on all the lights

Here’s a closer look at each.

Living Room Staging Tip #1: Rearrange (and Possibly Remove) Some Furniture

You want buyers to see that your home has plenty of space, so you need to organize your furnishings in conversational groups while leaving plenty of walking room around each piece. If you have a loveseat or recliner that’s seen better days, or if any piece of furniture is making your space look smaller, it’s time to take it out. You can put the piece in storage, donate it or sell it – but regardless of what you do with it, it shouldn’t stay in your living room.

Living Room Staging Tip #2: Swap Out Your Decor for Neutral Items

Take down family photos, any decor that could be considered eccentric, or anything that might be controversial. Religious decor and other pieces – especially anything that might be considered risqué – should come down, too. Replace what you had with neutral artwork, such as landscapes or floral prints. Think about what you’d see in a hotel and aim for that.

Living Room Staging Tip #3: Repaint the Walls

Talk to your real estate agent about repainting the walls in your living room. In many cases, it’s just not necessary – but your agent will let you know if your paint is looking a little tired. If you have bold colors rather than neutral tones painted on your walls, it may be a good idea to repaint, too. Although buyers can repaint if they don’t like the color, you don’t want to give them any reason to think about having to do work if they buy your home.

Living Room Staging Tip #4: Open the Blinds and Turn on All the Lights

Before it’s time to actually show your home, open all the blinds and turn on all the lights. That way, you can tell if there are any dark spots in the space. If there are, you’ll need to adjust your lighting scheme. Buyers want to see bright, open spaces, so checking things out before a showing is a good way to highlight where your living room could use a little TLC.