DIY Home Staging Tips to Sell Your House Fast

This is the fifth post in my deeply personal Downsizing, Decluttering, Detaching, and Dreaming Ahead series—our heartfelt journey of letting go, lightening up, and listing our beloved family home. You can see the other posts in this series HERE.
Photo credit: Stephen Reed.

Selling your home is a big deal. It’s full of emotions (especially when it’s the home where you’ve raised your family), and it can feel overwhelming. When Bob and I recently prepared to put our house on the market, we learned firsthand how much of a difference staging can make.

Whether you like it or not, potential buyers will make judgments about the home’s overall condition based on the cleanliness and orderliness of the house.

Here’s the thing: you don’t have to hire a professional to get results. With a little effort (and some expert tips I picked up along the way), you can make your home look warm, inviting, and ready for a quick sale. Today, I’m passing those DIY home staging tips on to you.

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Why Staging Matters

The statement, “You only have one chance to make a good first impression,” is so true–especially when potential buyers are looking at your home! Buyers often decide in the first few minutes whether a house feels like “the one.” Staging helps them picture themselves living there.

Staging a home is different from decorating a home for style and comfort! When you’re decorating, the purpose is to showcase your treasures and make the home personal. Staging is just the opposite! It’s about depersonalizing the home so the buyer can picture their family living in the space.

It’s typically pretty difficult for homeowners to be objective about their home. It was for us! We built our home specifically for our family back in 2004, and for us, the downsizing journey was already very emotional. For staging, you need to start viewing your home as a product, without emotion. If you can’t do that, you might want to bring in a professional.

The primary goal of staging is to help prepare your home/product to look its best so it will sell quickly and for a top price. A clean, fresh, and welcoming space doesn’t just look pretty in photos; but the images (and sometimes a video) can actually help your home sell faster and sometimes even at a higher price. (Spoiler alert: Ours sold in just two weeks for the asking price!)

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1. Start with a Clean Slate

Before you even think about décor, roll up your sleeves and do a deep clean. I’m talking baseboards, light switches, windows, and all those spots you don’t usually notice. A sparkling clean, well-organized house tells buyers that it’s been well cared for.

2. Declutter

When we started clearing out, I had to remind myself: less is more! Too much stuff makes rooms feel smaller and distracts buyers from the features of your home. Take it room by room—pack up extra knick-knacks, and books. (Bonus: you’ll be one step ahead for your move!) I wrote three posts on our decluttering journey. These will help you through the emotional part of decluttering and help you know how to responsibly donate or dispose of the things you’re discarding.

1. Decluttering for Empty Nesters: How to Let Go with Love
2. Decluttering 101 | Where to Donate Your Hard-to-Donate Stuff
3. Decluttering 102: How to Dispose of Hard-to-Dispose-of Items

Potential buyers will be looking into your pantry, inside drawers and closets, and in cabinets. Declutter and organize those spaces. Buyers may infer things about the home’s overall condition based on what they see in those smaller areas.

3. Depersonalize

Remove all family photos, diplomas, family crests, or anything else that personalizes your home.

If your home already needs new paint, remember that when it comes to selling, neutrals win. Fresh paint in a light, neutral shade can make rooms look bigger, brighter, and more open. Think of it as creating a blank canvas for buyers.

4. Remove and Rearrange

The idea is to open up walkways between rooms and maximize floor space, making your home look larger overall.

Furniture

When it comes to furniture, consider reducing or rearranging to maximize floor space. Our stager had us remove most of the ottomans that went with our chairs, to give the appearance of more open space.

Remove wastebaskets in bedrooms, or move them into a cabinet. (Even if they’re decorative and beautiful.)

Remove floor lamps, occasional tables, stools, and other small decorative pieces of furniture.

Remove all personal items from bedside tables in bedrooms, including books, charging stations, etc. Leave only lamps, if possible, and center them on the bedside tables.

Flooring

Remove area rugs. Our stager had us remove the beautiful antique area rug we had under our breakfast room table to open up the space.

Remove things like air purifiers, portable fans, or portable heaters. You don’t want to imply that your home is imperfect in any way!

Bathrooms

In bathrooms, remove all of the rugs on the floor. Remove colored towels and towels with monograms, and replace them with fresh white towels. We purchased inexpensive but good-quality white bath towels and hand towels. We remodeled this bathroom completely in 2020. See the before and after photos HERE.

Clear the countertops except for the soap dispenser if it’s decorative. If it’s plastic, replace it with an inexpensive, decorative soap dispenser.

Remove wastebaskets, or move them into a cabinet. (Even if they’re decorative and beautiful.)

Kitchen

In the kitchen, clear off all countertops, shelves full of cookbooks, etc. Remember, less is more. Remove area rugs in front of the sink, stovetop, etc. Store trash can and recycling bins in the pantry or inside cabinets.

Walls, Tables & Shelves

Remove items such as smaller framed wall art, decorative hanging plates or trays, and mirrors, if possible. Remember to patch nail holes and touch up with paint, if necessary.

Remove all decorative items from mantels and clean out fireplaces.

Simplify and declutter your tabletop decor. Accessorize the coffee table simply with a short stack of coffee table books and something like a decorative bowl.

4. Let the Light In

Open or raise blinds (tuck up and hide the strings) and fully open curtains to maximize natural light. If a room feels dark, add table lamps. Bright, airy spaces feel more cheerful—and who doesn’t want that? Change your yellowy light bulbs to bright, white bulbs to brighten up the space.

5. Curb Appeal

Buyers form opinions before they even step inside, so don’t forget the outside! Thoroughly clean the front door and front porch. Powerwash the driveway, front porch, and front walkway. Trim hedges, add seasonal flowers and fresh mulch, and pop a pretty seasonal wreath on the front door. A welcoming entrance sets the tone for the whole showing.

6. Create Inviting Spaces

This was one of my favorite tips from our staging expert: make every space feel intentional. That awkward corner? Add a cozy chair and lamp to create a reading nook. Empty shelves? Style them with just a few tasteful items. Every detail helps buyers imagine life there.

7. Add Small Touches of Warmth

Fresh flowers on the kitchen counter, a bowl of faux fruit, or fluffy white towels in the bathroom—these little touches make a home feel fresh and cared for. They don’t cost much, but they make a significant impact.

Final Thoughts

Staging doesn’t have to be overwhelming or expensive. By following these DIY home staging tips, you can make your house more appealing, help it sell faster, and maybe even ease some of your own emotions about letting go.

If you’re in the middle of downsizing or preparing your empty nest for the market, I hope these ideas encourage you and give you practical steps to take. Remember—this is just one step in your journey, and on the other side of this change is a new season full of opportunity and joy!

Got other staging tips to add to mine? Leave a comment at the bottom of this post, and share it with others. And speaking of others, if you know someone who is getting ready to move or put their home on the market, consider whether this article could be helpful to them. You can forward it or share it to social media using the icons below.

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