Home Staging Tips

Staging isn’t decorating. Decorating is making a home look good for the people who live there. Staging is making a home look good for the people who might buy it. That distinction matters — and it’s why a $2,000 staging investment regularly returns $10,000-$20,000 in sale price.

The Numbers on Staging

The Real Estate Staging Association’s data shows that staged homes sell 73% faster than unstaged ones. The National Association of Realtors reports that 81% of buyers say staging makes it easier to visualize a property as their future home. In terms of price, staged homes sell for 1-5% more than comparable unstaged properties.

On a $400,000 home, even a 2% bump is $8,000. Against a staging cost of $1,500-$5,000, the ROI is hard to argue with.

But not every home needs the same level of staging. A vacant property in a luxury market needs full staging with rental furniture. A lived-in family home in a starter market might just need decluttering and a few strategic updates. Match the investment to the property.

Professional Staging: What It Costs

• Consultation only: $300-$800. A professional stager walks through your home, gives you a room-by-room action plan, and you execute it yourself. Best ROI for occupied homes in the $200K-$400K range.
• Occupied home staging: $1,000-$3,000. The stager uses your existing furniture but rearranges, edits, and adds accessories. May include bringing in a few accent pieces.
• Vacant home staging: $2,000-$6,000+ per month. Rental furniture for key rooms — living room, master bedroom, dining area, kitchen vignettes. Most staging contracts run 2-3 months. Higher-end properties in expensive markets can run $5,000-$10,000+ monthly.

If your listing agent doesn’t offer staging consultation as part of their service, that’s a red flag. Most top-performing agents either stage themselves or have a stager they work with regularly.

DIY Staging: What to Do First

If professional staging isn’t in the budget, these are the highest-impact moves you can make yourself. In order of priority:

1. Declutter Ruthlessly

This is the single most impactful thing you can do, and it costs almost nothing. Rent a 10×10 storage unit ($100-$200/month) and move out:

• 50% of your closet contents (closets should look half-full — buyers open them)
• All countertop appliances except one or two daily-use items
• Family photos, kids’ artwork on the fridge, and personal collections
• Excess furniture — if walking through a room requires navigating around furniture, there’s too much of it
• Anything in the garage that makes it look cluttered (most buyers peek in there)

2. Deep Clean Everything

Hire a professional cleaning service for a one-time deep clean ($200-$500 depending on home size). This means: baseboards, inside cabinets, window tracks, grout, light fixtures, ceiling fans, the oven, and behind the toilet. A clean home doesn’t just look better — it smells better. And smell is the sense buyers notice first.

3. Paint Neutral Colors

If your walls are anything other than neutral, paint them. Cost: $2,000-$4,000 for a full interior repaint ($150-$300/room DIY, $300-$600/room professional).

The colors that photograph best and appeal to the widest range of buyers:

• Sherwin-Williams Repose Gray (SW 7015): The most popular staging color in America. Warm gray that reads clean without being sterile.
• Benjamin Moore White Dove (OC-17): A warm white that works in any room. Not stark, not yellow.
• Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray (SW 7029): Slightly warmer than Repose. Works great with warm wood floors.

Skip the all-white trend. It photographs cold, shows every scuff, and feels clinical in person. A warm neutral is universally better.

4. Fix the Five-Second Impression

Buyers form their opinion of a home in the first five seconds — which means the view from the front door sets the tone for the entire showing. Focus on:

• Front door: paint it if it’s scuffed. A bold color (navy, black, deep green) on a neutral house is a proven curb appeal trick. Hardware too — replace a dated doorknob and knocker for $30-$50.
• Entryway: clear it out. One table or console, a mirror, maybe a plant. That’s it.
• Kitchen counters: clear everything except a cutting board and maybe a coffee maker. Buyers want to see counter space, not your collection of cookbooks.

5. Upgrade the Lighting

Bad lighting is the most common staging mistake in DIY attempts. The fix is cheap:

• Replace all bulbs with 3000K-4000K LED bulbs (warm white, not the blue-white 5000K daylight). Cost: $20-$40 for a whole house.
• Open every blind and curtain for showings and photos
• Replace any obviously dated light fixtures — the brass and frosted glass combo from 1998 is a $30 swap at Home Depot
• Add a floor lamp to any dark corner. Light makes rooms feel larger.

Room-by-Room Priority

Not all rooms carry equal weight with buyers. Here’s where to focus your staging energy:

1. Living room: Highest impact. This is usually the first room buyers see past the entryway. Arrange furniture to create conversation areas, not to face the TV. Add throw pillows (no more than 4 per sofa) and one or two plants.
2. Kitchen: The room that sells homes. Clear counters, clean appliances, fresh towels. If your hardware is dated, replace pulls and knobs ($3-$8 each — the cheapest upgrade in the house).
3. Master bedroom: White or neutral bedding. Two nightstands, two lamps (even if you normally use one). Make the bed look like a hotel.
4. Bathrooms: White towels (buy a set just for showings), clear everything off the vanity except a soap dispenser and maybe a small plant. Re-caulk the tub if the caulk is discolored.
5. Outdoor space: Clean the patio, add two chairs and a small table. A $50 setup photographs like an outdoor living room.

Virtual Staging: When It Works and When It Backfires

Virtual staging uses digital editing to add furniture to photos of empty rooms. Cost: $50-$200 per room — a fraction of physical staging.

When It Works

• Vacant properties where physical staging isn’t in the budget
• Helping buyers visualize room function (is this a bedroom or an office?)
• Online listings where first impressions are photographic

When It Backfires

• When the virtual furniture looks obviously fake — bad lighting, wrong perspective, furniture floating off the floor
• When buyers show up to an empty house expecting the staged rooms from the photos. The gap between the online listing and reality creates disappointment, even if buyers know it was virtual
• Luxury properties where buyers expect physical staging as a baseline

If you use virtual staging, disclose it in the listing. “Photos are virtually staged” in the description. It’s ethical, builds trust, and some MLS systems now require disclosure. Use a reputable service — the $29 virtual staging from an overseas freelancer looks $29.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should I keep the home staged?

Physical staging contracts typically run 60-90 days. If your home is priced correctly and staged well, it should sell within that window. If it hasn’t, the issue is likely pricing, not staging. DIY staging should stay in place the entire time the home is listed — this is why the storage unit is worth the $100-$200/month.

Should I stage every room?

No. For professional staging of vacant homes, focus on: living room, kitchen, master bedroom, and one bathroom. These are the rooms buyers care about most and where staging has the highest impact. Secondary bedrooms can be left empty or virtually staged.

Does staging work in a hot seller’s market?

It works differently. In a market where homes sell in a weekend with multiple offers, staging won’t make or break the sale — but it can push your sale price 2-3% higher because buyers perceive more value. When the difference between 10 offers and 15 offers is your sale price, that staging investment pays for itself quickly.

Can I stage a home I’m still living in?

Absolutely — and most staged homes are occupied. The key is editing, not adding. Remove personal items, reduce furniture, and create clean sight lines. Your stager will tell you exactly what to keep, what to store, and what to rearrange. It’s inconvenient for a few weeks, but the payoff is real.

Hire a Professional Stager

Professional staging can increase your sale price by 5-15%. Connect with vetted staging professionals and home improvement contractors in your area.

More Selling Resources

Staging is just one piece of selling strategy. Set the right price with our pricing strategy guide and learn the full process in our home selling guide. If you’re considering FSBO, our flat fee MLS comparison can save you thousands in commissions. Schedule a pre-listing inspection to get ahead of buyer concerns.