Last Updated on January 26, 2026 by Vannessa Rhoades, Three Bears Home Staging
Ever noticed those picture-perfect home listings that steal your attention? They’re not just pretty—they’re staged. Home staging is like a marketing magic trick with a touch of psychology. It’s the art of showcasing a home’s best self, minimizing flaws, and maximizing appeal. Whether it’s fully handled by a professional or you’ve decided to do a little DIY home staging, it’s a sales strategy that works.
Think of it as dressing your house for success: adding, rearranging, and upgrading to make it irresistible. It’s not just about selling a house; it’s about selling it swiftly and lucratively. A well-staged home isn’t just a visual treat; it creates an inviting vibe that makes potential buyers want to stay. From online listings to showings, a properly staged home is a magnet for interest, leading to quicker sales and, hopefully, generous offers. It’s the secret sauce to turning your property into a buyer’s dream.
In this article…
- Is it worth it to stage a home?
- Can you stage your house yourself?
- DIY Home Staging Tips
- Ready to Put These DIY Home Staging Tips into Action?
Is it worth it to stage a home?
Yes! Year after year, statistics from the National Association of Realtors and the Real Estate Staging Association show that staged homes consistently sell faster and for more money than their un-staged counterparts. Having a fantastic online listing filled with high-quality photos of beautifully staged rooms is one of the best ways to improve your home’s perceived value. And since not all sellers choose to stage their homes (particularly those in lower price brackets), homeowners who do stage their property can gain a competitive edge in a crowded market.
Can you stage your house yourself?
Yes, you can stage a home yourself, BUT…you need a little objective guidance to do it well. One of the biggest benefits of working with a professional home stager is that they can operate more objectively and help you develop a strategy for how and where to get started. They can also work within your budget and timeline to help you invest your dollars for the best ROI. At Three Bears Home Staging, we teach homeowners exactly how to do this in our consultations, books, and online courses. We also offer lots of free resources for DIY homeowners!
For a full DIY home staging plan that walks you through every room, start here → DIY Home Staging Guide for Sellers
DIY Home Staging Tips
1. Make the first impression count
Be sure to keep the exterior of your home just as inviting as the interior. If the front door has stains or dents, consider applying a fresh coat of paint and framing it with plants on both sides. Opt for a planter that’s clean, simple, and complements your home’s style. Plant flowers that thrive in your climate or classic shrubbery like boxwoods that look beautiful consistently year-round. Keep the lawn well-manicured, shrubbery trimmed, porches swept, and windows clean to maximize the overall curb appeal.
2. Deep clean everything
Prospective buyers, much like yourself, prefer entering a home with pristine bathrooms and unblemished walls and floors. Prioritize cleaning every room in your house. Avoid overwhelming homes with scented items as it may give the impression that you’re hiding something.
RELATED: 7 of Our Favorite Cleaning Hacks for Home Staging and Selling and Our Top Recommended Cleaning “Must-Haves” for DIY Home Staging
3. Define the space
Buyers can have a hard time visualizing furniture perspective in an empty room or purpose in a cluttered, multi-functional space. Make sure each room serves a distinct purpose. This helps buyers picture how they might optimize the home’s square footage for their own use.
That spare bedroom where you store all your craft supplies, wrapping paper, and winter clothes? It’s time to turn that back into a proper guest bedroom. A finished basement with a mishmash of exercise equipment, stored holiday decorations, and outdated baby toys? Turn that into an entertainment room! Give each space a singular purpose, making sure each item within it reflects that purpose. Even if the prospective buyer envisions a different purpose for a room, the key is for them to recognize that every inch of the home is functional space.
4. Reduce and simplify
Less is more, especially when it comes to home staging. Clutter poses two significant challenges to a home seller:
- It diverts buyers’ attention from your home’s distinctive features.
- It creates the illusion of limited space within the home.
This is the perfect time to pack away and store items not essential for daily use, including knickknacks, games, papers, seasonal clothes, and crafts or hobbies. It’s also a great time to part with unnecessary items, like expired food in the cabinets and clothes and toys that the kids have outgrown. The greater the available empty storage space, the more favorable the impression with potential buyers.
Related: 5 of the Best Ways to Store Items While Staging & Selling a House
5. Incorporate mirrors
Mirrors not only bring a touch of style to a room but also create a sense of openness and brightness, effectively expanding the perceived space, even in compact areas. If you have a spot that needs a large piece of artwork, consider opting for a large-scale mirror instead. A well-placed mirror can elevate your space, lending it a more curated and well-designed feel.
PexFix Full-Length Mirror
6. Update window coverings
Swap out outdated and heavy drapes for a more contemporary and airy alternative. Opting for uncomplicated and practical window coverings on open windows creates a sense of spaciousness and visual expansiveness. Select floor-length curtains and position them closer to the ceiling, rather than at the top of the window frame, to give the illusion of increased height in the room. On a tight budget? Just take down the curtains completely and leave the windows bare to maximize light (no window treatment > heavy, dated, or taste-specific window treatments).
NICETOWN White Sheer Curtains & Drapes, 96” long
7. Use white towels to give bathrooms the spa treatment
Using crisp, fresh, all-white towels in your bathrooms is an old, but effective staging technique. Colored towels can look dull in photos and add a sense of weight to the space. By contrast, white towels convey a sense of freshness and cleanliness. Consider timeless options like this 6-piece classic bath towel set by American Soft Linen Luxury or explore some of our other recommended favorites.
American Soft Linen Luxury 6-piece bath set
8. Use the right rug (or no rugs)
Make sure your area rugs are a proper fit for your rooms and furniture. When selecting a rug for the living room, steer clear of ones that are too small. At least the front legs of your couch or chairs should rest on it. Choosing the right-sized rug in a style that complements the room will create an illusion of increased space and a more cohesive overall look. When it comes to small bath mats and kitchen rugs – hide them. They can break up the visual floor space and make the room look smaller in photographs. Click below to learn more about how to choose the right rug for home staging or click to see a few of our favorite rug recommendations for staging.
RELATED: When to Use a Rug in Home Staging (and When Not To)
9. Thin out the bookshelves
As you tidy up your space, remove about half of your books and reorganize the remaining ones, alternating vertical and horizontal arrangements. Carefully integrate a few neutral trinkets within the bookcase to serve as accents and bookends. You want to give your shelves a lighter and more inviting feel without injecting too much personality into the space.
RELATED: How to Style and Stage Bookshelves and 19 Beautiful Amazon Bookshelf Accessories You Need for Home Staging
10. De-personalize
Pack up family pictures, religious and political references, and your kids’ artwork. These items remind potential buyers they are guests in someone else’s home. Instead, you want them to be able to envision the space as their home. Replace personal photos and trinkets with coffee table books, candles, or landscape artwork for a more neutral and inviting atmosphere.
Ready to Put These DIY Home Staging Tips into Action?
If you’re staging your home to sell, these tips are just part of the process. For a complete, room-by-room DIY home staging plan that shows you what to do (and what to skip) start here: DIY Home Staging: The Secret to a Faster, More Profitable Sale.
Vannessa Rhoades
Vannessa Rhoades is the author of Just Right! Easy DIY Home Staging and the founder of the award-winning firm, Three Bears Home Staging®. She specializes in providing positive, empowering virtual consultations that help homeowners and real estate agents all across the country sell more quickly and for more money.
The products on this blog have been independently selected because I like them. Some of the links on this blog are affiliate links, meaning, if you choose to click on a link and make a purchase, I earn a small commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you and is paid 100% by the merchant, which helps me continue to create free content for my readers — so it’s a win-win! Thank you for supporting my blog and my business!
