Before & After Pictures of a Home After It Was Staged [How to Stage Your Home]

Wish I had seen this 2 years ago when selling family property. Even though we aren't planning to move any time soon, would be tempting to have someone come in and give ideas on 'updating'. Definitely in need.

When we put our last house on the market twenty years ago I spent two months preparing. We both worked full time, but I used weekends to thoroughly clean out closets, clean baseboards, light switches, door hardware, and the doors. We replaced old carpet because no one wants to move in on someone else’s dirt! They would rather buy a brand new house, so you have to have it looking brand new! I staged each room by removing personal pictures and using furniture we already had. I think folks like to see some furniture in each room because it provides a proper sense of scale. We had some areas in the large backyard that received shade, so the grass was not thick in those areas. We planted ferns that do very well in shady areas that my husband got from an entity that was tearing them out, so they were free! We positioned some porch furniture in the yard to make it more inviting. The day of the showing we baked some bread (you can purchase frozen dough to bake), we turned on all the lights, and I lighted candles in the fireplace. We sold the house ourselves, so we were the ones that did the showing. We sold it in six days and prior to our planned open house later that week! Making the home warm and inviting is the most important thing to do.

Pictures are so important. When we were searching for a house our realtor insisted that we look at a house that looked awful in pictures. The pictures were so bad. He practically had to drag me to see it and when I saw it in person I immediately fell in love. The house was fantastic, and we ended up buying it, but we never would have even taken a look at it based on the photos.

We sold three houses within a week in the past ten years. I staged each room and took photos to see how it looked and made adjustments and I cleaned everything closets, etc. one realtor walked in and said, “Oh, it will be a pleasure to sell this home.” Another described in his blurb that Mrs Clean lives here😊

Great advices! I don't think it's actually fake it's just showing the house in a more updated and attractive way. We had a nice home that we renovated during the years and kept updated. I like interior design and having everything beautiful. But still; I styled as a crazy maniac before we sold our house. I took pictures and looked critical at how it all turned out. I took away most of our things and then cleaned and styled up every area from scratch, a lot like in home decor magasines. I styled every area; even inside the fridge, in all cupboards, under the stairs where we had tools. I painted it light, organised everything even better and put some nice boxes and baskets on the shelves there. It got so organised and beautiful. For the kitchen I bought fresh fruits that looked good, food and juices that was extra healthy and had lovely packages and colours. Then placed them in order after deep cleaning everything. The beautiful things in front and more boring at the back. The labels to the front in nice order. People look in there and in wardrobes. So fold and color coordinate clothes as well. I took away our underwear. A good idea is to rent a storage and place half of the clothes there together with your things and plants that are not perfect. It needs to be spotless, neat and styled everywhere. Take away your things in the bathroom and only place back beautiful items that look new and are cleaned. I even bought a new toothpaste that had a nice looking colour and design. If someone looked into the bathroom cupboards it was all cleaned and looked fresh with some more exclusive or good looking stuff. I bought new white towels to get a lux hotel feeling and placed new plants and scented candles in the bathrooms. The view was boring from two windows of our house. So I put up new green hanging plants there, that almost covered the view. The eyes stopped at the lovely fresh greenery instead of looking out there. We got comments about that window from the buyers later on; that it was so beautiful. So styling in the right way really works. We even styled our patio cosy even in the middle of the winter. The house was sold with bidding within 24 hours.

I use the staging to improve my home while not moving!

Sometimes I wonder what people are looking for. I sold my house in 2021. Every room was a different color. I didn’t re-paint anything. I used all my own furniture, but in downsizing, 3 of the 4 bedrooms were empty. I did remove everything personal, but left up all my non-family pictures. Nearly all my furniture and pictures were IKEA. I cleaned really well, and made my yard look nice also. I priced it myself with comps and used a flat fee broker who had a really great photographer that made the house look awesome. Sold for over asking in 1 day.

A friend/neighbor was selling her large condo. She hadn't updated it in years. The living room had ceiling to floor windows with very heavy drapes making the room dark. I suggested she remove the drapes, because they were custom made she thought the potential buyers would like them. I tactfully told her that people today don't decorate that way. She had a cheap looking dining room set that she was going to throw away. I suggested tossing the hutch, keeping the table and chairs, buy a tablecloth and a centerpiece. Made many other suggestions, but "she liked" the way it looked. My advice to her was similar to yours "walk in the front door as a buyer not an owner". Well, she wouldn't take my advice and the condo sold for $30,000 below asking price.

I'm not a professional but when I sold my Mom's condo I replaced the lighting, had the carpets cleaned, painted in a beautiful light almost white paint colour and bought a sofa from Ikea, used my own art and bedding and it sold 20,000 over asking with multiple offers! I sell a lot of my furniture on Facebook Marketplace.

YES! We have bought and sold several homes, and I worked for a few years as a realtor's assistant-he specialized in archictectural MCM homes. Part of that job was going into his new listings and getting them ready for photography. Declutter, brighten up, remove personal items, close toilet lids, maybe buy new towels, basic cleaning! Look at the agent's other listings to see the quality of the photography-spending extra for a great photographer can make all the difference.

I’m a believer. Our realtor was fantastic. He brought in a professional stager and a real estate photographer. I was so blown away by their listing I literally cried. I will say that prior to that we spent weeks getting rid of pretty much everything and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.

Put the toilet seat down and remove valances and old drapes. These are excellent suggestions.

We moved a LOT in dh’s job. I learned fast to buy a house in a good neighborhood without difficult features in that home. I also decorated to sell. Anything I did- paint, carpet or replacing appliances were done with an eye to selling. Everything you said is true! We retired and settled down before the online marketing started but it is the same principle. My mantra when we got a showing- sometimes at 5 minutes notice- turn on all the lights, grab the garbage, kids and dogs and get OUT. EVERY MORNING I cleaned as if we were showing the house that day. Opened all curtains. Empty the garbage cans every night. I also grabbed the kitchen trash bag on the way out the door for showing.

These before and after are an absolute testament to your knowledge and experience; wow. well done.

I do a lot of real estate photography, and I'm always amazed by the bad-quality photos a lot of realtors use, and don't seem to realize how bad they are. I'm also getting our house ready to sell, and it is hard to see my own house through a buyer's eyes! Great advice!

One best piece of advice I got when I was a Realtor, and back when we had to take the photos…was, take photos from every door way. Begin with the front door, and then walk thru the house and take the pictures. Buyers want to see how a house flows from walking in the front door. Too many people over decorate their houses. I literally had to tell my sellers that we are selling your house and not a Hobby Lobby display. Clean out all closets, all cabinets, remove personal pics, religious things, clutter on counters etc. (i sold both of my houses myself in 2 days from listing on zillow) Every room needs a pop of red,black or yellow

Love the before and after shots. REALLY shows how the key is 'optimize for how room looks IN PHOTOS.' May I make a suggestion? Your content is great but the frequent quick zoom in/out makes me need to look away which is harder to focus on the excellent advice you are giving.

Great advice! So very true! I live in a small, rural community in Ohio. My local real estate person took pictures that were kinda okay, but about 80% below profesional! I did a lot of my own research online for preparing my home to sell. First of all, I decluttered a lot. I was a 74 yr old widow, I did most of the work myself, but I must say, my home looked good when I sold it. I painted everything I could even the kitchen and bathroom cabinets and added new hardware. I did have someone come in and help update the kitchen including new countertops, new sink etc. I also painted the shed on my property to match the house (previously was red and looked like it did not belong). Another thing that I would highly recommend was hiring a professional to power wash the out side of the house including the deck, the cement patio and driveway. It was so worth the $500 I spent to make the outside just stand out and "sparkle." The real estate people were so impressed, listed it way higher than I was expecting and as it turned out, the first couple who looked at it offered and bought it at the full asking price! All my time, hardwork and money was well worth the effort.

Such wonderful advice ! Plus I love the pictures! Don't know if it's just me an my old ears, but I always have a hard time listening with music in the background... yes, I'm easily distracted! 😂

Thank you! I do not plan to sell but have never been good at seeing things the way others do. Now I have a solid action plan for updating my beloved but admittedly sort of shabby little home.