Home staging is one of the most tried-and-true methods of selling your home faster. It can also help you increase the purchase price of your home by between one and five percent.

However, working with a professional home stager--while a good investment--is not always in everyone’s budget.

The good news is, there are a lot of simple and inexpensive ways to stage your home that will give visitors a good first impression, make for great photos for your online listing, and hopefully help speed up your home sale.

In today’s post, we’re going to break down six of the most effective and inexpensive home staging tips to help you sell your home faster.

1. Declutter everything

Cleaning out your home is one of the best ways to make it appear more spacious and welcoming. It gives you the chance to start packing items you won’t need until you move into your new home, and it opens up space to use a few choice decorations around the home.

For things like cabinets and closets, remove all of the items you won’t need until you move. A closet that is half-full will look much larger for guests viewing your home.

2. Clean carpets and polish wooden furniture

Carpets, flooring, and furniture make up a large percent of the visible space in your home. Leaving these items dirty or worn when selling your home is missing out on a huge opportunity to make your home look up-to-date and well-maintained.

You can rent a carpet cleaner for as little as $20, and a gallon of wood polish costs around $15, making these two items a solid investment for staging your home.

3. Paint with bright colors

When we paint our homes we usually choose colors that we like, rather than ones that appeal to the largest number of people. And although that’s a great thing while you own a home, it can be detrimental when it comes time to sell. Repainting dark walls in bright, neutral tones will make the room feel larger and well-lit.

4. Paint the front door while you’re at it

A freshly painted, bright colored front door can be the secret weapon when it comes to making your home stand out amongst your neighbors. It is a cheap way to quickly freshen up the exterior of your home and increase curb appeal.

5. Purchase a new welcome mat and mailbox

Welcome mats tend to get a lot of use and wear down. Similarly, mailboxes often get dented and faded over the years.

These two items can be excellent accents to improve the curb appeal of your home. Choose colors that match the overall color scheme of your home to establish a sense of continuity.

6.  Rearrange furniture to allow foot traffic

When someone comes to view your home, you’ll want to sure they have ease of access to each part of the house. Rearrange the furniture in your kitchen, dining room, and bedrooms to make it easy to tour the home.

Photo by Seksak Kerdkanno via Pixabay

Diffusing aromas in your home is a great way to settle in, relax and enjoy a fresh, clean scent that calms the nerves.

How Do We Know Aromatherapy Works?

Research gives us the scoop. Take lavender, for example. Research shows lavender: 

• Eases nervousness much better than a placebo.
• Raises people's scientifically measured mood scores and lowers distress, when accompanied in aromatherapy by rosemary and tea tree oils.
• Eases restlessness, poor sleep, and other sleep problems.
• Enhances "general well-being and quality of life." 

When it comes down to the science, aromatherapy passes the smell test.

Uplifting Scents

You aren't limited to lavender. Many plants and their oils create a mood-enhancing home environment.

Pick up some eucalyptus branches and enjoy their stimulating scents in your bathroom or home office.

Or mix and match, creating your signature scent, with a blend of essential oils:

• For a natural energy boost, diffuse peppermint and rosemary essential oils, accompanied by a citrus element, like bergamot orange.
• For a gentle uplift, diffuse lavender with lemongrass.

Experiment and enjoy the process.

Tea Leaves, Revisited

If you happen to enjoy tea, you have a ready-made way to subtly scent your home year-round.

Did you know tea aromatherapy is a thing in Japan? Japanese tea leaf warmers are called chakouro. The idea is to ease stress and sharpen mental focus, while creating an ahhh home environment.

Aromatherapy oil warmers work just fine for putting tea leaves instead of the oil in the shallow saucer on top of the warmer. As they warm and their scent is diffused, your leaves will gently roast. After many hours, this creates a remainder of rich, brewable leaves, called hojicha in Japan.

Tea itself is aromatherapeutic. Green tea, jasmine, or sencha are all delightful. Sencha tea, with its rich, yellow hue, is gaining many western adherents, with good reason. Enjoy it hot or iced, garnished with a lemon wedge and a fresh sprig of mint. The scent is deeply satisfying.

Experiment with fragrance. Enjoy the adventure. And come home to a sanctuary every day.

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

As homeowners, we can get fairly strategic about hiding the flaws in our home. We might move the sofa over a water stain on the hardwood or put a rug over a crack, tear or discoloration. While you'd never try to hide this stuff from potential homebuyers, it does keep it out of view when guests come over. And at least for a moment you too forget the damage is there.

But covering floor damage isn't always your best option. And knowing when to cover and when you resurface is vital to your home's health and happiness. 

When Not to Cover

Don't cover if:

In these scenarios, it's time to refinish the floor. Here's how it's done.

How to Refinish a Hardwood Floor

First, check to make sure your floor is refinishable. A faux wood floor can be convincing. If it's laminate, then you'll need to replace it. But the good news is that you may only have to replace sections if they still make the product.

You can refinish:

Remove everything in the room, including items on the wall. Dust will get everywhere. It's easier to clean up if you have fewer surfaces to dust afterward.

Next, rent an electric floor sander. They come in coarse, medium and fine. You need all three to do the job, starting with coarse then moving back to fine. Always put on your safety goggles when using a hand or electric sander.

If you have any nicks to fill, use wood putty. Slather it over the area. Let it dry. Then sand with a hand sander using fine sandpaper.

Remove the dust you produced while sanding with a dust filtered shop vacuum. But you'll find that doesn't get all of it. A wax-impregnated cheese cloth can pick up what remains.

Now, apply at least two coats of your polyurethane, varnish or penetrating sealer. Let that final coat dry at least 24 hours before moving furniture back in.

For more helpful home revitalization tips, follow our blog.