Updated February 2025
Home staging is one of the best things you can do if you want to sell your home quickly, especially if you want to sell it above the asking price. If you're planning on selling your home in any of these Chicagoland neighborhoods, this is what you need to know about staging your home before you sell.
Why Staging Matters
Ultimately, the reasons why staging is important come down to the psychology of home buying. It's not just about making your home look good, it's about making it feel like a place that a maximum number of potential buyers would be at home in. You want buyers to feel like they could live there, which often requires striking a balance between neutral and personal.
While staging might seem like a difficult task at first, there are a couple of quick projects that can make a difference in your space.
1. Clean and De-Clutter
The first and arguably most important step to staging your home is giving it a thorough deep clean. In addition to cleaning, it's also important to remove all unnecessary clutter. Clutter not only distracts from your home's best features but also makes the space feel smaller.
2. Depersonalize the Space
In the interest of allowing buyers to visualize themselves living in your home, it's wise to remove as many personal items from the space as possible. That includes personal keepsakes, family photos and refrigerator art, as well as clothing and personal toiletries. Plus, prospective buyers might not share your taste in paint or wallpaper. That said, clean white walls can seem cold and off-putting. Warm neutral colors are widely seen as the ideal tones for making your home feel welcoming to buyers.
3. Let the Light Shine
Natural light is one of your strongest allies when it comes to making your home look its best. Whenever you are showing your home, be sure to open all the curtains and blinds and turn on the lights in parts of your home that don't get as much natural light.
4. Remove Bulky and Unnecessary Furniture
Most experts recommend removing about half of the furniture from your home; enough that it still feels like a livable space, but not so much that it seems cluttered. Focus on removing large, bulky items that take up a lot of space as well as older past-its-prime furniture. Also, make sure to create pathways so visitors can walk freely in your home during showings. Many homes have furniture arranged up against walls or pointing toward a TV, which doesn't always create the best flow. Lay out furniture in a way that invites visitors with clearly defined walking paths that lead from one space to another.
5. Freshen Up
Bring in a few tasteful houseplants to liven up your space, and choose a few colorful pieces of decor to add interest while maintaining neutral tones overall. Don't forget the way your home smells. Plants help, but a mild air freshener or candle can also help cover other odors or make the space seem more inviting.
Contact us today to learn more about selling your home in Chicagoland. Our real estate agents have sold countless homes in and around Chicago, and we're dedicated to helping you sell your home quickly and get a great price for it.
