Staging tips for selling a house: room by room

Before you start

The short version of how to stage a house to sell: fix the whole house before you touch a single room. Staging works room by room after that, but a decluttered, depersonalised, clean house photographs better and shows better, whatever style of furniture is in it.

Living room

This is usually the hero shot of the listing. It should read as spacious, bright and easy to imagine living in.

• Pull furniture slightly off the walls to create a conversation layout, rather than lining every piece against a wall.
• Remove anything that doesn't serve the room: extra chairs, a second coffee table, a treadmill in the corner.
• Add one or two plants or a bowl of fruit for colour, and nothing else on the coffee table.
• Fold or remove throw blankets that are there for use, not for show. Keep one neatly folded, no more.
• Turn on every lamp for photos, even in daylight, to warm up shadowed corners.

Kitchen

Buyers open cabinets and picture their own things on the counter. Give them as little to look past as possible.

• Clear every counter except one or two deliberate items, such as a fruit bowl or a small plant.
• Put away the bin, dish rack, sponges and anything stuck to the fridge with a magnet.
• Empty the sink and dry it before every photo session or viewing.
• Wipe down cabinet fronts and appliance handles: fingerprints show up clearly in photos.
• If the table is in the kitchen, set it simply, the way you would for a small dinner, not a display.

Bedroom: staging bedroom ideas

A bedroom needs to look restful and roomy. Furniture count and bedding do most of the work.

• Make the bed properly: fitted sheet, flat sheet or duvet, and pillows built up against the headboard.
• Keep the bedding to two or three neutral tones and one folded throw, rather than a mix of patterns.
• Clear nightstands to a lamp, a small plant or book, and nothing else.
• Remove exercise equipment, laundry baskets and anything stored under or beside the bed.
• Leave a clear path from the door to the window: cramped bedrooms photograph smaller than they are.

Bathroom

Small rooms show every flaw, so bathrooms reward a few minutes of setup more than almost any other room.

• Put away toothbrushes, razors, and anything on the edge of the tub or sink.
• Set out one or two rolled or folded towels in a single colour, ideally white.
• Close the toilet lid and remove the bath mat for photos, then put it back for viewings.
• Wipe down the mirror and any glass shower doors right before shooting.

Exterior and curb appeal

The exterior is the first photo in the listing and the first thing buyers see when they pull up for a viewing.

• Mow the lawn, edge the walkway and clear leaves or debris the day of the shoot.
• Put away bins, hoses, toys and parked cars that aren't part of the shot.
• Add a clean doormat and, if you have one, a potted plant either side of the front door.
• Touch up chipped paint on the door and trim: it's the first surface a buyer looks at closely.

Staging an empty house

A vacant room is harder to sell than a furnished one: buyers struggle to judge scale and can't picture furniture fitting. There are two routes to a staged look when the house is already empty: bring in real furniture, or add it to the photo.

Virtual staging only works on a room that's already empty: it adds furniture to the photo, it doesn't remove any. For a room that's still full of old or dated furniture, Remove Furniture empties it first. Label a virtually staged photo the way your portal asks: our disclosure guide covers the rules by country and MLS.

Stage for the photos: what the camera sees

A room can be staged well and still photograph badly. The camera is unforgiving about things a visitor barely notices in person.

• Turn on every light in the room, even next to a bright window: it evens out shadows the eye ignores but the camera keeps.
• Stand further back than feels natural. A wide shot that includes the whole room reads better than a tight, cluttered one.
• Check the edges of the frame last: a bin, a cable or a pet bed at the edge of a photo is easy to miss while staging.
• Shoot straight on, not at an angle, so walls and door frames stay vertical instead of leaning.

For camera settings and angles specific to phone photography, see our guide to real estate photos with an iPhone.

When to start: the spring rush

Interest in staging a house for sale isn't flat through the year. It climbs into spring, when most sellers list, so starting the staging checklist a few weeks early avoids a rushed job right before the photos are due.