5 Inexpensive Home Staging Ideas

1) Paint over any dramatic colors in your home.

While you might love the lime green of your kitchen walls or deep plum color of the walls in your bedroom, the people looking to buy a home may not be able to see their own bedding and furniture in your space with those colors gracing the walls. Repainting with muted colors will make your space more neutral and appealing.

2) Check your window treatments.

Drapes or roman shades are often more appealing than mini blinds to prospective buyers. You can make either inexpensively if you've got a sewing machine and some fabric.

If your mini blinds are staying, make sure they are dust free. Take the time to dust and wash any horizontal or vertical blinds well.

3) Hide old or stongly patterned furniture

If your furniture is worn, or excessively flowery, covering chairs and sofas with slip covers can hide old, worn furniture, and hide patterns that might distract buyers from the overall space.

4) Expand tight spaces with mirrors

Mirrors also lend the appearance of a much more wide-open space than having no mirrors would accomplish. If you have a fire place, strategically located mirrors can spread the warmth and coziness (if not the heat) of a fire throughout the room making the room as a whole seem like a much more enjoyable place to escape the winter "blahs".

5) Accessorize without cluttering.

Remove your existing knick knaks and add just a few decorative touches. Artwork, candles, vases, and floral arrangements placed sparingly and strategically can give the room a more polished look.

Bathroom on a Budget

When it comes to home staging there are few rooms that have the same impact of a bathroom when being decorated. There is something wonderful about taking a tired old bathroom and making it seem bright and shiny once again. Most people, however, cringe at the thought of a bathroom remodel fearing the absolute worst when it comes to their financial situation once all is said and done. The good news is that small steps can lead to big changes in rooms as small as bathrooms. These small steps do not have to have large prices in order to be highly effective.

My suggestion with a bathroom is to assess where the worst blemishes and eyesores may be. Painting the walls can be a good place to start but you should first decide whether you are planning to remove any cabinetry.

The vanity in many bathrooms takes up a good deal of real estate. Gone are the days when chunky cabinets were the popular choice for bathrooms. Now people want the bathrooms to have the appearance of a wide-open space. This means that cabinets and vanities are becoming smaller rather than larger.

The toilet in a bathroom is fairly simple to purchase but I recommend leaving it be unless it absolutely needs to be changed. This is not a simple procedure for the novice and experts are expensive. In this case "if it ain't broke don't fix it" is an excellent motto to live by. The same holds true with the shower. If, however, you simply cannot live with your shower (or bathtub) as is, you may want to try hiring professionals to come in and resurface your tub. This is much less expensive than purchasing a brand-new tub and will have yours looking bright, shiny, and as good as new.

To top things off, you will be amazed at the difference that new knobs, fixtures, and hardware can make in a bathroom. Add a couple of lamps for subtle lighting and some decorative touches of your own and you have a brand new bathroom without spending a king's ransom in order to do so. The shower curtain and 'guest' towels should be your largest splurges in your bathroom, as they will tie the room all together. You shower curtains and towels will blend the colors and designs in order to create the overall atmosphere you should be hoping to achieve in your bathroom.