Staging a home means dressing it for success. The concept of someone walking in and seeing blank rooms and being able to fill in their own lives only works if that person has an eye for design in the first place.

The crux is, however, that those with an eye for design can still see potential, even in homes that are still lived in.

What you need to do, then, is prepare your home without that eye. You need to show them the best way that they can live in the space visually. You need to dress it.

Now, you can absolutely rent furniture to dress your home, but you can also just use your own furniture. If you already have your next place lined up, you can even buy a new sofa that you use to help you sell your old home, and then take centre-stage in your new space.

The key to successful dressing is to make the space tastefully designed, while also being plain enough that your personality isn’t overbearing. Ready to get started? Use these tips:

Your Hero Pieces

Hero pieces are the beautiful design elements you add to your space. In the living room, this will be your sofa, your coffee table, and your entertainment unit. In your bedroom, it’s your bed, your side tables, and your wardrobe. They are the big pieces that are essential for the room to work, and also do the most design-wise.

If you want to dress your home to sell, they are also pretty much the only pieces you want left in your home when you start to sell it.

Hero Pieces in Action: Your Living Room

Let’s use the living room as an example. In such a space, you’ll want to first focus on the couch. Design-led sofas that work to add beautiful detail to a space include:

· Velvet Sofas

Velvet sofas are luxurious, beautiful, and they catch the light in unique ways that no other sofa can replicate. They’re also brilliant at holding jewel tones. This is because they don’t reflect light, but tend to absorb it. This means that when you see the color, it’s vibrant and striking. Green sofas, in particular, are trending since they add warmth and elegance. Most importantly for you, however, green is a very neutral color that most find pleasing.

· White or Cream Sofas

If you are someone who prefers light and bright, then stick with a white or cream sofa. These designs look great, particularly in laid-back styles that are full-on with their comfort. Cloud sofas, for example, are modern, trending, and incredibly comfortable, so you’ll love them in your new home, too. As a bonus, white and cream are the neutrals. They can make small spaces feel bigger, and brighter, so they are a great choice for any living room.

· Sectional Sofas

Sectionals fit the space well. You can have an L-shaped option, or a piece that can truly be mixed and matched in any style. If you already have one, then workshop the shape of it. You want the space to be open and inviting. This means putting any chaise sections away from the entrance to your living room.

Removing the Personal

People expect to walk into someone’s home when they’re viewing a house for sale. That doesn’t mean they want to walk right into your life itself. It’s always ideal to start packing up items before you open your home up for viewings.

What needs to go first is clutter, and also overly personal items like picture frames. Artwork is fine and actually recommended to leave up, but pictures of you and your kids? It’s best to pack those up. This is a good safety tip, and also saves home viewers from feeling like voyeurs in your life.

You want them to think about the space, not about your life, after all.

Deep Clean

You will want to give your whole space a spruce-up and deep clean. If your walls are looking tired, repaint them with a fresh coat. Fill in those small fissure cracks that have existed forever, and deal with the minor cosmetic problems that make a home feel older or run down. After you do that, deep clean the whole space. This means getting carpets shampooed, washing the floors, and generally doing the biggest spring clean you’ve ever done. A clean home will do wonders to helping potential buyers love your space, since they feel invited into your space.

Freshen Up the Exterior

Curb appeal greatly affects how fast and easily you sell your home. It’s also fairly easy to do. Clean it up just as you did the interior, give anything that looks worn down a fresh lick of paint, and then go to your local plant nursery and pick up some flowers. Even just two potted flowers near your front door can liven the space up and make it feel more at home.

The goal is to introduce a positive feeling in your home viewers from the second they pull up to your driveway. Then, the rest of the tips will help sell them further until you’ve sold your home.