Is the money you spend to stage your home well spent? Yes, without a doubt. Here’s why. Home staging is not remodeling. Assuming that your home is already in livable condition, all you’re trying to accomplish with home staging is making sure potential buyers see your home’s best side. When your house makes a favorable impression on home buyers, then you stand a much better chance of getting the price you want. People will pay extra to buy a home they absolutely love. So paying a few hundred for home staging items could mean thousands more at closing.

One inexpensive way to dress up the living spaces in your home is buying and hanging artwork. Obviously, you’ll need to stick with pictures that won’t offend your visitors. But if you buy a couple of abstracts, nature scenes or even cityscapes, you will be amazed at the difference it can make in the look of your room. Remember, you’re not searching for the perfect work of art that you want to keep forever. You just need something on the wall that coordinates well with the paint and makes your home look decorated. There are hundreds of sellers on eBay that provide artwork for surprisingly low prices. You can also stop at garage sales and scout out any local thrift shops. Your community may even have “starving artist” sales from time to time.

While we’re talking about the walls, make sure you put up a fresh coat of neutral paint. Fresh paint covers up all the little marks and imperfections that life tends to inflict on the walls. The neutral color means that potential buyers will be able to imagine their own furniture and artwork in your home without the need to repaint right away. Home staging is all about showing buyers that your home can be their home with almost no work required.