Do you know the biggest mistake people make when staging their home for sale? They spend too much money. To get the most money for your home, you do not have to start adding on rooms or doing a complete remodel of the hall bath. Sure, these things may add value to your home, but you will have a tough time getting more out of them than you put in. Home staging, on the other hand, is about spending just a little tiny bit and getting a whole lot back at the other end of the process.

Remember, home staging is about getting people to like your house, it is not about changing your house into what they like. The key to getting buyers interested in your home above all others is to show them the possibilities. You want them to walk into your place and have them start imagining what they would do if it was their place. Surprisingly, that means that your rooms need to have less, not more. In fact, instead of buying furniture for home staging, you may actually need to move some of your furniture out. The trick is making a room feel open and spacious, without making it feel empty.

To achieve an open look, you have to think light. And I mean that two different ways-light as in “not heavy,” and light as in “well-lit.” Do you want to make a room more attractive? Then move out the big heavy, dark furniture and replace it with some smaller, more lightly-constructed pieces. And then add some accent lamps. These might be attractive table lamps or some up-lights to put behind the plants. You can find lamps like these in second-hand stores, garage sales or even on eBay. The good news is that you will probably only pay a few dollars for each of them. But together, they could mean several thousand extra dollars that buyers are willing to pay for your home. You know, that bright, spacious, well-lit home that their furniture would look perfect in.