26 January 2008 - When you're selling your home, details can make all the difference in the world to potential buyers. A rusty doorknob sends a message, and so does a sparkling new coat of paint.

Even without a complete remodel, there are many simple steps you can take as a seller to help improve your home's appeal.

This concept of preparing your home for sale is called home staging. Simply defined, staging is all the steps you take to make your home more appealing to potential buyers. The goal is to make your home look as close as possible to a model home.

This article will provide various staging tips that will help you as you prepare to put your home on the market. In addition to using the ideas listed below, take a moment to talk to your Realtor about other ways you can improve your home's appeal. He or she can provide you with more helpful ideas and suggestions. Because it can be difficult for homeowners to objectively assess their own homes, a Realtor can provide a second set of eyes to help you identify your home's best features and the areas that need work.

Starting out
Before you set out to make your house akin to a model home, a good cleaning job is a must. Remember, the house must be Q-tip clean - everything must shimmer and shine.

Second, the home must be clutter-free. Clutter easily distracts buyers and often makes a home look much smaller than it actually is. Go through each room and ask yourself what you can live without. Remember, buyers want to purchase the home, not your belongings.

Finally, if you decide to repaint, use a neutral color on the walls and white for the trim. Buyers have a hard time imagining themselves in a home if they're distracted by a color they hate. A neutral color will also help the space look bigger. If you want more color in the room, use toss pillows and other items to add accents.

Now that you know about the three C's of staging: clean, clutter-free and color, here are some easy ways to stage each of the areas in your home.

Living areas
Move all excess furniture and accessories out of living areas to make the space look bigger.

Avoid lining furniture along the walls. Move sofas away from the wall for a designer look.
Take down old curtains and replace them with wood blinds. Also use high-wattage light bulbs. The will help you focus on making the room look bright.

Also make sure to take down family photos. Personal knickknacks prevent buyers from mentally moving into the house.

Kitchen
Put away as many excess kitchen items as possible (e.g. small appliances, kitchen caddies and recipe boxes), and store dish towels in a drawer.

Take all magnets, calendars and other items off the fridge.

If needed, give your kitchen a quick and relatively inexpensive update by replacing old hardware and switch plates.

Bedrooms and bathrooms
If you have a king-size bed, try replacing it with a smaller one. A big bed in a small room will make the room look even smaller.

Make sure bedspreads and comforters are clean.

Buy a new shower curtain and matching towels for the bathroom. Also remove all cosmetics from bathroom countertops.

Exterior
Paint the front door and trim shrubs. This can make a big difference since they're the first things a buyer will see.

Other tips
There are many other tips you can use to increase your home's appeal. One way to identify more low-cost ideas is to buy copies of home-decorating magazines so you're up-to-date on the latest home-design trends. Also, visit model homes in new subdivisions so you can familiarize yourself with the newest interior design styles.

With a little bit of extra effort, home staging, combined with the help of a Realtor, can pay big dividends for sellers who let buyers see the true value of their home.