Most people know that staging a home is important — especially in Dallas-Fort Worth where the competition for home sales is stiff. With an abundance of properties to look at, your home needs to impress buyers. While you might know the basics when it comes to staging a home (like deep cleaning every nook and cranny and tidying up your lawn) there are always little adjustments you can make to entice buyers. It never hurts to go above and beyond to make your home as appealing as possible. Following are four staging tricks you might not know.

Buy a New Welcome Mat

Most potential buyers will enter your home through the front door. Your lawn and front door will be the first thing seen by buyers. Beyond commonly known advice like keeping trees, bushes, and your lawn tidy and trimmed, little details matter, too. Forbes recommends looking at your welcome mat (if you have one). Is it worn down by weather and sun exposure? Is it looking dingy? Consider replacing your welcome mat. For less than $20, a new welcome mat will make buyers feel welcome and leave an impression that your home is well taken care of.

Spruce Up Your Foyer

Again, like your front entrance, the foyer is the first room inside the house buyers will see. While this room might be small, little decorative touches and an impeccably clean appearance can set the stage for what the rest of your home has to offer. De-clutter your foyer of shoes and piles of mail. Do a deep clean and throw away or store anything that doesn’t add to the space. Better Homes and Gardens advises home owners to place a small table against the wall with an arrangement of fresh flowers on it or replace dingy, dated light fixtures to modernize the room. This will lend a welcoming and homey atmosphere without crowding what is already a small space.

Float Your Furniture

The way you place your furniture is important, and the positioning of coaches, chairs, and tables can affect the perception of a room’s size. Most folks’ instinct is to push furniture against the walls to open up space in the center of a room. While this is common and instinctual, you should actually do the opposite according to Better Homes and Gardens. Pull sofas and chairs away from the walls and place them in cozy, conversational groups. This will define a room’s space while also making it appear larger and more inviting.

Keep Bedrooms and Bathrooms Gender-Neutral

Spaces that appear overly masculine or feminine can turn off buyers and narrow your home’s mass appeal. Whenever possible, it is best to stick to a neutral color palette with gender-neutral textures and designs. For instance, if you have floral, pink bedding, swapping it out for beige and gray tones will appeal to more buyers. This is especially important in master bedrooms, according to HGTV.

These four tips along with standard advice like cleaning and de-cluttering should help you get a decent start with staging a home. For more tips, consider talking with a local real estate professional or interior designer.

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