Once you decide to sell your home and have made the necessary repairs, the next step in the preparation process is taking professional photos to help bring your home to market. For your home to be picture ready, you’ll need to clear the clutter, stage the rooms and style the surfaces. Read below for everything you need to know about prepping your house for listing photos.
Use the closets and baskets
You’ll want your home to appear as clean and clutter-free as possible in the listing photos. So use the closets to store the items you display on your surfaces and laundry baskets to corral the clutter. Of course, when it’s time for showings and open houses, you’ll need to clear out the closets, but for the sake of the listing photos, you can store these items away, so they aren’t in the pictures.
Clear the surfaces
Removing all clutter and unnecessary knick-knacks from the surfaces will help the spaces feel more expansive and pristine. For example, remove cooking utensils, small appliances, food items, paper towels, and any other items you typically keep out in the kitchen. In addition, displaying decorative accents, such as a bowl of fresh fruit, styled cookbooks, or a small lamp, can help the space feel welcoming.
In the bathrooms, clear all items off the vanity area, such as soap dispensers, toothbrushes, or any other personal care items. In the shower, remove all containers.
Clear all items from the nightstands in the bedrooms, leaving a lamp and one or two decorative accents, such as a picture frame and candle. The tops of dressers should be cleared, as well.
Restyle the bookshelves
Removing all items from the bookshelves and styling these bookshelves with fresh eyes will bring a designer look to the space. Remove all existing items from the shelves to create a blank slate, then add minimal items, keeping personal items and family photographs off the shelves. Some go-to objects are perfect for bookshelf styling, such as:
-Bookends
-Jars and vases
-Candles
-Potted flowers and plants
-Boxes, small baskets, bowls
-Small clocks
Take down family photographs
Depersonalizing the home is one of the first rules of staging a home. Taking the family photographs down will create a neutral canvas and can help potential buyers envision themselves living there.
Eliminate some of the furniture
Rooms are often arranged differently in photoshoots than they are in real life. The same theory applies to listing photos. Moving bulkier or excess furniture pieces out of the shot will help the room feel larger, more expansive and brighter in the photos.
Style the surfaces
Styled surfaces, such as coffee tables, end tables and dressers, will help your listing photos appear editorial photo-worthy. Varying the size and scale of these items translates well in photographs and creates a unified, cohesive look. Blending short and tall items will provide the visual interest the table needs. For example, too many small knick-knacks can make a coffee table look cluttered, while oversized pieces can be overwhelming and heavy. For additional visual harmony, follow the rule of three’s. This means styling the vignettes with three objects, such as three candlesticks.
