2. Conquer Clutter
Admit it: You have too much stuff. "The most important thing most people can do to improve their home is to clear out, clean up and get rid of clutter," says Lisa LaPorta, designer on HGTV's Designed to Sell and owner of Lisa LaPorta Design in L.A.
Be ruthless as you go about purging your belongings. If you haven't used it in three months, stagers say, box it up and store it away; if you haven't used it in a year, get rid of it. Make a house rule that for every new item that comes in, an old one has to leave. Any mixed feelings you have about tossing life's accumulated belongings will quickly be replaced with a sense of relief and appreciation of your uncluttered surroundings.

Sound daunting? Take it one room at a time. If your bookshelves are bursting at the seams, for instance, "clear them off and start over," suggests Michelle Yackel, owner of Divine Redesigns in Atlanta. "It's OK to have empty space around your books and knickknacks."

                                                  

If you're nervous about doing something that can seem a bit radical, "Try an area rug on an angle first, then move the couch and see how it looks. But just try it," says Christopher Breining, owner of HomeStagers, Inc., in San Francisco. If the new arrangement doesn't strike your fancy, you can always put things back the way they were. But chances are, you won't want to.

Giving your furniture some breathing room, as designer Phyllis Harbinger does in this living room, makes a room look larger.

                                                  
5. Mix It Up

You'd never consider donning the same clothes for days on end, so why force your home to endure the same tired decor year after year? "We get used to our surroundings, but they can become stale and stagnant. If a chair has been in the same spot for five years, move it!" says Barb Schwarz, known nationally as an expert for preparing properties to sell and coauthor of Home Staging: The Winning Way to Sell Your House for More Money.
Think of your digs as a superstore, with the added bonus that everything in it is free. Give yourself permission to move furniture, artwork and accessories between rooms on a whim. "When you move things to new spots, you appreciate them again and give your house a whole new look for nothing," Schwarz says. Suggestions:

Just because you bought that armchair for the living room, for instance, doesn't mean it won't look great anchoring a sitting area in your bedroom.

Perch a little-used dining room table in front of a pretty window, top it with buffet lamps and other accessories, and press it into service as a beautiful writing desk or library table.

                                                  
7. Let the Sun Shine In
Don't forget to dress up windows for both form and function. "We almost always take off old, heavy drapery and put something light, airy and gauzy in its place," says Linda Russell, owner of HouseDressing in Montclair, N.J. and agent on HGTV's Bought & Sold. This ushers in natural light and makes a previously closed-in space seem larger. Designer Ammie Kim uses a combination of minimal window treatments for a light-filled living area. Use sheers and a tension rod to achieve this look on the cheap.
If privacy is paramount, top-down, bottom-up Roman shades will block the neighbors' view of your bathtub but let you gaze at the sky while you soak. Lisa LaPorta, designer on HGTV's Designed to Sell and owner of Lisa LaPorta Design in L.A., favors bamboo or parchment shades and simple curtain panels made from fine cotton twill or translucent linen. These materials let light stream in during the day, provide privacy at night and add touchable texture to a room. Or consider investing in Christopher Breining's, owner of HomeStagers, Inc., in San Francisco, favorite window treatments: sheer fabric shades with built-in blinds (Hunter Douglas offers several options.) "They look great and offer so much versatility," he says.

Other window treatment tips:  If windows are narrow, extend curtain rods a foot or so on each side to suggest width.   If your ceilings are low, hang rods right at the ceiling line and consider window treatments with vertical stripes to create the illusion of height.

                                                   
8. Light the Way
One of the things that make staged homes look so warm and welcoming is great lighting. As it turns out, many of our own homes are improperly lit — either we have too few fixtures, or our lighting is too dim or too harsh (or all of the above).
To remedy the problem and make your home more inviting, increase the wattage in your lamps and fixtures. Aim for a total of 100 watts for every 50 square feet. Then install dimmers so you can vary light levels according to your mood and the time of day. This is a relatively simple project for a do-it-yourselfer, or you can hire an electrician for a couple of hours to do several at once. And while you're at it, be sure to replace dingy, almond-colored light-switch covers with crisp white ones. New covers cost less than a buck apiece and are a quick, easy update.

Don't depend on just one or two fixtures per room, either. It's just as important to layer lighting as it is to have sufficient wattage, Christopher Breining, owner of HomeStagers, Inc., in San Francisco, points out. Make sure you have three types of lighting: ambient (general or overhead), task (pendant, undercabinet or reading) and accent (table and wall) lighting. "A combination of overhead, floor, table and accent lighting creates great ambience," Breining says. "Having lights on different planes provides good illumination and makes the room interesting." Ambient recessed lighting gives this bedroom designed by Baylor Anne Bone a subtle glow.

One thing that's always in Breining's bag of tricks: uplights. "You can buy one for as little as $5 at home improvement stores and hide it behind a potted plant. It creates incredible drama." Another hint: Place mirrors, silver or glass bowls or other reflective objects near lamps to bounce light around the room and make it glow even more

                                                   
9. Make a Splash with Color
"Painting is the cheapest, easiest way to give your home a new look," says Lisa LaPorta, HGTV's Designed to Sell and owner of Lisa LaPorta Design in L.A. Even if you were weaned on off-white walls, take a chance and test out a quart of paint in a warm, neutral hue. You can always paint over it if you don't like the effect. These days, the definition of "neutral" extends way beyond beige: from warm tans and honeys to soft blue-greens.
Even deeper shades are enjoying a renaissance. "Don't shy away from dark colors in a powder room, dining room or bedroom," says Michael Friedes, Nest Home Design stager based in Oakland, Calif. "A deep tone on the walls can make the space more intimate, dramatic and cozy — and surprisingly, it can even make a small room seem bigger because there's no delineation of the corners." Designer Lori Dennis used a calming blue punctuated with crisp white bedding and playfully colored accessories to create this intimate bedroom.

Start with a pillow, textile or piece of art you love, LaPorta suggests. "The background color is often great for walls, and you can pull out the other colors for accents around the room." You could also try painting an accent wall to draw attention to a dramatic fireplace or a lovely set of windows. Either paint the wall a contrasting — but still complementary — color or a more intense version of the paint used in the rest of the room. If you have built-in bookcases or niches, experiment with painting the insides a color that will make them pop: a soft sage green to set off the white pottery displayed within, perhaps.

If you're too timid to whip out the paintbrushes, add punch with richly colored accessories, pillows and throws, LaPorta says. When seasons change, or you're ready for something new, these couldn't be simpler to switch out.

                                                  

Diagonally, with each piece staggered a bit higher or lower than the next. This is great for directing the eye toward an architectural feature like a window or arched doorway. Designer Aimee Kim uses a diagonal arrangement (above) to add interest to a dining room wall.

Triangularly, with one picture above, one below and one beside — a nice accent for a table-and-chair vignette.

A vertical line, perfect for accentuating a high ceiling. "Hang pictures on different planes so that your eye goes up and down as it travels around the room. It creates interest on your walls," says Friedes. Try hanging things a bit lower than you're used to, as well, so that wall art relates to furniture groupings rather than floating (and getting lost) in its own space.

                                                   
13. Bring the Outdoors In
Staged homes are almost always graced with fresh flowers and pricey orchid arrangements, but you can get a similar effect simply by raiding your yard. "Take clippings of branches or twigs and put them in a large vase in the corner of a room to add height. It's a great structural piece that doesn't cost anything," says Michelle Yackel, owner of Divine Redesigns in Atlanta. Designer Ann Morris adds color and style with the well-placed floral arrangement shown here.
It's also an easy way to incorporate seasonal greenery. Budding magnolia clippings or unfurling fern fronds herald the arrival of spring; summer blooms add splashes of cheerful color; blazing fall foliage warms up your decor on chilly autumn days; holly branches heavy with berries look smashing in winter; and airy feather-grass plumes add elegance and texture any time of year.

Above all, "Get creative! Don't be scared to try something different," Yackel says. Just about every professional stager has tales of home sellers who, upon seeing their once-tired abodes transformed, were so blown away by the results that they decided to stay put. Who knows? You, too, may find you love your "new" home so much that you'll never want to give it up.