How do I Stage a Spring Open House?

When planning to stage a spring open house to sell your home, be sure you're ready to get rid of clutter and personal collections. This is the first step, after completing any needed repairs, in staging the type of open house that will interest home buyers enough to make an offer. Real estate buyers have to be able to picture living in your house by getting the feeling of it being a home just for them. After arranging the rooms more sparsely, create an atmosphere that's fresh and airy for a successful spring open house.

Intellectually, real estate buyers understand that your collections of family photos and bowling trophies all over the home won't be in the house when they buy it. The feeling that your house feels like yours and not theirs can be subconscious, however. To start getting ready for your spring open house, first clear away all of your personal collections and knickknacks. Leave only a few pieces of artwork that are not too personal, such as a bowl on the dining room table and a vase on the fireplace mantle. On the day of the open house, float fresh flowers on water in the bowl and add branches of spring blossoms to the vase.

Unless the paint colors in your home look fresh without being too bright or unusual, you should do some re-painting. Stick to neutral colors that are light to medium rather than dark. Remember your goal of creating a clean fresh look for your spring open house. If your kitchen or bathroom cabinets look worn, it's better to paint or replace them than leave bad looking cupboards, even if they are wood. House buyers tend to be most interested in how the kitchen and bathrooms look in a home because buying new cabinets and making big changes in these rooms is expensive.

If your home has a lot of furniture, especially many small tables or chairs that add more clutter than visual impact, it's best to remove these and store them elsewhere until your spring open house is over. Think creatively, as you may need to move your furniture in interesting new angles or switch it between rooms. Try to add spring accents to lighten dark furniture such as by placing pale yellow and green pillows and/or a cream afghan on a black sofa. The idea is to stage an airy, inviting home by being resourceful. For instance, a blanket and a few pillow cases from your linen closet could be both the afghan and the covers you need to transform your old sofa pillows into spring-colored accents that look inviting.

Make sure to do any noticeable repairs both indoors and outdoors. What amounts to a little chipped paint or a broken piece of railing to you may be a signal to potential home buyers that your house hasn't been properly maintained. In addition to having some containers of fresh flowers inside your home, make sure to have an attractive yard and some potted blossoms by your front door as a fresh welcome to attendees of your spring open house.