Whole-house neutralWarm greige
Try: Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray or Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter.
Best when floors and cabinets lean warm. It connects rooms without making the whole house feel yellow.
Stage it like a pro.
Sell it like one too.
StageReady walks a listing from cluttered to camera-ready, one room at a time — check things off as you go; the plan saves itself on this device.
This listing
Saved automatically on this device. Every listing keeps its own photos and checklists.
Add photos of the rooms
Photos stay on this device. Photo grading isn't connected yet — for now, photos sit with each room's checklist.
Overall staging progress
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Start with Curb & Entry — first photos and first showings both begin there.
Jump in
Staging guides Paint colors, furniture, art — the deep advice, here when you want it
Paint colors that help the sale
Paint is the cheapest big change in the house. Pick calm colors buyers can picture their own life in, then use the sheen that fits the surface.
Brand color names below are popular examples, not a promise that one color fits every light or every home. Always test a large swatch in the room.
Bright, soft whiteWarm white
Try: Sherwin-Williams Alabaster or Benjamin Moore White Dove.
Use for walls, cabinets, or trim when a room needs light but stark blue-white would feel cold.
Living roomSoft gray
Try: Sherwin-Williams Repose Gray.
A clean backdrop for sofas, wood, and art. Watch north-facing rooms — they can make gray look blue.
KitchenClean warm white
Try: Benjamin Moore White Dove or Sherwin-Williams Alabaster.
Brightens cabinets and counters. Keep the wall color quiet if the counter or floor has a strong pattern.
BedroomsCalm neutral
Try: Benjamin Moore Pale Oak, or Sherwin-Williams Sea Salt for a soft blue-green.
Bedrooms should feel restful in photos and in person. White bedding does most of the brightening.
BathroomsSpa blue-green
Try: Sherwin-Williams Rainwashed or Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue.
Use a light hand in tiny baths. White towels and a clean mirror make the color read fresh, not dark.
Front door accentDeep navy or black
Try: Sherwin-Williams Naval, Benjamin Moore Hale Navy, or Sherwin-Williams Tricorn Black.
One strong door color is enough. Add a clean mat and a healthy plant, then stop.
Trim + doorsCrisp, not shiny
Try: Benjamin Moore White Dove or your wall white, one step brighter.
Paint trim, interior doors, and cabinets in satin so scuffs clean up and the finish survives real life.
Pick the right sheen
- Ceilings: flat. It hides waves, patches, and light glare.
- Most walls: flat or eggshell. Flat hides flaws. Eggshell has a soft glow and wipes a little easier.
- Trim and interior doors: satin. Satin survives hands, shoes, and cleaning.
- Cabinets: satin. Smooth, durable, and not overly shiny.
- Bathrooms: eggshell or satin. A little sheen handles moisture better than dead flat.
- Front door: satin. Good color, weather-friendly, and easy to wipe down.
Steven's rule: flat hides flaws; satin survives life. Put each one where it belongs.
Colors that can kill a showing
- Dark red dining room: photographs heavy and can make the room feel smaller. Fix: warm greige or soft white.
- Bright yellow kitchen: can turn skin, cabinets, and food an odd color in photos. Fix: warm white.
- Purple, lime, or hot-pink kids' room: fun for the family, hard for buyers to see past. Fix: Pale Oak or Alabaster.
- Orange-brown or dated sponge paint: dates the whole house. Fix: one calm neutral, with primer if the old color bleeds through.
- Cold blue-gray everywhere: can feel like an office. Fix: warm the neutral and add wood, white bedding, and warm bulbs.
- High-gloss bold color: shows every wall flaw. Fix: repaint in eggshell, or flat if the wall is rough.
Furniture: less, placed well
The goal is not an empty house. The goal is a clear path, one clear use for each room, and furniture sized to make the room feel easy.
Living room
- Keep: sofa, one or two chairs, coffee table, rug, lamps.
- Move: pieces blocking windows, vents, or the path into the room.
- Remove: extra side tables, bulky recliners, exercise gear, and anything that crowds the focal point.
Dining room
- Keep: table, four to six chairs, one low centerpiece.
- Move: extra chairs to the wall only if the room still feels open.
- Remove: desks, storage, homework piles, and oversized hutches that shrink the room.
Bedrooms
- Keep: bed, two nightstands if they fit, lamps, one dresser.
- Move: the bed to the wall buyers see first, with room to walk on both sides when possible.
- Remove: extra dressers, laundry gear, desks that make the room feel like storage.
Kitchen + small rooms
- Keep: only stools or chairs that tuck fully out of the walkway.
- Move: small furniture away from doors and photo angles.
- Remove: rolling carts, pet stations, and pieces with visible legs everywhere — they read as clutter in photos.
Arrangement rules — check them off
Rent or use what they have?
Use theirs first when the scale is right and the pieces are clean. Rent only the missing anchors: a sofa, dining table, primary bed, or rug. One wrong-size rental can hurt more than a simple room with fewer pieces.
For small rooms, choose legs you can see, armless chairs, and glass or open-base tables. They take up less visual space.
Paintings, art, and walls
Art should give the eye a calm place to land. It should not tell the buyer who lives here, what they believe, or what year the room was decorated.
Hang it right
- Hang art so the center sits about 57–60 inches from the floor.
- Over a sofa, choose art about two-thirds as wide as the sofa.
- Keep the bottom of sofa art roughly 6–10 inches above the back of the sofa.
- For a group, treat all the frames as one picture. Leave 2–3 inches between them.
- Use one large piece instead of many tiny pieces on a big wall.
- Put a mirror where it reflects light or a window — not a hallway, ceiling fan, or clutter.
Good cheap sources
- Large canvas prints from home stores — landscapes, abstracts, simple line art.
- Thrift and resale shops for frames; repaint a dated frame black, white, or wood tone.
- Printable art in a large store-bought frame with a wide mat.
- A simple mirror often does more for a dark room than another picture.
- Skip tiny art. If it cannot be seen from the doorway, it is probably visual noise.
Room by room
- Living: one large landscape or abstract over the sofa.
- Dining: one wide piece or a mirror on the longest wall.
- Primary: a calm pair over the bed, or one wide piece.
- Hall: a simple set in matching frames, all one height.
- Bath: one small, moisture-safe print — or none.
- Kids' rooms: neutral art, not names, characters, or team banners.
Mirrors
- Use a mirror by the entry if it reflects light and feels welcoming.
- A dining mirror can bounce chandelier light and make the room feel larger.
- Clean every mirror last. Streaks show up in listing photos.
- Do not aim a mirror at an unmade bed, storage, or a toilet.
Take these down — check them off
Room-by-room staging
Work each room in the same order: take things out, fix and clean, then put back only what helps the room sell. Every box saves automatically.
Fix First — the seller's list
Start at the top. These are the cheap fixes that change how a home feels before a seller spends real money. Cost bands are rough guides: $ = under $100, $$ = $100–$500, $$$ = over $500.
Seller handout
On Photo Day, tap Print for a clean one-page handout with this Fix First list, the paint shortlist, the shot order, and the final 15-minute sweep. Seller mode is simple: give them the page, agree on the top items, and do not bury them in every staging note.
Photo Day
Use this order so the best rooms get the best light and nothing gets missed. Then do the final sweep right before the photographer starts.
Readiness
This line counts only the boxes you check — rooms, Fix First, and this sweep. Nothing else moves it.
Shot order
- Curb and front yard — the first photo and the first impression.
- Entry — show where the home opens up.
- Living room — widest angle, focal point clear.
- Kitchen — counters bare, lights on, sink empty.
- Dining room — table simple, chairs even.
- Primary bedroom and bath — the calm suite buyers care about.
- Other bedrooms — one clear use for each.
- Other bathrooms — lids down, towels neat, products gone.
- Laundry, office, and extras — bright and defined.
- Back yard and patio — finish with outdoor living.
Final 15-minute sweep
Your handout details
Entered once, stored on this device, printed at the top of the seller handout.
One clean page: this listing's address, the Fix First list, the paint shortlist, the shot order, and the sweep.
Look Library
What a staged room should look like — room by room, with the moves that get yours there.
Each photo is a real staged room matched to one of this app's own checklists. When your room looks like its picture, tap through and tick the moves off.
Exterior / curb appeal
What you're seeing
- Lawn mowed and edged; beds weeded, with nothing left lying in them
- Shrubs trimmed back off the siding and the windows
- A clear path to the front door — no hoses, bins, or gear in view
- Siding and walkway washed clean — this is the first photo buyers see
Entry
What you're seeing
- One small console or cabinet — not a pile-up spot for keys and mail
- A mirror over it: the cheapest way to bounce light into a dark entry
- Floor completely clear — no shoe piles, no bags by the door
- One piece of art and a warm lamp instead of the overhead glare
Living room
What you're seeing
- Sofa, a chair or two, one coffee table — the walkways stay open
- Cushions plumped; one throw folded, not draped everywhere
- Art hung at eye level; the TV wall kept simple
- One plant and a small stack of books is all the styling it needs
Kitchen
What you're seeing
- Counters almost bare — one plant or a fruit bowl is plenty
- Sink empty and polished, faucet wiped down
- One folded towel on the oven bar — nothing else left sitting out
- Fridge clear of magnets and papers; floor swept into the corners
Dining room
What you're seeing
- Table cleared bare, then one low centerpiece — nothing tall
- Every chair pushed in, place settings even
- One large piece of art, hung at eye level
- The room reads as a dining room again — no desk, no boxes
Primary bedroom
What you're seeing
- Bed made hotel-style — light bedding, pillows layered in rows
- Both nightstands clear except a lamp and one small item
- Lamps matched on both sides, so the room reads balanced
- Curtains or sheers softening the window, letting the light in
Other bedrooms
What you're seeing
- Every bed made the same hotel way — buyers read “cared for”
- Toys and gear in bins or the closet; the floor fully clear
- One lamp and one piece of art per room is enough
- A room with no clear use gets one — guest room beats junk room
Primary bathroom
What you're seeing
- Counters fully clear — every bottle lives in a cabinet
- Mirror polished streak-free; chrome wiped to a shine
- One white towel on the rail, folded the same way everywhere
- Tub and shower scrubbed — no products lined up in the open
Bathroom 2
What you're seeing
- Same rules as the primary: clear counters, polished mirror
- One fresh towel on the rail — white reads cleanest in photos
- Tub scrubbed down; shower curtain clean or new
- Toilet lid down, and every lid and seat wiped
Laundry
What you're seeing
- Machines wiped down, their tops completely clear
- Supplies in one basket or cabinet — never spread across the machines
- Floor swept and mopped; the sink, if there is one, empty
- Working bulbs and no laundry waiting — utility rooms still get judged
Home office
What you're seeing
- One simple desk and chair — an office, not a storage room
- Desk clear except a laptop and a lamp; cords out of sight
- Books and paper in one small stack or on one shelf
- Nothing in the room that belongs somewhere else
Photo Day / whole-home
What you're seeing
- Every light in the house ON, warm bulbs matched room to room
- Blinds and curtains open the same way in every room
- The back yard and patio get the same treatment as the front
- Shoot in the app's order: exterior, entry, living room, kitchen, primary bedroom…
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