When staging a home for sale, close the lid!Staging a house for sale can be an intimidating process. To make matters even more complex, sometimes, someone has lived in a house for so long, they may not be aware that something inside it is unattractive or dysfunctional in some way.

As a neutral third party, your realtor can assess the layout and design of the rooms, the furnishings, your belongings, and suggest changes that will help successfully stage it for sale.

For example, we look at what potential buyers will see the second they walk in the front door.

In a recent home sale where I represented the seller, the first thing you saw when you walked in, at the end of a long hallway, was the toilet.

Now, don’t get me wrong. It was a very nice toilet. But you don’t want people thinking about what it’s for during those first few seconds.

Solution #1: Close the lid!

I am surprised at how often when I visit open houses, the showing realtor has neglected that tiny detail, or considered it not significant. A closed lid looks cleaner and helps keep separate from use — on a subconscious level. This tip applies to the water closet by the front door and to all of the bathrooms throughout the home.

Solution #2: Close the door

Keeping that bathroom door closed or only slightly ajar will help make a more seamless and visually-pleasing first impression.

Solution #3: Create a distraction

Placing interesting and decorative items near and around a toilet (with a closed lid, of course) helps emphasize form over function.