A few years ago, we decided to put our house up for sale. We had moved into that home just before I gave birth to my daughter, and it’s where I brought both of my babies home from the hospital and where they had spent their time as babies, so it was not easy to talk me into moving. We bought our house as a fixer upper and it needed a lot of love. It seemed we had just fixed it to how we loved it. Then… we got the moving bug. In the winter, we would bundle the kids up after lunch and load them into the car and tell them we were going to grab a cup of coffee from Wawa (which was true), but we also knew the kids would fall asleep in the car and we could have some much needed quiet time while we explored nearby areas.

We drove through a dreamy neighborhood about 20 minutes away from our home, more rural and a little bit “in the sticks,” aka not five minutes away from Target and Wegmans. The houses were adorable (think Gilmore Girls), they looked like a retro neighborhood that you dream about when times were simpler- detached garages, candles in the windows, several playgrounds, and walkable to Main Street… but newer. We decided we definitely could see ourselves raising our kids there. Once we decided that we would love to live there, we stalked Zillow, but houses rarely went on the market in the small community, and we didn’t want to put our house on the market until we knew we could get a house there. Finally over July 4th weekend, a house went up for sale, which we immediately saw in person and put in an offer. On our anniversary, July 16th, we officially put our house up for sale, and just two weeks later, we had a full price offer, which we sold by owner.

Now, here’s four MUST DO tips to photograph and stage your home for sale, quickly!

1- Declutter and depersonalize.

This is an obvious one, right? It’s SO important. Take down pretty much any photo with humans that you know and replace it with generic art prints. I even replaced framed photos with prints from magazines. You don’t want potential buyers focused on your photos and not your home. Also, clean out your rooms so they have WAY less belongings (especially toys)- think barely lived in. Start the packing early, and put toys, and things you won’t need in the immediate future in boxes and put them in the garage. I found that buyers are forgiving of excessive boxes in the garage, instead of clutter throughout the house. Do this before you ever pick up a camera.

2- Once you’re ready to stage, add plants, and intentional pops of color.

After I decluttered my kitchen, I added pops of yellow- the bananas, sunflowers, and lemons. I also added potted plants on the windowsill. On the front porch, the hanging ferns and potted plant help give it some character and make it feel homey.

3- Shoot different angles, and be sure to show where the rooms lead.

We’ve all looked at a house on Zillow and tried to figure out the layout of the house. I tried to be intentional while photographing my own house, to show there was an en suite bathroom in the master, or to show the order of rooms in the main living space.

4- Focus on the features that you love, chances are buyers might love them too!

We completely overhauled our hallway bathroom, and I was so in love with everything we had chose for it- the vanity, the mirror, the black and white tile, and the little cubby in the shower for shampoo. I tried to showcase those details in photographs. I also loved that we had just put up a tire swing in the yard- and thought this added to the homey factor of our home.

These photos also are fun to look at when I’m feeling nostalgic. Good luck!