Home Staging Secrets: Simple, Available and FREE Decorative Accents

Staging your home for sale isn’t always what you might imagine. Home Sellers are often under the impression that staging means moving all their belongings out and replacing them with vanilla furniture meant only for display. In fact, this is rarely the case.

Staging an empty property may indeed involve a house full of rented or borrowed furniture and neutral accent pieces, but if you’re still living in your home while it’s on the market, staging means something altogether different.

Everyone, I’m sure, has heard the “declutter, declutter, declutter” motto for home sellers. It’s almost as common as the home buyers rallying cry of ” location, location, location”. Overused as they are, cliches are usually cliches for a reason. Nearly all homes need decluttering to some extent, and occasionally a light rearranging in order to highlight the best features of the home because, well, life happens.

When you’ve completed a surface declutter and evaluated all your ‘stuff’ you may notice a lot of newly empty surfaces. Your Realtor, like any good marketing expert will tell you that white space is a good thing so don’t feel compelled to fill every empty space. But you may require a bit of new life where white space now appears to be blank space. There’s almost never a need to spend money accessorizing. The solution in most cases, simple, available and free, is books.

Your Decor Secret Weapon: Books

Does your home need a design refresh? Look no further than your books!

According to the book decor experts at BoothandWilliams.com, using books is a fun, easy and creative way to accessorize your home. Whether vintage or contemporary, big or small, books can help you create a theme, add a pop of color or make a bold statement. Here’s how:

Add a studious touch to your nursery (and encourage early readers while you’re at it) by grouping classic books from your childhood – think Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Dr. Seuss and Beatrix Potter.
Get creative with glass and lucite-topped tables by grouping books both on top of and below the table. Not only does this tactic add visual interest, but serves as a great space-saver as well.
Add some fashion-sense in the right spots by gathering a few biographies on designers, beauty books or photo books on famous fashions on your night stand or in the powder room.
Have a sunny kitchen-table nook, covered porch or sun room? That’s the perfect spot for a collection of gardening books or art books showcasing botanical prints, Monet’s gardens, or Van Gogh’s sunflowers.
Add a touch of masculinity to an office or man cave with books on classic male themes, such as sports, history or automobiles.
Make books part of the furniture by stacking them high next to your sofa or on top of a trunk or other prized possession. This allows them to not only become an attractive focal point, but a unique end table that you can top with a small lamp or frame.
Coffee table books are not just for looks – they can also serve as great conversation starters. Assemble books that are not only great to look at but that reflect your interests and passions, such as travel, music or history.