These home staging tips are intended to help you to make a good impression on potential buyers when they first enter your home. Home staging is a very important aspect of selling your property. In turn, an important aspect of staging is to make a good impression right from the start. You should first make sure your home has good curb appeal, with a tidy garden and a clean, fresh exterior.

The last thing you want then is for your visitors to walk into a dull hall that makes your home look gloomy and unwelcoming. Here are some home staging tips to avoid this, and brighten up your entrance and expand narrow hallways.

Home Staging Tips: The Entrance

If you have a separate entrance area between your main door and the entrance to your hall, this should be brightly decorated with glass windows in the door if possible allowing plenty of natural lighting. If this is not possible, make sure you have bright artificial lighting to make the area appear welcoming.

A small table with a vase of flowers would help, as would a mirror above the table. This is a thoughtful touch, because visitors might like to check their appearance before entering your home. Mirrors have more than one use, however and if your hall is short or narrow, you can use mirrors to widen it out.

The Interior Hallway

Most home staging tips you read start with the curb, then proceed to your main rooms – missing the hall!  Most homes have a hall, and after a fresh bright entrance area, your visitors will not be impressed by a dim interior hallway. A mirror paced at the end of the hall, opposite the main door, will reflect the light and make the area appear brighter and longer. Make sure you use white or pale pastel shades on the walls in narrow hallways. Light colors open up a narrow hall, while bold primary colors can be overwhelming. They are fine as colorful accents in small doses, but a bright red or yellow hallway can overpower the senses.

Narrow halls can be opened out by placing mirrors along its length, items of occasional or accent furniture can also be used to catch the eye and generate interest.  A corner curio cabinet makes good use of space, while a console table with a mirror above it also looks good.

The flooring in an entrance area can be tiled or carpeted with heavy-duty hard-wearing carpet or rug that is easily cleaned. The hall itself generally looks good with a carpet runner over a wood floor, or solid woodblocks are also hard wearing. Make sure that individual rugs are secured, if you use them, particularly if placed over polished floors.

Creating Light and Space

One of the most important home staging tips that you should take seriously involves light and space. White woodwork and ceilings help to brighten up narrow halls, and the mirror by the console table enables people to check themselves over before leaving the house. Wall lighting is particularly effective in long hallways, offering more general lighting than one or two ceiling lamps. The secret of good home staging is to create an impression of space and roominess.

There are many ways to brighten up entrance halls, and there is no need to offer a beautiful exterior to your home and then a dark and dismal entrance. Use your imagination and flair, because the curb appeal and the first impressions when visitors enter your home can make all the difference between a quick sale and your home languishing in the listings for months. Take the advice offered in these home staging tips and you will already have done most of the work involved in impressing potential buyers with your home.