In short
Before staging day, clear every surface, remove roughly a third of the furniture and all personal photos, fix small defects, deep-clean, and let in as much light as the home has. Focus first on the rooms buyers judge hardest: the living room, primary bedroom, dining area and kitchen. The room-by-room list below is the same order of work our designers follow, and a written quote for professional staging is one form away.
What should I do before anything else?
These whole-home tasks come first, because every room benefits from them:
- Remove about a third of the furniture so rooms feel larger and traffic flows clearly
- Pack away family photos, collections, fridge art and anything with a name on it
- Fix the small things buyers notice: dripping taps, loose handles, cracked switch plates, burnt-out bulbs
- Deep-clean, including windows, grout, baseboards and inside appliances
- Neutralise smells: pets, cooking and smoke are the three buyers comment on most
- Open blinds and replace dim bulbs so every room photographs bright
How do I stage the entry and living room?
The living room is the most-staged room in the NAR 2025 survey (91%) because it sets the tone for the whole showing.
- Clear the entry: one coat hook or bench at most, no shoes, a clean doormat
- Float the sofa off the wall if the room allows and angle seating toward one focal point
- Remove oversized or worn pieces; one fewer chair reads as more space
- Limit décor to a few larger items rather than many small ones
- Hide cables, remotes and chargers; tidy media units
- Add a rug sized so the front legs of the seating sit on it
How do I stage the kitchen and dining area?
- Clear the counters completely, then put back at most two or three items
- Empty the fridge door and the top of the fridge
- Clean the range hood, oven glass and sink until they photograph as new
- Replace worn cabinet hardware if the budget allows; it is a small, high-return fix
- Set the dining table simply with a centrepiece and matching chairs, and remove extra leaves
- Take down bulletin boards, calendars and children’s artwork
How do I stage the primary bedroom?
The primary bedroom is the second most-staged room (83%). Buyers want it to feel calm, spacious and hotel-neutral.
- Invest in crisp, neutral bedding with layered pillows; make the bed every showing day
- Clear nightstands to a lamp and one object each
- Remove exercise equipment, desks and laundry; the room should read as a bedroom only
- Thin the closet to half full so storage looks generous
- Take personal photos off dressers and walls
How do I stage bathrooms and secondary bedrooms?
- Bathrooms: put away every toiletry, hang fresh white towels, replace a stained shower curtain, re-caulk if needed
- Bathrooms: close the toilet lid and clear the vanity to one or two items
- Secondary bedrooms: give each a single, clear purpose (bedroom, office or nursery), never a storage room
- Kids’ rooms: edit toys to a few and keep colours calm
- Closets and linen cupboards: half-empty and tidy, because buyers open them
What about the exterior, balcony and garage?
- Pressure-wash the walkway, sweep the balcony or patio and clean the exterior of windows
- Trim hedges, mow and edge the lawn, and add a pot of seasonal colour by the door
- Stage a balcony or patio with a small table and two chairs; outdoor space sells in the Lower Mainland
- Clear the garage so the floor and walls are visible; buyers are measuring it for their own use
- Store recycling, bins and hoses out of sight for photos and showings
What is the final walkthrough before photos?
- Walk the route a buyer would: entry, living, kitchen, dining, primary bedroom, then the rest
- Turn on every light, open every blind and check each bulb matches in colour
- Photograph each room on your phone; anything that looks cluttered on screen will look worse in the listing
- Remove anything you would not want in a magazine photo
- Set the thermostat to comfortable and leave the home quiet for the photographer
If you would rather have this done for you, our designers stage homes across Vancouver, Surrey, White Rock, Delta, Langley, Richmond, Burnaby, Coquitlam, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Abbotsford and Mission. Request a quote for occupied or vacant staging, book the $195 consultation for a written plan, or see what it costs in the staging cost guide. Our free Listing Prep Checklist PDF is also offered on the homepage.