Sell Your House in a Flash: Top Home Styling Tips for Photo Shoots
Thinking about selling your home? A picture tells a thousand words so be sure to get it photo ready
Joanna Tovia
16 July 2014
Houzz editorial team. Photojournalist specialising in design, travel and living well. Follow her photodocumentary about pets and the people who love them on Instagram @unfoldingtails
Houzz editorial team. Photojournalist specialising in design, travel and living well.... More
The internet is the first stop for most people who are looking to buy a house, and research shows that most buyers decide whether or not they want to buy a house before they even set foot through the front door. Beautiful images are a must if you want your house to sell for top dollar, so it pays to know a thing or two about styling before the photographer arrives. Set the scene with these simple tips and give your home a chance to shine for the camera.
Steer away from clichés in the kitchen
Overused props such as wine and cheese make a kitchen look contrived, so come up with other ideas that reflect your home in its best light. Clearing the benchtops of all but one or two appliances is essential, but feel free to add pops of colour with fruit and flowers. A pot or casserole dish on the stove is enough to make a kitchen look homey – just the feeling you want to create for potential buyers imagining themselves living (and enjoying) the space.
Overused props such as wine and cheese make a kitchen look contrived, so come up with other ideas that reflect your home in its best light. Clearing the benchtops of all but one or two appliances is essential, but feel free to add pops of colour with fruit and flowers. A pot or casserole dish on the stove is enough to make a kitchen look homey – just the feeling you want to create for potential buyers imagining themselves living (and enjoying) the space.
Style your coffee table like a pro
A stack of large-format, hardcover books is a good start no matter what the shape or size of your coffee table. Opt for books on art, design or architecture if you have them, and keep the pile to three or four books for balance. Top the books with an objet d’art or flowers, and choose a collection of other decorative items that work together. Sticking to a grouping of glass or similarly-coloured ceramic vases works a treat, even when they’re different sizes or designs. Keeping to the one colour palette means they don’t compete for attention, but add enough interest to make a room look polished. An empty coffee table would make a room seem cold, rather than welcoming.
A stack of large-format, hardcover books is a good start no matter what the shape or size of your coffee table. Opt for books on art, design or architecture if you have them, and keep the pile to three or four books for balance. Top the books with an objet d’art or flowers, and choose a collection of other decorative items that work together. Sticking to a grouping of glass or similarly-coloured ceramic vases works a treat, even when they’re different sizes or designs. Keeping to the one colour palette means they don’t compete for attention, but add enough interest to make a room look polished. An empty coffee table would make a room seem cold, rather than welcoming.
Choose the right flowers
Everyone knows flowers are a must-have when you want your house to look its best, but be sure to consider both the style of your home and its colour palette before filling it with your favourite flowers. The delicate blue hues of the flowers in these vases work beautifully in this living room, whereas flowers such as bright red or yellow gerberas could be jarring.
Everyone knows flowers are a must-have when you want your house to look its best, but be sure to consider both the style of your home and its colour palette before filling it with your favourite flowers. The delicate blue hues of the flowers in these vases work beautifully in this living room, whereas flowers such as bright red or yellow gerberas could be jarring.
Go for bright, white towels
Nothing looks as fresh and clean as a stack of fluffy white towels for a bathroom shoot. Buy new towels for the occasion and bring them out during open-for-inspections, too. When the house sells, you can celebrate by actually using them (after a bath with a glass or two of champagne).
Nothing looks as fresh and clean as a stack of fluffy white towels for a bathroom shoot. Buy new towels for the occasion and bring them out during open-for-inspections, too. When the house sells, you can celebrate by actually using them (after a bath with a glass or two of champagne).
Make it look expensive
Your goal is to achieve top dollar, so make your house look like it’s worth spending money on with luxe touches that give it a high-end price tag. Display a decadent bottle of perfume, house soap and lotion in fancy dispensers (or show off their designer labels), and consider a silver tray for them to sit on. Be sure to add fresh flowers or a potted plant – orchids always look fabulous. Don’t worry whether the orchid is real or fake – the camera won’t be able to tell the difference.
Your goal is to achieve top dollar, so make your house look like it’s worth spending money on with luxe touches that give it a high-end price tag. Display a decadent bottle of perfume, house soap and lotion in fancy dispensers (or show off their designer labels), and consider a silver tray for them to sit on. Be sure to add fresh flowers or a potted plant – orchids always look fabulous. Don’t worry whether the orchid is real or fake – the camera won’t be able to tell the difference.
Don’t make it too perfect
Stylish is one thing; staged quite another. The idea is for a room to look lovely yet lived in, so refrain from aligning every item with precision. The bookshelves here, for example, slant this way and that in a way that makes the room delightfully dishevelled and lived-in.
Stylish is one thing; staged quite another. The idea is for a room to look lovely yet lived in, so refrain from aligning every item with precision. The bookshelves here, for example, slant this way and that in a way that makes the room delightfully dishevelled and lived-in.
The same goes for cushions on couches. Perfectly-aligned pillows can make a room look too uptight and formal. A mismatched cushion imperfectly plumped makes a far more inviting statement.
Have mirrors work hard for you
Think about what will be reflected in any mirrors during a shoot, and position items of interest accordingly to bring life and character to a room.
Think about what will be reflected in any mirrors during a shoot, and position items of interest accordingly to bring life and character to a room.
Be careful with king-size beds
Big beds may be great to sleep on, but they’re not always great to photograph. Without adding detail with such things as pillows and cushions, a bed scarf or two and a throw, they can appear as a vast wasteland of space that dominates a photo rather than allowing the picture to reflect an overall impression of the room.
Big beds may be great to sleep on, but they’re not always great to photograph. Without adding detail with such things as pillows and cushions, a bed scarf or two and a throw, they can appear as a vast wasteland of space that dominates a photo rather than allowing the picture to reflect an overall impression of the room.
Cosy up the living areas
Throws can be just as useful in lounge rooms. A soft blanket that looks as though it’s been thrown casually over the couch is often a wiser idea than a carefully folded blanket smoothed expertly over an armchair. Precise and perfect is only the way to go in a home that’s particularly formal on purpose.
Throws can be just as useful in lounge rooms. A soft blanket that looks as though it’s been thrown casually over the couch is often a wiser idea than a carefully folded blanket smoothed expertly over an armchair. Precise and perfect is only the way to go in a home that’s particularly formal on purpose.
Turn on the lights
This open-plan living/dining area is photo ready. Although it’s broad daylight, illuminating those statement pendants and downlights adds the ambience you need to make a home look welcoming.
This open-plan living/dining area is photo ready. Although it’s broad daylight, illuminating those statement pendants and downlights adds the ambience you need to make a home look welcoming.
Clear away (most of) the mess
Anyone who has ever had a wood-burning stove or open fire knows it never looks like this. There’s usually newspaper, kindling, fire tools and boxes of matches cluttering up the space. Don’t clear away too much, though. A few artfully placed logs like these next to the fire makes this room look cosier.
Anyone who has ever had a wood-burning stove or open fire knows it never looks like this. There’s usually newspaper, kindling, fire tools and boxes of matches cluttering up the space. Don’t clear away too much, though. A few artfully placed logs like these next to the fire makes this room look cosier.
Make a big deal of the sun
Just about everyone wants to live in a light-filled home, so be sure to get your house photographed on a lovely, sunny day. Photographers often like to shoot on overcast days because the light is flat, but it’s your house and your potential capital gain, so make sure it’s you who is calling the shots. Early morning or late afternoon sun casts warm, golden light into a home, so keep an eye out for what the sun does at your house at various times of day and schedule the shoot accordingly.
YOU TELL US
Do you have any other styling tips to share? We’d love to hear about them in the comments section below.
Just about everyone wants to live in a light-filled home, so be sure to get your house photographed on a lovely, sunny day. Photographers often like to shoot on overcast days because the light is flat, but it’s your house and your potential capital gain, so make sure it’s you who is calling the shots. Early morning or late afternoon sun casts warm, golden light into a home, so keep an eye out for what the sun does at your house at various times of day and schedule the shoot accordingly.
YOU TELL US
Do you have any other styling tips to share? We’d love to hear about them in the comments section below.
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Wonderful tips Joanna! I especially like the last one: "make a big deal of the sun". I would add one more tip for those properties which also have an outdoor area, whether it's a balcony ora bigger backyard: make it part of the house. Whether you're adding a reading nook or if you have enough space to add an outdoor dining table, it will look so much better for potential buyers. Also add a vase, flowers or candles on the table, and cushions on the chairs. With regards to when it's better to take photos of outdoor spaces, it's usually preferable around twilight with all lights turned on (like you also mentioned). We at Valiant Hire usually do this in our property styling projects (as you can see below) :)
Buy high loft pillows for your bed (gusseted ones sit well on the bed) these can be found very cheaply in Target, KMart etc. Buy another doona for your beds (again a pouffy one) and put it under your bed cover, it makes the bed look sqooshy and luxurious. Pot 3 or 4 phalenopsis orchids into a larger glass bowl lined with spagnum moss. As well as looking lush it's actually very economical as you will get 3-4 months out of them