Five home staging tips to get your house sold fast

Home staging ― getting your home in viewing shape ― helps you sell your home sooner. If you think you have to hire a pricey home staging expert, think again. These five tips and ideas will get you started on how to stage your own house to get it sold fast.

To help make your home's colour scheme pop, choose a palette such as a warm beige or tan, with touches of sapphire blue or a dark burgundy.

Another great combination is an ivory or off-white (such as wall paint or the colour of the cabinets in the kitchen) with pops of peach or orange.

And grey is a beautiful neutral for walls (especially in a living room or den). Then add in touches of silver for a more monochromatic look that buyers will love.

Alter the colour palette of your home throughout the house, especially in rooms that potential buyers will be paying particular attention to, such as the living room, kitchen and bathrooms.

Re-doing your counters or cabinets is especially important if they're in shabby shape.

Most home improvement stores have kits now that let you refinish or re-laminate your own cabinets, which greatly reduces the costs of having to totally replace them. These refreshed cabinets will give your kitchen a fresh, new look and buyers will definitely appreciate having new counter tops.

Most of the time, potential buyers see your front porch and foyer first. So keep both free from clutter, ensuring there are no shoes, baskets and junk mail just lying around.

Buyers are always extremely interested in a home's bathroom. So definitely keep all your bathrooms clean ― vacuumed, dusted, toilets clean and sparkling ― and focus on the little details, like new towels, scented candles, a new toilet seat and a new shower curtain.

If there's a certain area of the bathroom that needs work or repair, like dingy counter tops or an old medicine cabinet, take care of it immediately.

Is your driveway full of holes? Are there weeds and unsightly bushes hiding that bay window?

Consider having your driveway repaved. Also, keep the yard mowed and neatly trimmed for expectant buyers.

Put these five tips into practice to help you stage your home like a professional.