8 Great Home Staging Props (and How to Use Them)

home staging props

Home staging props are essential to add touches of detail throughout a room.

Staging amplifies the potential of a room and sets a mood, allowing potential buyers to imagine themselves living there. Agents stage homes to create a connection between a potential buyer and the house from the moment they pull into the driveway.

Home staging doesn’t have to be an incredibly costly endeavor. A lot of the work actually comes from removing things like collectibles, personal objects, photos, and bulky or excess furniture from the home.

However, you don’t want to end up with rooms that look bare or cheap.

Read on to learn about eight great home staging props that you can use to elevate the look of your home without breaking the bank.

Books

Books can make excellent space fillers that incorporate pops of color into a living space. They can also be used to prop up other decorative items, adding dimension to the room. If you’re looking for home staging books specifically, we’ve rounded up the best of the best here.

However, if not used correctly in a home staging setting, they can ruin the look of a space.

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Here are some tips to ensure you use this home staging prop correctly.

Don’t Stock the Shelves

While bookshelves or bookcases are wonderful for storing books, when it comes to staging a room, the goal is to keep every space looking airy and light. A bookcase that’s fully stocked with books can add a heavy, bulky feeling to a room. It’s recommended to pack up most of your books and only keep a small amount of your nicest ones out to display.

Use Sets of Hardcover Books (Correctly)

Sets of hardcover books in good condition can be stacked on tables or used to complete the look of a bookshelf. When choosing hardcover sets for home staging, it’s important to check the condition of the spine, steer clear from controversial titles and topics, and be sure they don’t smell musty. If you don’t already have some books to use as props, they can be found easily and inexpensively at used bookstores, thrift shops, and garage sales.

Fruit bowls

Staging a kitchen table with a fruit bowl in Staging 101.

Setting out a big bowl of bright, fresh fruit is a natural, easy way to add color and freshness to the kitchen or dining room. A bowl of fruit makes a perfect countertop accent or table centerpiece. Here are some tips for using fruit bowls when staging a home.

Choose the Right Bowl

First, choose a bowl that works with your theme or décor style. If you have a rustic country home, use a bowl made of wood, clay, or pottery. If your home has a contemporary style, look for a long, lean glass bowl. Use a traditional glass bowl in a traditional setting.

Use Lemons

Consider using lemons and other fruits that people wouldn’t be tempted to bite into. Some people might think the fruit is out for them to help themselves to, and you don’t want to end up with bite marks on decorative fruit if that’s what you’re using.

Decorative Fruit is Okay

Speaking of decorative fruit, it’s fine to use it as long as it’s of decent quality and you keep it clean. Nothing is appealing about a bowl full of dusty old fake fruit with paint chipping off.

Plush Towels

Bathrooms can be one of the most challenging rooms in a home to stage. Without just the right type of lighting, space, and decorative touches, it’s easy for a bathroom to come across as cold and unwelcoming. One of the best things you can do to elevate the bathroom’s level of luxury is to display plush towels. The following tips will help you choose the best towels and display them perfectly.

Keep the Color Scheme Neutral

Clean, plush, brand-new towels can give your bathroom a high-end boutique feel. Use white towels unless your bathroom is already white. If that’s the case, choose a brown or gray tone that will contrast the color scheme while remaining neutral.

Fold Like a Hotel

Fold the towels the same way a hotel would. Roll a few washcloths, fold a couple of hand towels, and a few large towels in thirds.

Create a Spa-Like Feel

It’s essential to add some softness from plush towels to a room that’s full of hard surfaces. The right colors, folding, and placement is guaranteed to give your bathroom a spa-like feel.

Large Paintings

Large paintings are perfect for adding dimension to a big living room wall, filling the plain space above a fireplace, or adding personality to a dining room.

Paintings must be chosen wisely, and a few main elements must be considered. Look for artwork that features a soft color palette, a simple landscape, or an abstract painting with smooth, blended brush strokes. The aim is to make an impact while keeping the overall feeling peaceful and soothing.

Throw Pillows and Cushions

An effortless way to elevate the look and feel of a room and create a warm, inviting atmosphere is to use cushions and throw pillows.

Here are some tips to remember when using throw pillows and cushions in your home staging endeavors.

Choose Colors and Textures Wisely

These props are perfect for adding some extra dimension to a room. Choose pillows with texture, color, or print.

Bold colors can add a dramatic pop to a living room or bedroom, while textures can help create a relaxing atmosphere.

If you choose a bold color, make sure you use the same color in other rooms as well to maintain a flow and cohesive theme throughout the house.

Focus on Volume

While cushions and throw pillows are excellent space enhancers, do not use flat or stiff pillows. Volume adds a sense of comfort and luxury, while stiff, flat pillows just look sad.

Don’t Go Overboard

Also, be careful not to go overboard by using too many pillows. A couple of décor pillows on a sofa or bed, an accent cushion on a chair, or a few on a bench are all you need to enhance the look of a room.

staging indoor plants
Home Staging Institute student Shannon used a nice touch of greenery which complemented the wooden and brass tones in this vignette.

Plants and Flower Arrangements

Greenery, indoor plants, and flower arrangements can add life, color, and personality to any room in the home. From the bathroom to the kitchen, a thoughtful arrangement of greenery and flowers is like a breath of fresh air for potential buyers.

Greenery

Adding greenery to a room is one of the simplest and most classic ways to liven it up. Small succulents are great for bathroom shelves, while plants like spiders and ferns make good mantle ends over a fireplace. Small potted plants can fill in spaces on bookshelves and end tables and be placed thoughtfully throughout the dining room and kitchen.

Orchids   

Orchids are one of the most sensuous and elegant flowers in the world, which is why they make an incredibly versatile home staging prop. Place some in a bathroom for a luxurious spa-like feel, make them a dining room highlight, or group a few containers together for an entryway centerpiece.  

Flower Arrangements

High-quality flower arrangements are perfect props for any space. There are so many varieties of flower types and arrangements out there that it’s easy to find something cohesive to blend into the color scheme of the room you’re staging. Focus on the containers or vases as well to ensure that the arrangement accents the room nicely by staying on theme. It’s wise to use high-quality artificial arrangements so that you don’t have to worry about maintaining live flowers or paying to replace them.

Floor Lamps

A floor lamp is a large home staging prop that can make a big statement in a room without taking up much space or detracting from the ambiance. They’re also helpful in creating the perfect amount of light for walkthroughs and photos.

When you’re selling your home, chances are it’s listed online too. In such cases, posting staged photos is an eye-catching way to attract potential buyers. Floor lamps can be used to perfect the lighting in the room while remaining ideal decorative fixtures on their own.

Mirrors

Mirrors are one of the most powerful home staging props because they not only add a homey feel to a room but can also make an area feel more open, create more light, or be used to create the illusion of more space.

Hang different-sized decorative mirrors on walls throughout the home and place a standing mirror in a master or guest bedroom to open up the space and show that your home was decorated thoughtfully. Use the home staging props above to set the stage for any theme you want to incorporate into your home. These elements can help breathe life into any room and elevate the look of the space without making it feel staged. For additional tips or help staging your home, contact us today.

Prop TVs for Staging

Yes, you can buy a fake TV for staging! It sounds tacky at first, but with the price of TVs, do you really want to own a dozen flat-screen TVs to stage all the properties you’re staging? Probably not.

You can buy prop TVs for staging for as low as $25, but you’ll need to pay closer to $250 for a modern smart TV.

While you’re ordering your fake TV, take a look at the laptop props too! They start at around $30 each and can help stage a home office.

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