20 Tips for Staging Your Kitchen

The kitchen: It’s the heart of the home, according to many. But it can be the heart of the clutter, too. From unwanted mailers dumped on countertops, to food spills and splatters, to that ubiquitous junk drawer, kitchens are magnets for mess. And, in today’s market, a messy house isn’t as likely to get snapped up at first showcase. Susan Serra of The Kitchen Designer offers 20 tips for staging that most critical of rooms.

• When showing your home, turn on all the lights in the kitchen
  

• Clean the windows inside and out as well as window treatments if necessary
  

• Declutter your counters. I’ll say it again. Declutter your counters!

• Clean and organize the interiors of your cabinets — people will look inside

• Pay particular attention to organizing a food/pantry cabinet — this can look surprisingly good if shapes and sizes are arranged well
  

• Clean your floors

• Do touch ups wherever you can — walls, floors, cabinets, etc.

• Declutter your collections. Again…declutter your collections!

• After decluttering counters and collections, take a fresh look and add in a very few items if desired. Those items should be proportionate to the space. Do not put a small item on top of cabinets, use a larger item for better balance and proportion
  

• Make sure your picture(s) of the kitchen includes a wide angle shot and the kitchen is neat and decluttered

Click through to read the rest of the list. Any other tips you’ve found helpful? How have your prepared your galley for resale?