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What to Do When Staging Your Home (& What You’ll Later Regret), According to a Celebrity Interior Designer

As a celebrity home stager and interior designer, Cheryl Eisen of Interior Marketing Group has her fair share of design tricks up her sleeves. (One great example: If your room is lacking a focal point, ditch the painted accent wall in favor of grasscloth. The subtle texture is much chicer, giving your home a more polished, high-end look.) That’s why it’s no surprise that stars like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Bethenny Frankel, Mariska Hargitay and more seek out her help to take their homes to the next level. With such an impressive clientele, we had to turn to her to find out what it takes to stage a home so that it goes for top dollar on the market. Turns out, it all comes down to a few simple—but often overlooked—changes.

1. What You Should Never Do When Staging a Home

It totally goes against our natural instincts, but making a home feel less personal is actually the key to hooking buyers. As Eisen explained, “When it comes to staging, it is important to create a space that will evoke a response from potential buyers. Maintaining broad appeal is essential.” Anyone who walks through the door should be able to see themselves making the space their own. “You can’t let your own personal style dictate your design decisions.” Guess we better tuck away those family photos and quirky objets d’art that not everyone “gets” before opening our doors to potential buyers.

2. What You Should Always Do When Staging a Home

Whether you’re getting dressed or doing your makeup, you should always amplify and highlight your best assets, right? Well, the same goes for staging your space. Eisen said, “Make the home’s selling points the main focus.” How do we do that? “First, you need to understand what makes each property unique—think ceiling height, large windows or another architectural detail—and base your design on that feature.” When working with her celeb clientele at IMG, Eisen says she opts for “low-profile modular furnishings, primarily neutral tones, custom-sized rugs and drapes, and minimalist decor to ensure the main focal point is the home’s unique architecture.”

So, if you’re gunning to put up that “sold” sign as soon as possible, stick to neutrals, highlight architectural details and, for goodness’ sake, put those personal knickknacks away.

RELATED: A Home Stager’s Secrets to Make Your House Look More Expensive Than It Is