This article originally appeared on the realtor.com® website on September 29, 2014. The article was written by Craig Donofrio and can be viewed in its entirety here under its original title, “Autumn Advantage: 4 Tips for Staging Your Home in Fall”.

Staging Your Home in the Autumn

A crisp chill in the air, the turning of leaves and the scent of pumpkin spice are all hallmarks of fall.

There’s no doubt it’s a beautiful season, and if you’re planning on selling your home by the end of the year, you can capitalize on all the good work nature already provides when staging your home.

Accentuate the Positives When Staging Your Home

You want your home to stand out when you put it on the market, so start at the curb.

To play up the fall feel outside of your home, clean up flower beds and rake any leaves off your lawn—the first thing buyers should notice is the changing colors on your trees, not the muddled dead leaves on the grass.

Add a wreath of seasonal plants on the front door for a finishing touch.

In the backyard, store away any summer items like pool floats, inflatable water slides and tiki torches. Add fall-related decor like a self-contained fire pit and warm-colored cushions on your patio furniture to create an outdoor space perfect for chilly evenings.

You can also add a pumpkin to the front stoop, but don’t carve it up because it will spoil much faster.

Remember to avoid using a pumpkin altogether if the weather is bitterly cold already, as it will rot faster—that will only attract flies.

Bring the Colors Indoors

Autumn’s natural color scheme is warm and earthy, reminiscent of cozy, fireside nights.

To bring some of that warmth inside for your open house, fill vases with red, orange and deep yellow flowers like marigolds, Mexican sunflowers or strawflowers. Place vases in the entryway, in the master bedroom and on top of mantles to add color throughout the house.

To make your home feel cozy and inviting, invest in throw blankets or pillows in the same shades as your floral arrangements. Place the pieces around your living room and bedroom to draw out the fall colors.

Add dried decorations, like dried wheat or dried cornstalks, to fill in empty wall spaces with that fall feeling.

Use Favorite Fall Foods

The pleasant scent of fresh-baked cookies or a warm apple pie wafting through the house can trigger memories of comfort and home.

To tie in with the season—and the much-beloved holiday foods—light some candles scented with apple spice, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, cranberries or ginger spice.

Add warmth and a touch of the holidays to your kitchen or dining room by creating a cornucopia centerpiece on your table or countertop. Fill the centerpiece with gourds, miniature pumpkins and maize to help potential buyers picture themselves cooking their first Thanksgiving dinner in their new home.

Don’t Overwhelm

While adding a bit of color and warmth will help buyers picture holidays ahead, keep your decorations clean and minimal.

Avoid overpowering a room with too many flowers and candles, and always remember keep personal items tucked away.

Even if the piece is holiday or fall themed, buyers like to picture their own decorations in a home.

It helps your home sell if you have it staged nicely, but there are a few things that really turn off buyers. While they may seem minor to you, in a buyer’s mind they start planting seeds of doubt as to the overall state of your home. Stage your home properly to keep the buyers interested.

• Turn off the perfume store smells! Use air purifiers to remove smells from your home. Buyers assume you have something to hide if you have strong scents of fruits and/or perfume. There are also many buyers with perfume allergies which makes all those scents a real turn off!
• When you de clutter and stage your home, don’t stuff everything into closets and storage areas. Rent a storage pod and put things you don’t need in there and have it taken to storage. Buyers DO look in closets and they want to see spacious closets, not packed full ones.
• Have all your lights in working order and all the bulbs too. It does not look good when only one of three bulbs in a lamp works. It may seem minor, but buyers will take note.
• Put pets in kennels or take them with you for showings. Not everyone is an animal lover. Even animal lovers don’t want to see your kitty walking all over the kitchen counters or be jumped on by your dog.
• Put your personal papers away. Don’t leave repair bills, financial statements, and the like lying around for the buyers to see. Buyers do see more than you may think, so put your papers away.
• The garage is part of your home. Make sure your garage is fairly clean, neat and tidy and not stacked to the gills with your stuff that would not fit anywhere else.
• Keep your yard looking great. Mow the lawn, trim the bushes, pull the weeds. The first impression a buyer has is the exterior of your home.
• Make sure your gutters are clean, the exterior paint is in order, walkways are clear, and your home looks inviting.

You have your house listed for sale and now you have accepted a showing request, what do you need to do to get your home ready for the showing. This short list is assuming you have already done the big clean up and staged your home properly. The key of last minute staging is to make your home neat, tidy and inviting.

• Vacuum and sweep the floors
• Last minute dusting
• Put toilet seats down
• Turn off your computers
• Take away or lock up any medications
• Put away personal items such as jewelry and paperwork
• Empty the garbage cans in the house and if possible put them where they are not visible
• Take your pets with you when you leave and put their belongings away
• Open all your window treatments and turn on the lights
• If you can, put out some fresh flowers in a vase
• Turn on some quiet classical music
• If it is warm, put out your patio cushions and open the patio umbrella

If you are thinking of putting your home on the market or if your home is already listed these home staging tips may help you out.  What rooms are most important to buyers? What do buyers want to see in order to like your home? What feeling does your home give off? This short video talks about what is important for buyers, where they spend their time and what you need to do to capture the buyers that come to your home.