Sarah Sheppard and Sabrina Fischer, of the Sassy Peacock in Erie, tell people how to decorate — stage — their homes for sale. They’ve done it for quite a few people and practice what they preach. Sabrina and her husband, Ron, benefited from an objective look at the house, thanks to Sarah. The Fischer home sold in a day. Read Sarah’s article about staging here in House to Home.

The difference in changing up your decor when your home is for sale is in depersonalizing and de-cluttering. I visit hundreds of homes for sale every year, and staging makes a difference in what buyers see.

If buyers see what they want, they’ll buy it. If they don’t see what they want, they’ll move on to the next house.

The best way to keep buyers interested in your home is to show off clean rooms with no clutter and just enough furniture to make it interesting. You want buyers to see the room, not all your stuff. In the dining room above, Sarah and Sabrina removed three pieces of furniture and a rug to show off the floors and walls. It was effective. The home sold the day after it listed. For more tips on how to de-clutter and prepare for an open house — read this article in House to Home.

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa.