A well-staged home can make all the difference in enticing a buyer to tour a listing, and something as simple as the artwork you choose can make or break a sale. Your home is where your design personality shines through, but when staging your home for sale, it’s important to keep personal mementos and photos tucked away to appeal to a wide range of buyers.

Everyone will inevitably have differing design opinions, but with a few simple tips and tricks, choosing the right artwork for your home when staging can help buyers envision themselves living there. To help put your home on a buyer’s “must-have” list, we reached out to design experts from Irvine, CA, all the way to Calgary, AB, for their best advice on choosing the right art for home staging.

Select artwork that enhances your home

Let the artwork serve two purposes - choose artwork that adds appeal to the home and markets the geographical region. This makes the home even more appealing to potential buyers. For example, if you are staging a home near a big city, choose artwork that shows images of the city. -Elegant Transitions

Be intentional when selecting artwork to showcase a property. Placement and scale are critical when enhancing the space around the art or using it as a tool to draw the eye to an architectural feature nearby, such as a fireplace. Also, the subject matter of the artwork you choose should be deliberate, such as using a landscape piece to create interest in a dark or windowless room. -Diversa Design

Think of art as an accent piece. Artwork can be used to provide a focal point, highlight a feature in your home, and add color to a space. I have found modern art or landscapes to be the most effective when staging a house - framed family photos and religious art tend to make prospective buyers uncomfortable. Also, be selective about placement. When staging, only a few walls need to be adorned - less is truly more. -Gin Treadwell Home Interiors

Art placement and procurement create a statement within the room by adding focal points, becoming a key role in enhancing the room. Artwork can bring the room to life and serve as an attractive feature to help build up the environment within the room. When you're looking to add character to your room, a few key art pieces may be all you need to bring that “wow” factor that your wall needed. -Eden Home Staging

Be mindful of your artwork choices

Consider the three C's: Color, Contemplation, and Coalescence. First, a pop of color can enliven an otherwise neutral space. Second, art helps buyers envision living in your space by hinting at how a room may be used and evoking certain emotions. Think about the feeling conveyed by a black-and-white cityscape in an office or a blue abstract in a bedroom. Third, art can help unify a space, as may be seen if two or more related pieces are hung on the walls in one or more rooms. For example, use a geometric abstract on a wall in a living room and a similar piece on the wall in the adjacent dining room to create a cohesive look. -Greenhouse

When selecting the artwork, keep your target audience in mind and avoid using art that portrays sinister or risqué scenes, which may not appeal to a broader audience. Instead, choose pieces that can provide a space with a focal point where there isn't one, add color, or emphasize the home's custom features. -CT Exclusive Homes

Envision the finished space when choosing artwork. Know the art story, context, color, size, and location of the wall art when choosing artwork for staging your home. Each piece should have a designated spot in mind (ambiance) to avoid misplaced wall art or proportion (size). -Designs By Dannette

Artwork is the supporting role; the main actor, the central character, is the home. Your artwork choices should mirror a home's style and design - its role is to enhance the vibrant elements and unique features. The masterpiece is always the property; thus, the buyer's eyes should be drawn toward the kitchen, bath, or living space, not a trendy art piece. -Alison Is Real Estate

Freshen up your home with unique pieces

Think outside the canvas. Art doesn’t always involve paint on a canvas. In place of a painting, woven baskets on the wall can add texture above a sofa that features a bright, patterned set of pillows. Mirrors, which provide intriguing reflective surfaces, can also be used in place of art. -Dezign Zoo

Using artworks made from different mediums throughout the home creates an elevated, gallery-like experience.For example, a canvas in one space, a print in another, combined with a sculpture and wall pieces in another room will make the pieces feel less “matchy-matchy” and more like an art collection that a prospective buyer would have. You can also highlight the home's best features and help potential buyers see the home's potential with size and scale. In a room with double-height ceilings, a massive oversized canvas will draw the eye upward and emphasize the height of the walls. -IMG

Be creative and think beyond a typical canvas or framed print. Don’t be afraid to play with textures, shapes, and forms which can add additional interest to the visual appeal a home buyer will relate to. For example, a home with a young family could benefit from brighter colors and whimsical artwork, while a home for a younger couple or single person might be best presented with a more boho vibe, such as a guitar on the wall, a vintage map, or a textural crocheted wall hanging. Mirrors can also be an effective artwork option if the reflection is highlighting an important interior or exterior feature or selling point. -Bloom that Room

Choose complementary artwork pieces

Art is like a topping on the cake, it should go with the design palette to complete the space. Keep your artwork choices neutral, calm, and something that speaks to the room and to the potential buyer. -Jennifer Michele Interiors

Keep it simple. We find that it's best to keep artwork simple - it should be subtle yet attractive to the eye. To present the home in the most appealing light possible, use artwork that doesn’t feature images of people. Instead, consider using pieces that portray interesting but neutral visuals. The best art for home staging will compliment the space it's placed in while not distracting from the home itself. -Beycome

Choose pieces that match your home’s architectural style. A current trend is chalkboard art with inspirational sayings such as “love makes a house a home.” Most important, be certain that artwork won’t be offensive to potential buyers. -Harb & Co

Use artwork that fits the space and doesn't overpower the room. When you start to use big, bold, and personal pieces, you are decorating the space. When determining what kind of art and wall décor to use when staging, you want to be sure to keep things simple and neutral. The whole point of staging is to draw buyer's attention to the features, size, and functions of the rooms and for them to envision themselves living in the space. -Designing Impressions

Use artwork to highlight specific features in your home

Hang art in bathrooms. The use of framed photos of plants, trees, or flowers in bathrooms gives these spaces a spa-like feel and enhances how each room photographs. When coupled with a few white towels and spa counter accessories, art can transform even the most outdated bathroom spaces. -Knoxville Staging Services

Art is the bow on the 'package' in room décor. It should be the first thing to catch your eye and draw you in to see what's inside. Abstract pieces that feature strokes of color on light canvases are always a good choice, especially if the frame is in a metallic finish that complements the light fixtures in a room. They catch the eye and draw people in, but they don't outshine the room itself, which is, after all, what good staging is all about. -Staging That Sells

Keep scale in mind when choosing artwork for staging

Choose large canvas wall art in the colors and style of the house. Wall art on each wall can make your home appear cluttered. Instead, large canvas pieces are easy to hang and will draw the eye to the home's focal points. If you have a large gorgeous fireplace, a large bright piece of canvas art will highlight this feature. Only hang wall art in spaces that are focal points for the listing photos to direct a buyer's eye. If you have one or two smaller plaques or pieces of wall art in a large area, it will look out of proportion, so make sure it's all in scale to the size of the room, the ceiling height, and the size of the furniture. -Dramatix Decor

Choose artwork that is “show-worthy” and offers the drama necessary to create a cohesive space. Keep in mind that the larger the scale, the fewer pieces are needed (and fewer holes in your walls when staging). Your artwork choices are also the foundation for selecting the accent colors to use in a home. Colors should flow gracefully from one space to the next. -Impact Home Staging

If you have a large empty wall, search for large artwork to anchor the space. You can then tie in the colors of the décor in the room to the artwork's colors, exhibiting a very uniform look. -2 West Photography

Along with selecting neutral art, be sure it's scaled and hung appropriately. We often come across artwork placed on walls in the wrong orientation, size, and or dimension. The center of the artwork should be 57 inches from the floor, 6-8 inches above a piece of furniture, and 3-6 inches apart when in a grouping. -Simplicity

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Make sure your artwork choices are balanced

Think about how multiple art pieces are going to look when showing various rooms in a single photo. For example, consider how strategically placing a painting on the wall of one room, like a bedroom down a hall, might give depth to the living room in the foreground. Instead of showing a blank wall, that extra splash of color on the far wall could help to extend the perceived size of a space and make it more attractive to potential buyers. -The Best Local Real Estate Photographers

Choose art that is large and balancing for your space so that it’s eye-catching and attention-grabbing in photos. More often than not, a large statement piece of art will look more dramatic and enticing than multiple smaller pieces. Buyers love interesting photos with clean lines, and large statement art will help draw them in. -Haymount Homes

Artwork should be appropriately sized for the location. Wall art should take up 65% of the available wall space and be about 2/3 to 3/4 the width of the furniture. Your artwork choices should also have an impersonal, but coordinated, theme throughout the space. For example, sticking with abstracts in contemporary spaces, nature scenes in traditional spaces, and water or beach scenes in bathrooms. -Her Home Design

Originally published by Redfin

Experts Reveal Their Best Tips on Choosing the Right Art for Home Staging