If you have spent some time reading magazines and watching television shows like the ones that Lisa and Rick were watching—offering inside tips on how to fashion your home to sell fast and easy, then you have probably run across the term staging. At its simplest, home staging refers to the process of setting up each area of your home to emphasize all of its best features. This helps to make your home feel inviting and attractive to potential buyers.

Emotion has a huge influence on people when they are house hunting. People want to buy a house that makes them feel good. They want to feel ‘at home’ when they come inside. As the seller, it is your job to create that warm and homey feeling that makes them feel good when they come inside the house you're selling.

Traditional real estate logic used to suggest that the aroma of chocolate chip cookies or an apple pie baking in the oven would appeal to the senses of your prospective buyers and increase your chances of making a sale. While there's far more to it than that, making your house smell homey and inviting is one way to make it more appealing to those who come to look at it. Home staging shouldn't be approached haphazardly. If you want to sell your house for top dollar, invest the time it takes to turn your house for sale into a buyer's dream home. Adopt a stylish minimalist showing technique that makes it easy for them to imagine themselves living the dream you manufacture.

The “Sell This House” television shows gave Lisa and Rick plenty of great ideas about how to make each room in their house display like a builder’s model home. They learned how to simplify the design and style of each room to make them look more spacious. People need to be able to visualize their own life in your home when they are touring through it. You want to give your potential home buyers a blank canvass upon which to paint their dream home. Rick and Lisa got rid of clutter, and maximized the space in each room by paring down all of the furnishings to the bare essentials. Pictures were taken down from the walls. Knick-knacks, throw rugs, doilies, blankets, and any other personal furnishings that can distract the attention and imagination of the potential home buyers were stored away—out of sight.

If you are interested in quickly selling your house for top dollar in any kind of market you are in, then you should try these clever tips to set up your home for showing to prospective buyers.

• Depersonalize--The number one rule of home staging is to depersonalize. If you do nothing else, you absolutely need to pack away anything that makes the house 'yours' as opposed to theirs. Your family photos may be precious to you, but to a buyer, they're clutter. Clear off counters and shelves, pack away books and take your photos off the walls.

• Minimize--Pare the furnishings down to the bare essentials. If you're going to be living in the house while you show it, this may be a bit more difficult, but it's still important. Pack away your favorite old, shabby recliner and get rid of the stepstool or extra high chair in the kitchen. You want just enough furniture to define a room's purpose without crowding the room.

• Cheerful--The mood that you're aiming for is cheerful and bright. If it's a sunny day, open drapes and curtains to let the sunshine in - but make sure that those windows are sparkling clean. If the windows look out on a back yard that's less than appealing, get out the lawnmower and hedge trimmers to make it appealing.

• Let there be light-- If the day is gloomy, turn on the lights in every room before the buyers show up. By using white or cream colors on the walls and keeping furnishings in light, bright colors, you will guarantee that the house you're selling looks cheerful and appealing even on the gloomiest day.

• Make it inviting-- Fresh flowers are one of those little luxuries that make people feel good. Use them both inside and out. Flower beds in the front of the house add to the curb appeal, and a path lined with flowers can't help but put a potential buyer into the right frame of mind before they ever step through your front door. Inside, try a small table in the entry hall with a tasteful flower arrangement. Add a beautiful bowl of fruit or flowers in the middle of a dining room table or a vase of flowers on a dresser in a bedroom to add color and life to the décor without being too distracting.

• Make it feel comfortable-- Remember that there's more to appealing than what meets the eye. Make sure that the atmosphere in your house is comfortable. If the weather is hot, turn on the air conditioning an hour or so before you expect buyers to arrive so that there is time to reach a comfortable temperature. If the weather is cold, set the heat to a comfortable temperature.

• Appeal to all the senses. Psychologists tell us that the nose influences us far more than we could ever imagine. Make sure that your house always smells fresh and clean; but do not over do it with heavy fragrances from air fresheners, scented candles, potpourri, etc. If your house seems to be overwhelmingly perfumed, potential home buyers may wonder if you covering up something like bad pet odors.

• CLEAN is the keyword. One of the best ways to freshen your home is to wash all the curtains, linens, and fabric furniture covers in a fresh-scent laundry detergent and hang them outside to dry. For a quick air freshener that doesn't leave behind a 'chemical' scent, toss a clean sheet in the dryer with a fresh-scent fabric softener sheet about twenty minutes before a showing. Or, sprinkle some cinnamon, cloves, and fresh orange peels in a pot of water and simmer it on the stove. Just be sure to get rid of it so your potential buyers don’t see it.

• Beautiful bathrooms make a big difference. Replace your old shower curtain, and make sure that the fixtures, mirrors, porcelain vanities, and floors are shining clean.

• Fantasy-- When you're selling a home, you're selling a fantasy. Buyers will imagine themselves living the lifestyle that you 'stage' in your home. Get rid of anything that detracts from that fantasy. That includes pets and children. No matter how adorable you think they are, to potential buyers, they are a distraction. Ship your kids and pets off to a neighbor's house while you show your house. That way, your buyers can explore the house undistracted.

• The great outdoors-- Don't forget the outside. Outdoor living spaces are becoming more and more important to people. Treat your deck or patio like another room in your home. By adding a few simple decorative touches, you can turn your ordinary 'back yard' into an oasis or serenity that your potential home buyers will want to come home to. Cover that old, worn picnic table with a bright tablecloth. Replace worn chair cushions with new ones.