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Interior Design Mistakes People Make When Staging Their Homes to Sell

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2025-10-11T09:50:01Z

Interior designer Claire Zinnecker shared common design mistakes she sees in home listings.
They include displaying personal photos and over-furnishing rooms.
The key to a good home staging? “Buyers need to be able to visualize themselves in the home,” she said.

Whether you paint, buy new furniture, or simply rearrange what you have, sprucing up your home before listing it can boost its appeal. But the way you stage it can leave either a good or a bad impression on would-be buyers.

Claire Zinnecker, an Austin-based interior designer with more than 16 years of experience in residential and commercial design and the co-host and designer on the NBCUniversal children’s series “Get Out of My Room,” has some design advice for home sellers.

The key to staging? “Buyers need to be able to visualize themselves in the home,” Zinnecker told Business Insider.

But sometimes, design can get in the way.

Here are five common mistakes homeowners make when staging their homes for sale, according to Zinnecker.

1. Displaying personal photos can be a turnoff.

A wall of several family photos in frames.

Personal photos make it harder for buyers to picture themselves in the home, according to Zinnecker.


Ondrooo/Getty Images/iStockphoto

When Zinnecker designs homes, she recommends keeping personal photos in hallways and bedrooms. The same rule applies when staging — it’s best to limit them to those areas, or better yet, put them away entirely in a closet.

“Having personal photos throughout the house can be a mistake,” she said. “If you’re staging a home, maybe lessen those entirely so people can really visualize themselves being in that home.”

2. Loud or eccentric wall paint can be off-putting to buyers.

A room painted in three separate colors: purple, green, and pink.

Eccentric colors can be overwhelming for prospective buyers.


Boris SV/Getty Images

When it comes to wall paint, play it safe, Zinnecker said.

“If possible, neutralizing paint colors is a smart move,” she said. “Unfortunately, people are very, very visual. Even though it’s just paint, and can be a simple fix, when people walk into a room, the paint can be a make-or-break factor.”

“I really just think bold colors anywhere — accent colors and walls — is not the way to go,” she added. “You don’t want people to feel super overwhelmed.”

3. An ‘overstuffed’ room isn’t a good look.

A living room with chairs, a desk, and book bookshelf.

Too much furniture leaves little room for a would-be buyer to be inspired.


alvarez/Getty Images

Sometimes less is more — especially when it comes to furniture.

“A mistake people make is overfilling a house with furniture,” Zinnecker said. “You want to make the spaces feel large, and you also want people to feel inspired and creative, and visualize their own lives happening in the house. Editing and paring down is really smart.”

4. Ignoring the little details can cost you.

Workers cleaning a home.

Taking care of small cosmetic details before you sell can go a long way.


South_agency/Getty Images

Zinnecker said not to overlook small fixes, like baseboard repairs, addressing scuffs and scratches, and touch-up paint.

“It would behoove sellers to spend a little on those items to make the home feel fresh and new, and less lived-in,” she said.

She also recommends hiring professional cleaners and investing in small updates, such as fresh pillows and kitchen decor.

“Anything to make the home feel almost like a boutique hotel,” she added. “It’s an easy way to make it feel more upscale than it might actually be.”

5. Harsh artificial light in listing photos can make a home look less inviting.

A hand hovering next to a laptop with several home listings featured.

How a home appears online is just as important as how it looks in person.


AndreyPopov/Getty Images

A home’s online presentation is as important as its in-person presentation, Zinnecker said.

“My husband’s a realtor, and he might disagree with me, but I love photos with natural light,” she said. “A lot of the time, real estate photos blast artificial light in the house, and that can feel not very inviting when you’re looking online.”



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