Follow these simple home staging rules and you're guaranteed a quick sale.

Mastering home staging can make a huge difference to how long it takes to sell your home.

Different experts may offer slightly different techniques, but fundamentally, home staging comes down to just a few main components that you need to bear in mind before inviting viewers into your home.

Remember: You’re not just selling a home, you’re selling a lifestyle

 This is the single most important thing to understand about home staging. Its purpose is not so much to sell your home as it is to sell an idea of what it will be like to live in this home. All your staging decisions should be based on this fact. For example, it's best to arrange furniture in a way that creates a conversational set, with pieces facing each other – even if you don't normally have it that way.

Get rid of clutter

Clutter takes up space, and space is what sells. Make your home look bigger and more desirable by cutting down to just the basics. You don’t have to get rid of things forever, but you should certainly be packing them up and getting them out of the house.

Buyers will be opening your closets to look at their storage potential, so take your time to remove as many miscellaneous and non-crucial items as you can. The less clutter you’ve got in the space, the bigger it will look and the more appealing it will be to buyers.

Go big –  on everything

 Again, this has nothing to do with what you personally favour, but with what creates a feeling of appealing spaciousness for your buyers, who all value a home that at least seems to offer more room than their current one. This feeling of extra space is best created by opting for oversized artwork on walls, large mirrors, and large area rugs – and this works even in smaller rooms.

The trick is to use fewer large accent pieces rather than lots of smaller ones. To enhance the size of your rooms even further, use furniture raised on legs 'to create a sense of lightness'.

Go neutral

This staging tip is a bit more time and cost intensive, but it can make a major difference when it comes to your sale price and time on the market. Bright colours on walls help people express their personality in their homes, but they can be a major turn-off for buyers.

When you’re staging your home to sell, one of the very best things you can do is paint over any garish colours with neutrals, like grey, white, and taupe.

Focus on fresh

A few healthy, well-placed plants and flowers can add life and freshness into the space, but space them out so as not to clutter any one particular area but try to have a couple fresh items in areas that matter.

Place a vase full of big, bright flowers in the centre of your kitchen table, and perhaps a larger potted plant in the corner of the living room as well.

Another aspect of freshness is making sure there are no odours. A deep clean should take care of any lingering smells and clear out your bin before showings. Small, scented plug-ins are a great way to entice buyers.

Don’t try to hide your home’s unique features – show them off

 If your home has an architectural quirk – a slanting ceiling, or an l-shaped room – treat it as a unique opportunity rather than something to try and hide. Present these unique features as positive extras for your potential buyer.

That awkward corner can be used as home office space – so style it as such! Attics and other spaces that can't be used as extra rooms can be presented as attractive storage opportunities – but you have to show your buyer how it would work rather than just telling them.

Home staging is all about getting your potential buyer's imagination working – a well-staged home will sell quicker because they'll be able to see that the home is ready to be lived in.