If you are getting ready to put your house on the market, today more than ever you should consider hiring a professional to stage it.

With all the inventory of existing homes, you want your house to stand out. Hiring a professional will help bring a fresh set of eyes into your home. And it will eliminate the areas that might make someone not consider your home.

Over the years, I have helped numerous real estate agents stage all sizes of homes from single family to attached homes and townhouses. My goal as a stager is to make your home appear as attractive, open, inviting and uncluttered as possible.

They say first impressions count, and even more so if you are trying to sell your house. I remember one time when the listing Realtor told me that no one would walk into the house because it look so cluttered when you opened the door. My first goal was to change that impression by eliminating things. Remember, it is far better to have extra blank or open space for the eye to move through. Things your children made when they were young are worth keeping but not on view when you are selling a house. Store them away.

In one house I was staging, years ago the wife had tied wired ribbon on every conceivable surface. Not only were the ribbons looking sloppy after all these years, they were very dusty and badly shaped. Just removing these created a much better visual picture of the interiors.

Another big area that I address is the traffic flow. Having an effective easy traffic flow is very important so that potential buyers see how they would use the spaces. Often it is advisable to remove some of your unnecessary furniture during the selling process to achieve this. It will help the rooms appear larger.

One room you should spend extra time on is the kitchen. We all know the kitchen is the heart of the home. It’s where we spend so much of our time every day, even if we are not much of a cook. Your goal should be to put away as much as you can. Create counter areas that a person could see that they would use as landing areas if they were cooking.

Another area that I find usually needs attention are the bookcases. Too often they end up being a catch-all for things and can be quite junked up. In one home the homeowner had every picture they had taken of their family piled three plus deep in it. So much so that if you touched the front of the bookcase, some fell off. This is too much. Your goal is to to have pictures only one deep. Put the remainder away and rotate them throughout the year if you want some variety.

Teal Michel ASID, Interior Design, is a licensed, full-service interior design and remodeling firm, practicing throughout the Carolinas. She has a BS in Fashion Merchandising from Drexel University and and studied interior design at Central Piedmont Community College, where she received an AA in interior design. Teal has received several awards from the Home Builders Association of Charlotte and from the American Society of Interior Design. More information: www.tealmichelasid.com