It's tough enough to sell your home in a recession economy.

It's even worse if your place looks lived in.

Most homes do, of course, since you can't quite be there and not make at least a partial mess.

But that look can also make a mess of your plans to sell the property when you finally decide to move.

Ellen Mole knows that dilemma. She's put her house on the market but admits it's not quite as tidy as it might be and that could make a bad impression on would-be buyers.

Her solution? Hire someone to spruce up her soon to be ex-abode in time for her open house. 

That's where a company like Staging Works comes in. The crew will come to any house on the market and spend several days rearranging, shuffling, changing and getting rid of the clutter. The result: a home you might want to buy if you weren't about to move out of it.

"I was nervous and just in terms of the logistics of it all and what am I going to with all of this stuff she [her agent] tells me to get rid of," she admits.

There was so much extra stuff in the home it filled up her two car garage. But with that door closed and the house virtually remodeled, no one saw anything but what the stagers wanted them to see - pristine bedrooms with fully made beds, a beautiful living room that looked inviting and a gleaming kitchen that seemed, well, good enough to eat.

The kitchen before

The kitchen after

Stager Anne Bourne advises removing personal items and choosing the right paint colours to compliment the rooms. "Most agents would tell you paint neutral colours," she explains. "However I don't always paint beige because I think it can really look boring. So I do like to pick very soft colours."

But just like those looking for real estate, it's buyer beware. Stagers aren't regulated so look for someone with experience and recommendations. "You can ask your agent or if you're interviewing several agents, ask them for some names of stagers. And that's a really great way to make sure you're getting someone who's really going to do a great job for you."

Before

After

Ellen's reaction to Bourne's handiwork? "I'm still looking forward to my new house. But this is beautiful. I just wish it could have looked this nice while I still lived here."

Bourne says a job done well done gets results. "Even in this market, my homes are selling within two weeks," she reveals. "They're going because they're priced right and they look fabulous."

A staging consultation runs about $200 and some agents include it in their commissions. But the general rule is you want to spend about one per cent of the asking price to prep your house for sale.

Although if it looks as nice as Ellen's, you may not want to move at all.

For more on how Staging Works works, click here.