6 DIY Dining Room Staging Tips That Preserve a Classic Space

Just as importantly, dining room staging can make your listing photos more eye-catching. Since most buyers begin their home search online, a bright, well-styled dining room can help your home stand out as they scroll through dozens of listings. More attention online often means more showings once your home hits the market.

A staged dining room can also leave buyers with the impression that the entire home has been well cared for. Clean, thoughtfully arranged spaces tend to feel more polished and move-in ready, which can boost a home’s perceived value. While staging can’t guarantee a higher sale price, it can make your home more memorable and encourage stronger buyer interest.

Follow these simple tips below to style your dining room right:

Declutter the table and china cabinet

Formal dining rooms often become a catchall for junk. The table becomes a makeshift office, stacked high with paperwork. The china cabinet becomes the craft cabinet, and the corners are crammed with old toys and underused exercise equipment.

“Most people are mentally making their decisions to buy based on the listing photos,” says professional stager Jenn McCormac with Carousel Home Staging.  “A clean, simple dining room will show well on camera and make buyers want to come see your property. But a dining room with a desk, office gear, and toys will feel cluttered and confuse your buyer.”

Anything that doesn’t naturally belong in your dining room needs to be packed or tossed, and that includes personal items.

Pack away all of those family photos on the sideboard, that wooden sign featuring your surname on the wall, and those handprint plates your kids made that are displayed in the china cabinet. Put simply, depersonalize that space.

When buyers come for a showing or look at your home’s photos online, you want them to envision themselves sitting around the table with family, not wondering about the dining habits of the family that already lives there.

Plus, if your dining room shows signs that you don’t use it, chances are buyers will think that they don’t need the space either.

Deep clean all surfaces and furniture

When you’re prepping your dining room to host your next holiday get-together, you probably have a go-to plan of attack. Brush the crumbs off the chairs, run a duster over the buffet, slap on a tablecloth to cover the waxy buildup on your dining table’s finish, and you’re good to go.

That level of cleaning may suffice when you’re hosting a family gathering, but when the guests are potentially your home’s future owners, you’re going to want to amp up the effort.

Before you list your home, the dining room needs a thorough, crown molding to baseboard (and everything in between) deep cleaning. Follow these tips:

• Grab a clean mop with a new head, a bucket of hot water made sudsy with a little dish soap, and get to work wiping away those splatters, stains, and fingerprints on the moldings, walls, and baseboards.
• Tackle particularly stubborn marks, like crayon scribbles or shoe scuffs, with tools specifically designed for the job, like the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser mop.
• Keep the dust away from your dining room’s moldings and baseboards for the duration of the home sale by running a fabric softener dryer sheet over them.
• Finish off the floors by cleaning them with the appropriate tools, cleaning solutions, and techniques for your specific floor type.
• Clean your furniture. To remove water rings or other stubborn stains, you can use household products you have around the house, like baking soda, toothpaste, or salt. If your dining table and chairs are solid hardwood, the smartest choice to clean them is a silicone-free furniture polish that won’t leave a waxy residue.
• Restore the look and life of older hardwood dining sets with a furniture oil that both polishes and conditions.

Between dried, caked-on food and beverage stains, cleaning your chair upholstery is the toughest task you’ll take on in the dining room. If your stains are too tough for a standard upholstery cleaner, you may need to rent or buy a carpet cleaner that comes with upholstery attachments.

For fabric that’s too far gone, recovering your dining chairs may be your best option. Luckily, dining chairs are easier to reupholster than most furniture, so if you DIY the project, it’ll only cost the price of the upholstery fabric, staples, and extra padding where needed.

Repaint the walls

Dining rooms with a bold, bright accent wall were popular in the early 2000s. Red was all the rage. So there’s a good chance that your dining room staging process will call for some fresh paint, plus it’ll cover up any stubborn stains you couldn’t remove.

The best home staging paint colors are beiges, whites, and greiges because neutrals appeal to a large buyer pool.

However, because there’s something romantic about a formal dining room, and these spaces are often used in the evening, you can get away with a darker, more dramatic look in this space than in the rest of the house.

Painting the dining room in a separate color will run you up to an additional $200 to $2,000 on average, depending on the size and complexity of the space.

Update your light fixtures

If you’re still eating under the same light fixture the builder installed, it may be time for a new one. The typical price for installing a new light is $589 on average, which is mostly dependent on the cost of the light fixture itself.

Remember that the light fixture is the main focal point of the space. Unlike the furniture you’ll take with you when you move, the fixture will stay behind, so choosing one that complements the room is an important decision.

It may be tempting to go with a glammed-out statement chandelier, especially if it goes great with your existing dining set, but you’ll want to keep in mind three factors when selecting your dining room light fixture.

Your dining room light fixture should:

• Reflect the style of the house
• Appeal to most buyers
• Complement the broadest range of decor styles

For example, while a fancy chandelier might reflect the formal ambiance of your French Provincial home, it could turn off buyers looking for a more modern vibe. So if you’re trying to sell, pick a more flexible fixture with both modern and formal elements, like this bronze chandelier or this rustic pendant light.

You’ll also want to make sure you pick a fixture that fits the space and hangs at a good height over the table, typically 30 to 36 inches above the tabletop.

As far as the size of the chandelier goes, the ideal size varies depending on the size of the room and the shape of the table. Luckily, there are online chandelier size calculators to help you figure out the right light for your dining room.

Use the old mirror trick

The mirror trick is a favorite for home stagers when they’re dealing with dining rooms that are on the smaller side or lack natural light.

A massive mirror in a small dining room reflects the space onto itself, making it appear larger than it actually is. In a similar way, a large mirror reflects existing light in a dark dining room, magnifying its impact on the space.

By placing a large mirror directly across from the dining room windows, you’ll amplify the natural light, as well as the artificial light of the chandelier.

“We always hang at least one mirror in the dining room to reflect the light and add some sparkle,” says McCormac.

Create a tablescape

The table dominates the dining room, making it the focal point that’ll draw the buyer’s eye, so you’ll want to set the table as if you were getting ready to serve a feast.

But remember: You’re not actually serving a meal, so less is more. You can get away with just a beautiful centerpiece and a simple table setup. You’ll only want between two and six place settings, even for the largest tables that can seat eight to 12 people.

For example, consider a mid-sized rectangular table that seats six in a smaller dining room. Instead of putting place settings at each seat, pull out all but four of the dining room chairs and set only four place settings along the sides rather than on the ends. The tabletop will look crisp and neat, and the room will look larger without all of the chairs.

“Table settings can feel a little too formal in a lot of today’s houses,” advises McCormac. “Instead, we like to build a tablescape with a table runner and centerpiece. We love an over-the-top centerpiece, like a beautiful collection of faux plants or a cut-crystal bowl filled with unique orbs that catches the light of a chandelier.”

And feel free to skip the silverware, glassware, serving dishes, and salt shakers, as they’ll only serve to clutter up the table.

To avoid the risk of having your fancy china damaged while strangers are perusing through your home during open houses or showings, pick up some attractive, inexpensive dishware at a discount home goods store. You’ll find a wide selection of options that are sturdy, affordable (without looking cheap), and in a variety of styles to fit any dining room decor, classic, modern, or eclectic.

Once your home is sold, you can either donate these home staging place settings or replace your worn-out everyday dishes with the new purchases.

»Learn more: The right furniture setup can make your dining room feel spacious, but you’ll want to know exactly how much room you’re working with first. Use HomeLight’s Square Footage Calculator to get a better sense of your space and choose a layout that helps buyers see its full potential.

Dining room staging mistakes to avoid

Staging your dining room is all about helping buyers see the space at its best, but a few common missteps can get in the way. Before you set the table or rearrange the furniture, watch out for these dining room-specific mistakes that can make the space feel less inviting.

• Don’t cram the dining room with oversized furniture: A table that’s too large or too many chairs can make the room feel cramped and leave buyers wondering if their own furniture will fit.
• Don’t leave the dining table completely bare: An empty table can make the room feel cold and unfinished, so add a simple centerpiece or a few thoughtful details to bring it to life.
• Don’t overdo the table decor: Too many plates, decorations, or elaborate place settings can make the dining room look cluttered and distract buyers from the space itself.
• Don’t ignore the lighting above the dining table: A dated, too-small, or poorly placed fixture can take away from the room’s focal point and make the space feel less polished.
• Don’t forget to define the dining area in an open floor plan: Without clear boundaries, buyers may have a hard time understanding where the dining space begins and how they can use it.

Avoiding these mistakes can help your dining room feel more balanced, welcoming, and ready for buyers. With a few simple adjustments, you can highlight the best parts of the space and make it a memorable part of your home tour.

Know Your Home’s True Value Today

Your dining room staging highlights your home’s potential, so make sure your asking price reflects it. Try HomeLight’s Home Value Estimator to see how much your property may be worth and take the next step toward a successful sale.

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Celebrate the elegance of a formal dining room

Dining room staging might seem like a small step, but it can have a big impact on how buyers see your home. A well-styled dining room helps them picture everything the space can be used for, from everyday meals to hosting friends and family. Even simple changes, like updating the table setup or rearranging furniture, can help the room feel more inviting and functional.

However, staging is just one piece of the selling puzzle. The right real estate agent can help you highlight your home’s best features, attract the right buyers, and guide you through every step of the process. Ready to sell with confidence? Partner with a top-rated agent through HomeLight and get expert support from listing to closing.

Header Image Source: (serezniy / Deposit Photos)