You never get a second chance at a first impression.

It is important that potential buyers get a great first impression when they come to your home for an open house or see your listing online. Factors like cleanliness, brightness, and furniture placement all make a big impact on the home’s overall appearance. Making buyers feel comfortable in a new space is key to selling a home. We asked our Facebook friends for their best tips for staging a home to sell.

Here are five tips for staging your home:

• “Make sure all furniture is about one and a half inches from the wall, this creates the illusion of more space. Clear all personal pictures. If the front door is worn, paint it an interesting color that is inviting and make sure the path to the home is welcoming.” – Michael L.

• “You hope that you will have a lot of people in short period of time, freedom of movement is essential.” – CENTURY 21 Ilford

• “Good photos get action. Make sure the lights are on and that you are using a good camera. Don’t use your cell phone!” – Kristy W.

• “Everything off the counters! Toilet seats down. Blinds all the way up to show off recently cleaned windows.” – Wayne F.

• “Stage with smaller furniture to make rooms bigger and go with light colored furnishings unless the area dictates darker classy designs.” – Peter C.

Find more great tips on our Facebook post, and visit CENTURY21.com for more home selling advice.