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A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Virtual Home Tour

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The COVID-19 economy has pumped up consumer demand for virtual home tours. These presentations, created using 360-degree and 3D tour technology, provide an immersive experience for viewing homes while limiting in-person contact.

Virtual tours give buyers a perspective on the home’s layout and flow that can’t be achieved with still photos, says consultant Jeff Turner of Santa Clarita, Calif. The tours help buyers weed out houses that are in their price range but that don’t fit their style, says Turner, a consultant to virtual-tour provider Immoviewer and entrepreneur in residence at Second Century Ventures and Reach , the National Association of REALTORS®’ strategic investment arm and award-winning technology accelerator. “Consumers are hungry for the opportunity to have a better online shopping experience, and to me, that’s the promise of 3D, 360-degree virtual tours.”

Data shows that virtual tours drive sales, says Amir Frank, a content manager at Matterport in Sunnyvale, Calif. Matterport studied MLS transaction data from the South, Southwest, Northwest, and Midwest from November 2016 to November 2019. The results showed listings with a 3D tour sold for up to 9% more and closed up to 31% faster than listings without them.

The cost and complexity of virtual tour technology have come down in recent years, making these tours more accessible for real estate professionals. To help you create exceptional virtual home tours, here’s a step-by-step guide to gathering equipment; preparing to shoot and edit the photos; uploading and editing the images; creating the tour from walkthrough to exit on an online platform; and publishing and marketing the tours.

Step 1: Choose Your Equipment and Platform

“We’re in the golden age of 360-degree cameras,” says Turner. “I’ve got within my grasp, right now, six different 360 cameras. All cost between $250 and $500. The cost shouldn’t be a barrier for anyone who’s doing any volume of home sales. I have a 3,400-square-foot house here in Southern California, and I can capture and turn this into a usable tour in less than 20 minutes.

“These are one-click tools,” he adds. “You don’t have to focus them. And the quality of these low-cost cameras has been improving over time dramatically.”

“To shoot a 2,000-square-foot home, it takes this [Ricoh Theta V] between five and 10 minutes,” agrees Peter Schravemade of Maroochydore, Queensland, in Australia, relationship manager for Box Brownie, a company that offers turnkey photo editing, virtual tours, and other services for real estate pros.

Besides its affordability and speed, says Schravemade, the Ricoh camera allows you to “bracket” to create the best possible images. Bracketing means taking the same photo multiple times, each with a different exposure, which helps ensure your tour includes exceptional interior and exterior views. He recommends shooting from three to five different exposures, then editing them together to create a bracketed image.

Matterport’s higher price results from its function as both a camera and a scanner, taking 360-degree tour photos, then creating a dollhouse-like floor plan. The floor plan is the major advantage, says Bill Lublin, CEO of Century 21 Advantage Gold in Philadelphia. Using the “dollhouse” format, viewers can go from room to room easily. However, it takes one to two hours to upload the Matterport tour, so it’s a slower process than what the Ricoh products offer.

Whatever 360-degree camera you use, you’ll also have to download a smartphone app or invest in a hosting platform for your tours. You’ll upload your photos to that platform for storing, editing, and sharing.

Step 2: Organize Photography, Lighting, and Camera Placement

Before you start shooting, open your photography app or hosting platform, and then place your 360-degree camera on your tripod. “I like to take photos exactly how I would move through a house,” says Turner, “starting with the exterior.” Take one photo from across the street and another in the front yard. Photograph both sides of the house if there’s room for your gear; then move around the house, and capture the backyard. When you’ve finished shooting the exterior, open the front door and photograph the entryway. Before taking interior shots, open doors and turn on all the lights. Open blinds and curtains, unless the view detracts from the image. “Then navigate through the house and take photos, as many as is necessary to allow people to flow through it.”

Inside, place the tripod in the center of each room with the camera set at eye height, above furniture and countertops. Then leave the room to take the photo using the smartphone app. You can take one photo per room, unless you’re bracketing your exposures or the size of the room requires more. Large rooms may need two or three images from different positions.

A Matterport camera requires a different workflow. The camera scans every corner of the room, creating a 3D dollhouse-like floor plan. Frank suggests starting at the lowest level and working your way up. Position the camera to take shots from the center of hallways and at each room’s entryway. Then put your Matterport camera in each corner of the room to create a feel for room size; the number of photos will assist the software as it forms the 3D dollhouse model.

Step 3: Upload the Tour

There are hundreds of 360-degree tour providers and hosting platforms, including Matterport, Ricoh360 Tours, Ogulo, Immoviewer, Box Brownie, Giraffe360, and EyeSpy360, says Schravemade. Many have apps that upload your photos as you take them. Editing tools on many of the platforms will stitch your images together for a seamless tour experience.

Costs vary by platform and complexity. Immoviewer has a subscription model that runs from $69 per month for five active tours to $159 per month for 20. Box Brownie uses a pay-as-you-go model in which a tour with up to 15 photos costs $16, one with 16 to 25 photos costs $24; options for image enhancement start at $1.60, and 360-degree virtual staging is priced at $64. The more complex Matterport tours fall in the $250 to $400 range.

Step 4: Create the Tour, From Walkthrough to Exit

Many editing programs, including Box Brownie and Immoviewer, will put your photos in the right sequence as they upload; as long as you take your photos in the order of the flow of the home’s floor plan, they’ll be properly arranged for the virtual tour.

If you’re using Matterport’s software, after you upload your photos, they’re processed into the 3D model in the correct order. You can then start adding “Matter Tags” and highlight reels, embedding videos and brochures, and labeling rooms and dimensions, says Frank.

If you have the editing skills to stitch the images together yourself, Schravemade recommends programs such as Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, available as an online subscription for $9.99 per month as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud package. (A subscription to the full Adobe Creative Cloud costs $52 per month, but most users need only those two apps.)

With Immoviewer, “those tours are live the moment they’re uploaded. So if you’ve got a good [wireless] connection from the house and you use the app, the moment those images are uploaded, that virtual tour is live and ready to go,” Turner says.

Matterport’s detailed scanning and photography process can take a couple of hours to finish uploading. Once that upload completes, it then takes 24 to 48 hours to process. That’s when you’re able to start tagging and adding specs and points of interest. Box Brownie uses manual stitching for its photo editing process and has a 24-hour turnaround, says Schravemade.

Step 5: Publish and Market the Tour on Multiple Channels

Platforms such as realtor.com®, many MLSs, and social media are ideal places for publishing your virtual home tour. You can embed the tour link in email campaigns and text messages or drop it straight into Facebook, says Schravemade.

Once the images and 3D model have been created, Frank says, the Matterport system “automatically generates photos it thinks are usable in your marketing campaigns, as well as a few short teasers, which are great; you can easily download a GIF or MP4 [video] file and use it in your marketing campaigns.”

Make virtual home tours part of everything you can, whether it’s inexpensively with Immoviewer or Box Brownie or more fully immersive with detailed Matterport tours, Lublin advises. “People are more hesitant to enter properties now, but there’s a tremendous demand, and providing them the ability to see and choose to eliminate properties online is a powerful tool,” he says. “You always want to be seen as tech-forward. Now it’s easy to be tech-forward.”

Turner estimates 95% of listings still don’t have a true virtual tour, even amid the pandemic. “I wish [agents] wouldn’t be so hung up on perfect image quality, especially with a virtual tour,” he says. “Do one, get it up there, and give consumers this experience they’re looking for. A 360-degree camera is going to do a really good job of capturing an above-average image of the room.”

What You Need to Create 3D Home Tours

• Camera: $250–$3,500. Experts interviewed for this article recommended a range of options, including the Ricoh Theta V ($380); Insta360 One X ($456); Ricoh Theta Z1 ($1,000); and Matterport Pro2 ($3,400).
• Tripod or monopod: $25 to $50
• Extra battery: $30 to $40
• Battery charging station: $20 to $40
• App: Virtual-tour providers have apps that enable you to upload 3D photos to create tours.

On a Budget

For about $15, you can get a selfie stick, attach your smartphone to it, and walk through a listing, narrating as you go and pointing out features people might otherwise see more readily in an in-person tour. It’s not a true virtual tour, but it’s an economical way to create a tour to post to social media and aggregator sites.

Hear From the Experts

The National Association of REALTORS®’ recent three-part TechEdge series took a deep dive into virtual tours. The June 30 session, “The Virtual Agent,” was hosted by broker-owner Bill Lublin and featured Jeff Turner and Peter Schravemade. REALTORS® can purchase a recording of the session for $14.95 at nartechedge.com .

Mandy Ellis

Related content, 10 tips for looking your best on video, 6 steps to running a virtual open house.

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You've decided that you want to begin looking at house plans to build the house of your dreams, but you keep running into the same problem over and over. It's so difficult to visualize what your home will look like with just a few drawings of a plan and some blueprints. How can you get a better idea of what your nonexistent home will look like once it's built? Enter virtual house tours.

Looking at house plans with virtual tours before a house is even built offers many benefits that can significantly enhance home-building. Here's why:

• Easier visualization. 3D virtual house tours provide a three-dimensional, immersive property perspective, allowing prospective homeowners to explore the planned layout in detail. This brings the flat, two-dimensional house plans to life, offering a better understanding of the rooms' size, spatial relationships, and flow.
• Helps in decision-making. Through virtual tours, prospective you can make informed decisions about design aspects before construction begins. This includes the layout of rooms, placement of windows, or the flow between spaces. Seeing the house in 3D can highlight potential issues or improvements that may not be obvious from 2D plans.
• Personalization of the space. Virtual house tours allow for property personalization even before construction starts. Users can visualize different finishes, colors, or furnishings, helping them to plan and personalize their future homes.
• Cost and time savings. Catching potential design or layout challenges for your family through a virtual house tour might save time and money in the long run, as changes can be made before construction begins, avoiding costly adjustments during the build.

Virtual house tours provide a robust, interactive, and highly informative tool when looking at house plans. By offering an immersive view of the house before it's built, they aid in visualization, decision-making, personalization, and communication, potentially saving time and resources and increasing satisfaction with the final result.

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360 virtual tours faq, what is the difference between a virtual tour and a 3d house plan.

Virtual tours and 3D house plans are valuable tools in real estate marketing and property development and have distinct characteristics and uses.

A virtual house tour provides an interactive, panoramic view of a property, allowing prospective buyers or renters to walk through a space visually. Depending on the complexity, a virtual tour might be a series of high-quality photographs or a 360-degree panoramic view.

The key aspect of a virtual house tour is that it depicts the property as it is, including the current decoration, furniture, finishes, and so forth . This realism helps potential buyers or renters get a feel for the property and visualize themselves living in it.

3D house plans, on the other hand, are a type of architectural drawing . They present a three-dimensional view of a property, typically showing the layout of the property without including details like furniture or decor unless it's precisely part of the design presentation.

3D house plans are particularly useful in construction and remodeling, helping builders, contractors, and homeowners understand and communicate the property's design. For potential buyers, a 3D house plan can clearly understand the property's layout, size, and flow.

The critical difference between a virtual house tour and a 3D house plan lies in their purpose and presentation. A virtual tour offers a realistic, interactive view of an existing property, helping viewers visualize the space as it is. In contrast, a 3D house plan provides a structural and spatial representation of a property, highlighting its architectural design and layout. While different, both tools can significantly assist in selling, buying, or renting a property.

What is a virtual tour of a house?

Virtual tours of a house can take various forms. At the basic level, they may consist of a series of professionally taken, high-definition photographs of a property's interior and exterior. These photographs are often arranged in a slideshow format to give the viewer a sense of moving through the property.

More advanced versions of virtual tours employ 360-degree panoramic images or even 3D walkthroughs, where users can navigate through the property as if they were there. This interactive exploration of virtual house plans allows viewers to get a comprehensive view of the space, including its layout and unique features.

Users may even interact with the 3D space in the most sophisticated virtual tours. For instance, they might be able to open doors, turn lights on and off, or manipulate furniture. This high level of interactivity provides a very immersive experience and can significantly aid in the decision-making process for prospective buyers or renters.

Do virtual tours help people buy houses?

Yes, virtual tours are an influential tool to help people buy houses. There are several ways in which virtual tours can help people buy homes.

• House plans with virtual tours provide a comprehensive view of the property. High-definition photos, 360-degree panoramas, or 3D walkthroughs allow potential builders or buyers to inspect every corner of the house at their convenience. This level of detailed visual information can significantly aid decision-making, even before a physical viewing is arranged.
• Virtual tours save time and money. People can explore numerous homes from the comfort of their living room rather than traveling to multiple properties, which can be especially difficult for out-of-town or international buyers. This reduces travel expenses and allows potential buyers to narrow their list of prospective homes effectively.
• Virtual tours' immersive nature helps buyers envision themselves in the home. This is particularly true for interactive 3D virtual house tours, where users can "walk" through the property and manipulate elements within the space. The more a person can visualize living in a house, the more likely they are to consider purchasing it.
• House plans with virtual walkthroughs allow for 24/7 property viewing. Potential buyers aren't limited by traditional open house hours or realtor availability. They can explore the property anytime they wish, as many times as they want, leading to a more profound familiarity with the house and, eventually, more confident buying decisions.

How do virtual house tours work?

Virtual house tours work through a combination of modern technology, like digital photography, videography, and software for 3D modeling and virtual reality. They provide a detailed, interactive, and immersive view of a property, allowing potential buyers or renters to explore it remotely. Here's a general process of how virtual house tours work:

• Photography and Videography. The process begins by capturing high-quality photos or videos of the property. A series of photos may be sufficient for a simple virtual house plans tour. For a more advanced 360-degree panorama or 3D walkthrough, special equipment like a 360-degree camera or a 3D camera may be needed. These devices capture images in all directions, creating a complete view of each room.
• Image Processing. After capturing the images, they are processed using special software. If a 360-degree tour or a 3D model is being created, the software stitches together the photos to create a seamless panoramic or 3D image. Some software can even generate a 3D model of the property based on 2D images, though more advanced tours may use dedicated 3D scanning devices.
• Interactive Elements. Depending on the complexity of the tour, interactive elements might be added. For example, in 3D virtual house tours, viewers may "move" through the property by clicking on different areas of the image. Some tours might also allow viewers to interact with elements in the home, like opening doors or turning lights on and off.
• Additional Information. Once the main visual elements of the tour are ready, further information can be added. This might include text descriptions, voiceovers, floor plans, or information about local amenities. This gives viewers a more complete understanding of the property.
• Online Hosting. The final virtual tour is hosted online on the real estate agency's website, a property listing site, or a dedicated virtual tour platform. The tour is usually embedded in a webpage and can be viewed using a web browser. Some tours might also be compatible with virtual reality headsets for an even more immersive experience!

What are the benefits of 360 virtual tours?

• 360-degree virtual tours offer many benefits, transforming how properties are marketed and explored. They provide a realistic, immersive experience, allowing users to explore a space as if they were physically present. Here are some significant benefits of 360-degree virtual tours:
• Enhanced imaging. Unlike static images, 360-degree tours allow viewers to look in all directions: up, down, and around. They provide a complete view of rooms and spaces, giving potential buyers or builders a realistic feel for the layout and size of the property.
• Increased engagement. 360-degree tours are interactive, allowing users to control their property exploration. This engagement can lead to potential buyers or renters spending more time on the property's listing, increasing their interest and likelihood of taking further action.
• Convenience and accessibility. House plans with virtual walkthroughs can be accessed anytime, anywhere, and on any device with an internet connection. This makes it easy for out-of-town or international prospects to view the property or plan, expanding the potential market.
• Time and effort savings. By providing a comprehensive view of a property, 360-degree 3D virtual house tours can help potential buyers or renters decide whether the property meets their needs before arranging a physical viewing. This can save the realtor and the potential buyer significant time and resources.

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Home touring: 9 things to look for

In this article:

Open houses and home tours are an essential part of the homebuying process. They allow buyers to envision themself living in their dream home, but they can also be overwhelming.

Eleanor Lynch, a Touring Specialist at Orchard, recommends leaning on your agent for help. Her experience as a homeowner, seller, and agent has shaped the way she advises buyers.

“Think of us as multifaceted resources. We’re more than just a resource for that particular home. We're trained in real estate, but we know neighborhoods and can give you the larger picture, which is more critical."

For those looking to get the most out of their time, here’s what to look for when touring a home.

3 things to do before your home tour

The average home tour lasts 15 to 30 minutes, according to Lynch. Here are three things to consider before stepping foot in a home to make the most of those minutes.

1. Figure out how much you can afford — and commit to staying in budget

Save yourself the heartbreak of falling in love with a house outside of your price range and set a hard limit. One way to do this is to obtain pre-approval before beginning your house-hunting journey and budgeting out what expenses you can afford. This includes your mortgage payment , utilities, maintenance, and more.

2. Make a list of wants and needs

It can be overwhelming to evaluate every aspect of a home. Narrow down what you want and need out of a home so you can quickly assess if a house meets or falls short of your wants and needs.

→ Download the ultimate house-hunting checklist 

3. Check out the neighborhood

There are many factors to consider when thinking about what neighborhood you want to move to — the proximity to work, friends, and other important hubs. It can be hard to evaluate these during your short home tour, especially if you’re taking multiple tours in one day, so spend some time beforehand scouting out the locations.

→ Here’s how to choose the right location when buying a house

What to look for when touring a house

Once you’re in the home, here are some of the things to observe. Ask your agent in advance if there are other things to consider.

Mildew and other foul smells can be a sign of more serious damage from mold , pets, or pests. 

And if the house smells overwhelmingly like air fresheners? Lynch says that might be a red flag, too. Ask the sellers if there has been any water or fire damage or similar and be on the lookout for other indicators.

Signs of damage

While a home inspection and appraisal will help identify any major existing damage in a home, Lynch says catching these signs before putting in an offer can save you from the hassle of deciding if you want to walk away from the purchase or work out seller concessions .

Be on the lookout for these common indications of damage:

• Dark spots on ceiling or walls
• Cracks in ceiling or walls
• Gaps in windows and door frames
• Sagging or sloping floors

→ Here are warning signs a house might collapse

Floor plan and size of rooms

You can change the paint color or update the window treatments without much hassle, but moving or adding walls can be a huge investment. These projects take time and money, so why not buy a home with a floor plan and features that fit your needs?

As you walk through the home, look closely at the size of the rooms — can they fit your furniture? Do they suit your needs? Pay attention to the flow of the rooms, too — can you imagine yourself going about life here? Or would the lack of counterspace keep you from hosting the dinner parties you’re known for?

Architectural and yard features

Just like with floor plans and room sizes, it’s time consuming and expensive to turn a ranch-style home into a mission-style one, or to turn a barren landscape into a backyard pool oasis . Take note of the architecture of the home as you tour — do these features fit in with your ideal of home? What about the front and backyards — can you see yourself enjoying time spent lounging in and maintaining these spaces?

Lynch also recommends looking closely at the windows and natural lighting. “Is this gonna be enough light for me? Or does this seem really dark right now in the summer, and it’s going to be really, really dark in the winter?”

Accessibility

It costs homeowners an average of $700 to $8,000 to make a home accessible for people with disabilities, depending on the original condition of the home and the accommodations needed. Widening hallways and remodeling kitchens and bathrooms for ADA compliance can cost even more — as much as $40,000 each.

Don’t be afraid to bring a tape measure to assess the accessibility of the homes you’re touring. Doing so could ensure a smoother moving process and big savings in remodeling costs.

Your car needs a place to live, too. Ask the sellers about their parking arrangements. Think about yourself and guests you may like to host. Parking can be competitive and expensive in densely populated areas, while more suburban or rural neighborhoods have garages and little competition for street parking. 

Appliances and systems

Ask the homeowners about their major systems like their water heater, appliances, and HVAC. These systems can be costly to repair, so it’s best to get a sense of when they were installed, if they’re under warranty, and if there have been any major issues with them.

Bonus : Ask about the home’s insulation, too. An HVAC system is only as good as its thermal envelope. Ask the sellers what their insulation’s R-rating is and make sure it aligns with Energy Star’ s recommendations.

→ Learn the difference between baseboard heating and forced air

Condition of the roof and foundation

The roof and foundation of a house are central to the home’s overall health. Don’t be afraid to scrutinize each when you tour a home to protect yourself from buying a house that needs substantial (and expensive) repairs. Ask the sellers about the condition and of both and if they’ve had any major issues with either.

→ Learn more about buying a house with foundation issues

Climate and environmental risks

Mother nature can pose a unique threat to your home. Be aware of the home’s proximity to some of these environmental threats:

• Extreme weather
• Radon and other environmental toxins
• Power plants or similar

What comes after a home tour?

Remember, it’s not your responsibility to catch every potential problem with a home — your home inspection and appraisal will go a long way to protect you from buying a house with repairs you can’t afford to take on.

When you’ve found the house that checks all your boxes, it’s time to craft an offer on your dream home. If you’re worried about standing out to sellers, struggling to juggle buying while selling, or simply want an ally in the process, Orchard can help. 

→ Learn more about how Orchard works

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You Can Tour a House Without Leaving Your Own Home: Here’s How

• House Hunting
• Open Houses
• Published on April 13th, 2020

Astrid Storey is originally from Panama and spent most of her early years traveling through Central and South America. She arrived in Denver in 2003, the day after graduating college. During the next decade-and-a-half, she’s juggled a career in a variety of creative and marketing roles while building her own studio, Storey Creative, with clients in real estate, health care, publishing, and tech.

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At HomeLight, our vision is a world where every real estate transaction is simple, certain, and satisfying. Therefore, we promote strict  editorial integrity in each of our posts.

It’s finally spring, usually the “hottest” time of the year to buy a house. And — as our Top Agent Insights Q1 2020 report indicated — even with coronavirus conditions limiting the movement of a majority of Americans, 80% of polled agents found low mortgage interest rates were boosting buyer demand for real estate purchases.

What do you need to know about touring and buying a house without leaving your home? We collected feedback from agents who are helping buyers like you find their dream home, even in global pandemic conditions.

What is allowed and not allowed right now?

Short answer is: it depends on where you live. The New York Times put together this interactive map , which is updated daily with cities and states and their individual regulations.

In addition, each local or state government has decided whether to classify real estate activity as essential or non-essential independent of each other, so it might be helpful to check in with your local government to determine whether real estate agents are allowed to work or not.

Can you tour a house without leaving your home?

Absolutely! There are several ways in which you can tour a listing from the safety of your own home.

A pre-recorded virtual tour is a pre-packaged video that shows the home in a specific order from beginning to end. It can be set to music, or an agent can narrate the home’s most important selling features — but it won’t be tailored to your specific buying needs — so it will have information that is more general to the home.

To access a pre-recorded virtual tour, you will be clicking a link provided to you by the agent that will load on your web browser, or that will download to your computer or smartphone to be viewed locally. You can see an example of a pre-recorded virtual tour here .

With a pre-recorded virtual tour, you can:

• View a highly polished virtual tour of a home

With a pre-recorded virtual tour, you cannot:

• Ask the agent to get closer to an area, re-visit a room, or spend as long as you want in a specific area of the house
• View a room from different points of view
• Get a sense of the home’s location

A 3D interactive virtual tour is a series of 360-degree images taken with a special camera. Like the pre-recorded virtual tour, it means the home has been captured in the past and the video is being shared with you via a direct link.

Unlike a pre-recorded virtual tour, a 3D interactive tour allows you to interact with the images you see and navigate the home in the order you prefer, including revisiting rooms and — in some cases — viewing the rooms from different perspectives and points of view. You can see an example of a 3D interactive virtual tour here .

According to Tom Hall , who’s sold more than 65% more single-family homes than the average Oklahoma City agent, 3D virtual tour platforms have changed the way real estate agents do business and have improved the buying experience. He says, “Gary Vaynerchuck says you have to innovate or die, and I truly believe that staying at the forefront is what will continue to help my clients succeed.”

With a 3D interactive virtual tour, you can:

• Choose the way in which you tour the home
• Get closer to some spots inside a room, re-visit a room, or spend as long as you want in a specific area of the house
• View a room from different points of view — depending on the platform used
• View a floorplan or dollhouse model of the home — depending on the platform used

With a 3D interactive virtual tour, you cannot:

• Ask the agent questions and get answers in real-time

A live virtual tour consists of you meeting your agent virtually via an online meeting app like Google Hangouts , FaceTime , Facebook Messenger , GoToMeeting , or Skype . For Gina Candelario , a top agent in San Antonio for two decades, her tool of choice is Zoom .

Todd Ruckle , a top agent in Delaware, tells you to expect a live virtual tour to go pretty much the same way it would if you were there in person.

“We start at the front door, with a view or panoramic of the front of the house and the street in front of it, and then I walk the buyer through every room in the house, pointing out all the selling features,” he says. He also tries to use furniture or descriptions to explain the scale of the room, and he frequently carries a measuring tape to answer questions about the actual space available.

With a live virtual tour, you can:

• Ask questions and get answers in real-time
• Ask the agent to get closer to an area, re-visit a room or spend as long as you want in a specific area of the house

“Your agent is also your proxy,” Candelario says.

“We pay attention to things like smells, sounds, and we make sure to verify on-site that the house ticks the must-have items for our buyer.”

After a live virtual tour, it is a best practice to have a conversation with your agent to discuss your feedback on the listing and whether it is worth it to earmark this house for future visits, to discuss it further, or to explore making an offer.

A virtual open house is a live virtual tour where you — and a number of other buyers — have an opportunity to take an online guided tour of a listing. For virtual open houses, Hall prefers to set up a Facebook Watch Party , an online live event that other agents can share on their profiles or pages and with individual lists of friends and followers. The virtual open house concept allows Hall and his agents to feature a listing and answer live questions from the audience.

For a virtual open house, you will probably join a more open session in a platform like Zoom, Google Hangouts, Instagram, or Facebook Live.

With a virtual open house you can:

• Ask the agent to get closer to an area, re-visit a room, or spend as long as you want in a specific area of the house — but your viewing is not private, so the agent might not get to all your questions or requests

Tech tips for you to keep in mind

Stream the presentation to your tv or desktop.

Having the video or meeting on a larger screen really helps you get a feel for the space — better than a smartphone or tablet would.

Make sure you’re running the latest version of the software

Especially true for mobile apps that are frequently updated, the latest version ensures you’re seeing the best the application has to offer.

Connect to your network, not to your phone data provider

The connection is bound to be better, and you will experience better visual and audio quality as well as no lag or packet losses .

Pick an off-peak time for your call

With everyone working at home and competing for data bandwidth, your call will have better quality if you schedule it for off-peak times, such as mid- or late-afternoon instead of 9 a.m.

Beware Zoom bombing

Make sure you and your agent have secured your meeting with a password or a unique meeting URL — or have otherwise ensured no uninvited guests can drop in on your conversation.

Questions to ask

When touring a house without leaving your home, you should always ask your agent these questions or investigate the answers yourself:

• How old is the roof?
• How old are the appliances?
• What’s the maintenance record of the house like?
• Is the location convenient for my specific needs? Consider your lifestyle: is the house close to schools, walkable to shops and dining, close to a highway, in a high-traffic or noisy area?
• Are there any concerning signs that might not come across in the virtual tour? For example, cigarette smells, pet stains, water stains on walls or ceilings, and mold smells or stains.

If you find a house you love, should you make an offer sight unseen?

The answer depends on your agent, your market, and your specific motivations to make an offer. For some of Candelario’s clients, sight unseen is the only way to go. She describes Dallas as “a big military town, and in many instances my clients cannot wait to be relocated to start their home search. They will have one opportunity to visit a home — and sometimes that’s after the offer has already been accepted.”

For Ruckle’s clients, sight unseen is not the norm. “If a client finds a property that is an excellent fit during a virtual tour, we will go through the proper channels to arrange an in-person visit before they put an offer in.”

During pandemic times, this includes only the adult members of the family — maximum of two people — and the agent, as well as personal protective equipment such as gloves, face masks, booties, and copious amounts of hand sanitizer or disinfectant wipes.

“We ask that the sellers leave all the lights on and the interior doors open so we don’t have to touch anything,” Ruckle says.

If you do make an offer sight-unseen, make sure to:

• Ask the seller for a home warranty that covers most large appliances for a period of time after closing.
• Order additional home inspections . Some specialized examples include: chimney inspections, roof inspections, lead paint inspections, pest inspections, radon inspections, electrical inspections, asbestos inspections, mold inspections, water and plumbing inspections, sewer or septic inspections, foundation or structural inspections, as well as a soil analysis.
• Hire a trustworthy agent who has an excellent track record of satisfaction in their transactions.

Happy virtual touring!

Header Image Source: (Sergey Tarasov / Unsplash)

• buyer-covid

Astrid Storey

Contributing Author

How to Make Your Home Stand Out During a Virtual House Tour

Reading Time: 5 minutes

The real estate industry has been shifting to a digital landscape over the years, but no one expected the digital revolution to happen so quickly. In 2020, 63% of homebuyers across the US housing market made an offer on a house sight-unseen, thanks to virtual house tours. Even though it’s a seller’s market, it’s just as important to make your home shine on virtual house tours so you can sell your house for top dollar.

Virtual house tour options, such as 3D walkthroughs and video-chat tours , allow potential buyers to still interact with agents and explore every nook and cranny of your home, almost as if they were touring in-person. This means you can also attract homebuyers no matter where they reside. Maybe a potential buyer is currently living in Atlanta, GA and is looking to buy a home in Portland, OR – they can still virtually tour your home, no matter the distance. To stand out against the competition and draw in more buyers, here are 8 tips to make your home shine during a virtual house tour.

1. Enhance your space with the right lighting

Lighting is an essential component when it comes to creating an eye-catching and camera-ready atmosphere, and this is especially true during a virtual house tour. “Your home will look it’s best on camera if you film in the middle of the day. Keep your window shades open and bring in as much natural light as possible to help the room feel larger and look brighter” says Makayla Zurn, the Creative Production Manager at Redfin. “You can even try layering light by turning on lamps and accent lights to create a warm and cozy atmosphere. Just be sure to avoid artificial lighting that overpowers the space too much. “

Thinking of selling?

Whether you have faded and scuffed walls in the living room, or a bright orange accent wall in your kid’s room, take this opportunity to repaint the interior walls and opt for a camera-friendly shade. This is an easy and inexpensive fix that 68 percent of realtors recommend. “Lighter, neutral paint colors show best in video while darker colors tend to make spaces look smaller than they actually are,” says Zurn. “If you’re showcasing a room with darker paint it would be helpful to note the measurements of that particular space in the description.”

3. Clear your home of clutter

During a virtual house tour, potential homebuyers will try to imagine your home as their own. This can be difficult if you have areas in your home where things have slowly piled up over the years. But the piles of paper, boxes of toys, and mounds of clothes will surely leave the wrong impression on potential buyers. “Personal items can take a buyer’s attention away from what you really want them to focus on, the features of your home!” says Zurn, “So clear off your kitchen and bathroom countertops, make the beds, and tidy up.” Maybe you have a pile of paperwork in the kitchen, excessive cords in your home office, or perhaps a box filled with board games in the living room. Find permanent homes for items that are sitting out, or donate things you no longer need.

To create a more open and calming atmosphere, try removing an item or two before taking photos and filming. One trick is to clear off any surfaces and then add items back one-by-one until the desired look is achieved. However, decluttering can be an overwhelming task for one individual. Consider hiring a professional to help sort through your belongings.

4. Get your home looking spotless

Cleaning is one of the simplest ways to create an appealing interior. Potential homebuyers will be able to detect a clean home from a dirty one, even over a virtual house tour. Washing mirrors and windows, vacuuming hardwood floors, deep-cleaning carpets, and organizing your closets are just a few tasks that will make your home look more attractive.

The potential homebuyer may even ask the agent to describe what they’re experiencing on the property, including certain odors (pets, kids, food, and other conditions that can make your home smell) and the cleanliness of the home. So make every inch of your home shine, from floor to ceiling. If you don’t have the time to do the job right, hire a professional cleaning service.

5. Stage for a picture-perfect home

Staging is now more important than ever. In fact, according to a recent survey , 83% of buyers’ agents agreed that a staged home helped their buyer picture themselves living there. Presenting a well-maintained home and giving a positive first impression is important when selling your house, so consider hiring a professional home stager to attract more buyers and even increase your sale price.

Begin staging rooms that could influence the buyer’s decision, including the entryway, living room, main bathroom, primary bedroom, and kitchen. Remove or rearrange furniture to make the space appear larger, add an indoor garden to bring in natural elements, and arrange decor in odd numbers to achieve balance. To help potential buyers picture themselves calling your house home, remove any family photos, knickknacks, or keepsakes.

6. Have professional photos taken 

Listing photos will be the first thing a potential homebuyer sees of your home and may determine whether they request a virtual house tour. Poorly-lit pictures captured on an iPhone won’t bring in potential buyers, so make your home stand out from the competition with professional photos.

Real estate photographers know the correct lighting, angles, and minor details that give a much better depiction of the home, capture it’s selling points, and attract the attention of potential homebuyers. In fact, research shows that professional photos can help sell your house faster and for more money . If you want to showcase your entire property, capture a bit of the neighborhood, or highlight the breathtaking view, consider having aerial photos taken to offer a unique angle of your home.

7. Highlight your home’s best features

What characteristics of your home attracted you to it in the first place? Was it the new kitchen appliances, extensive breakfast bar, large outdoor space, or simply the open floor plan? Whatever it may be, it’s likely that your favorite features of the home will be what attracts potential homebuyers as well. Be sure to give special attention to these features in photos and during a virtual house tour.

8. Spruce up the exterior

Enhancing your curb appeal is just as important as sprucing up the interior of your home. A well-maintained landscape, lawn, and porch can make a great impression on potential homebuyers and can add perceived value to your home. Remove any dead debris, mow your lawn, and trim the plants or shrubs lining your property. Consider re-staining your front porch, pressure washing the siding of your home, and adding flowerpots to enhance the entryway. And if you have any outdoor furniture, be sure to stage it as you would with your furniture inside.

3D Virtual house tours are now more important than ever. Be sure to take time and prepare your home for showing just as you would for an in-person tour, and show your home in the best light. Additionally, make sure you know when the best time to sell your home is so you can attract the most buyers. 

Julia is a part of the content marketing team and enjoys writing about real estate and design trends. Her dream home be a charming beachside home with lots of light.

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House Showing: The Do’s And Don’ts Of House Showings When Your Home Is For Sale

So you’ve got your home listed for sale. Now, it is time to show off your beautiful home and all that prep work you did. Let’s tell you what you can expect and how to get your house ready for a showing.

Table of Contents

What is a house showing, home showing process, things to do when showing your home for sale, things not to do when showing your home for sale, other frequently asked questions about showing a house for sale.

A house showing is when prospective buyers tour your home. Pictures and video tours only do so much. Most serious buyers are going to want to tour your home. Buyers will be accompanied by their real estate agent.

What Is An Open House?

An open house is an opportunity for anyone in the community to come to view a home for sale.  Potential homebuyers, or even people who are just being a bit nosy, do not need to make an appointment to view the home.  Instead, a real estate agent will be at the property the day and time of the open house to greet visitors and give them the opportunity to view the home.

A house showing is different from an open house in that it is an appointment set by one particular prospective buyer. The buyer reaches out to their agent and requests a private showing. An open house is when your real estate agent hosts an opportunity for anyone to walk through the home without making an appointment. So, which is better?

Both are great. An open house lets lots of people come to the home at once. It also is a lesser commitment for buyers; it gives buyers a way to just put their toe in the pool. But, due to this, people coming to an open house may not be as serious or may be early in their home purchase process. On the other hand, private showings are much stronger. These buyers have usually been vetted by their agent and are more ready to take action.

What Is A Lockbox House Showing?

A lockbox house showing is a showing for one specific buyer on the appointment day and time so a prospective homebuyer can tour a home for sale.  In order to see a home with a lockbox, buyers will need to schedule an appointment to view the home with a real estate agent or the listing agent.

A gated, or lockbox house showing is preferred if you want to be the only party viewing the property at a given time.  Most home showings are done this way.

A prospective buyer will request a private showing with his or her agent. The buyer’s agent will reach out to the seller’s agent to get approval. Once the approval is received, the appointment is set.  This will alert you to start getting your house ready for showing.

The buyer will meet his or her agent at the property. Buyers without a real estate agent may contact the listing agent.  In this instance, the listing agent will show the house.

Buyers will look through the home and oftentimes have questions. Buyers will look at things and touch some things, but they should not be too intrusive. Yes, a prospective buyer will open closets to see their size. But a buyer should not be opening every kitchen drawer or the washer and dryer or going through personal property such as dressers.

Once the showing is complete, the buyer’s agent should provide feedback. This feedback is the most valuable information to a home seller . This feedback will give the seller an idea of what to improve to get the home sold.

Here are the top tips you can use as a house showing checklist to ensure prospective homebuyers have a great experience when touring your home for sale.  Let’s talk about the do’s and don’ts when showing your house.  I’ll start with what to do when showing your house for sale.

Stage Your Home

One of the things to do before showing a house is to stage it.  Staging your home will improve homebuyers’ experience when showing your home for sale.  Your home should be staged so that all of the rooms and spaces illustrate their best or most likely use.  Additionally, including trendy accent elements go a long way in improving the overall aesthetic sentiment of your home.  Stage your home to excite buyers.  You can do this by making your home appear open, inviting, and engaging.

Things To Put Away

When preparing your house for showing make sure to protect your privacy and secure valuables. Anything of meaningful financial value or sentimental value, lock it up or get it out of the house. Real estate agents are trained to watch for bad behavior. Also, accidents do happen. Additionally, we understand some people keep firearms or other weapons in their homes. Have these locked up or removed from the home.

Cleanliness Goes A Long Way

Another things to do when showing your house is to clean it.  Clean homes sell.  Dirty homes do not.  Make sure to follow this checklist before an open house or home showing so your visitors have a great experience.

• The trash has been taken out
• No dirty laundry laying about
• No dirty dishes in the sink
• Put away pet toys
• Clean cat litter boxes so they are fresh
• Make the beds
• Toilet seats and lids down, always!
• Give your bathrooms a good once over
• Vacuum and sweep up
• Do a quick trip around the yard and tidy up anything out of place

Lights On & Keep It Comfortable

I understand wanting to minimize energy use.  But, you would be wise to make an exception when you are selling your home.  Follow these tips to keep your house for sale lit, bright, and comfortable during home showings and open houses.

• Open all of the shades and curtains
• Turn on all of the lights in each room
• In the summer, turn on the air conditioning to keep it cool, but not cold
• In the winter, turn up the heat to keep it warm, but not hot
• Make sure to turn on outdoor lighting, too

Get them out. If you can’t, put them out or locked up so they do not interact with the prospective buyers. Also, make sure your real estate agent has informed the showing agent there are pets in the home. Put away their toys, treats, and bowls. Also, if you have a litter box, clean it out. Or, even consider removing it from the home during the showing.

Practice Your Home Tour Routine

This one is more important if you are selling your as a for sale by owner.  I understand with no real estate agent involved you will be taking prospective homebuyers on a tour.  Decide where you want to start, where you want to finish, and what features you want to point out.  Practice your routine and presentation.

There are a few pointers that I would like to give you, too.  First, start with the inside of the home.  Most people want to view the inside first.  Secondly, take it floor by floor.  Third, get them to the kitchen quickly.  Lastly, if your bedrooms are larger than a typical home point out this fact.  Larger bedroom sizes are attractive to a lot of buyers.

Let Them Take Their Time

Showings usually last about 15 to 45 minutes depending on the size of the home. If you drive by and they are still there, just leave. Countless times my buyers have overstayed their showing appointment time. But, you want to know why? Because they loved the house. Many times I have started writing an offer at the kitchen table of the home we are standing in. If the buyers are taking a little longer, let them go. Give them a little break because they could be falling in love with your home.

Do you have to leave when you are showing your home? No, it is your home. However, I have shown homes with the owners present. It’s terrible. The buyers are in and out. They quickly forget about the house and just disregard it. They feel like they did not get a fair shot. Also, this is equally true about sitting in your car at the end of the driveway. Don’t do it. This hurries the buyer and puts you in their mind. Don’t do that. You want a buyer to be thinking about buying your house and not why you are at the end of the driveway.

Pay Attention To Curb Appeal

You may be surprised to know a good amount of homebuyers will drive past your home before their scheduled showing.  If your home looks unkept from the street buyers could cancel their showing request or even decide not to ask to see the home.  Also, your home’s curb appeal is the first impression a home buyer has upon seeing your house for sale.  Keep it looking sharp.  Following these tips will increase your curb appeal and make your home ready for a house showing or open house.

• Mow the grass.  If the clippings are heavy bag those up.
• Rake up large amounts of leaves
• Weed out flower beds and landscaped areas
• Trim bushes
• Throw in some flowers even if they are in containers to give your home some added vibrancy

Prepare To Answer Questions About Your Home

If you are selling your home by owner and taking buyers on a tour you need to be prepared to answer questions about your home.  This should not be an issue for someone who has owned the home for a meaningful amount of time.

I encourage you to answer the questions you are asked about the home.  Of course, always be honest with your answers.  If the buyer asks a question you do not know the answer tell them the buyer so.  Maybe you have never had to address the issue in question; therefore, you do not have an answer.  Alternatively, if you do not know the answer just say so, and you should let the buyer know you will follow up with him or her.

There are definitely some things you want to avoid doing when showing your home for sale.  Follow these tips to keep things from turning off the buyers or from getting awkward.

Don’t bake cookies. Don’t overdo it with candles, air fresheners, or anything like that. Do you want to know what a home should smell like? Nothing. It should smell like nothing at all.

Leaving Out Food & Drinks

Don’t leave food or drinks out for your guests. It is a distraction. You want the prospective buyers focused on one thing. Buying your home. Keep them focused.

Stay To Talk The Buyers Into The House

I covered leaving in the Things To Do section, but it is worth repeating. Leave the home. As a real estate agent, I can tell you you can’t talk people into buying a particular house. Homeowners rarely improve their situation by trying to talk up their homes. Leave it to the real estate agents to do what we do.

Skimp On Heating Or Cooling

Making your guests comfortable includes the temperature. If your home is too hot or too cold the buyers will not be able to concentrate and take their time while viewing the home.  Instead, they will be distracted by their discomfort.  Don’t cheap out on the heating and cooling.  Remember, it is the home you are selling so make the home comfortable and a place where they would want to be.

How can I get showings for my house?

How long should a house showing take, do you have to leave your house during a showing, do homeowners stay for open houses, what day of the week do most house showings occur, what to do with pets when showing a house, what are signs a house showing went well, how many showings on average to sell a house.

I hope you have learned a little more about what you can expect when selling your home and the showing process. If you are located in Northwest Indiana and thinking about selling your home feel free to contact us . We offer the lowest rates in the area. We manage all stages of the home selling process including showings. Get started by completing the Quadwalls Interactive Home Valuation Experience.

Chuck Vander Stelt is the operating manager of Quadwalls.com, an award winning real estate agent based in Northwest Indiana, and a member of the National Association of REALTORS®. Chuck is a consistent contributor to the Quadwalls.com blog. Read Full BIO

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Tour My House: Learn the 6 Best Ways to Transition Colour

A lot of people think that the right way to create flow and transition colours from room to room with paint colours is to take a single strip of colours from the paint store and select a range of shades from light to dark.

When you do that, though, your house will basically end up painted lighter and darker versions of the same colour everywhere.

Also, who has a house (unless it’s brand new) where out of the nine neutral undertones available , one of them will work for every single room? What if you have pink beige carpet in the halls and bedrooms, blue grey tile in the entry, a green grey stone fireplace in the living room, and gold beige countertops in the kitchen?

Now what do you do?

The chances of this method of choosing paint colours coming out beautiful is very slim, indeed.

Here’s the best way to get it right:

CA-037 Rice Paper by Cloverdale Paint (Photo by Maria Killam)

1. Flow starts in the living room.

When I work with a client on creating a new colour palette for their home, we always start here. This is the room that influences the entire house.

So if you are spinning and have no idea which colours to paint your walls—or worse, have nine samples up and are waiting for one to step out and say,  “Pick me, pick me!” —well, the chances of this happening without at least a basic decorating plan for your living room will be even slimmer.

Paint colours should be chosen last (in a perfect world). There isn’t a single colour I chose for my house without first knowing which fabrics or furniture were going in the room.

2. Don’t choose all your colours at once.

What if you really don’t know, or don’t have time to choose furniture or artwork?

Then don’t stress about choosing five colours. Start with one. And when you slowly start to make choices, you can repaint your dining room or powder room once you know what the accent colours will be.

My powder room (which is right past the laundry room, photo below) is painted a raspberry shade that ties in with the raspberry accent colour in my living room.

The main rooms of my house (living room, family room, and kitchen) are painted a colour that I consider to be greige. All the paint colours in my house are from  Cloverdale paint  because they generously sponsored all the paint when we renovated this house over three years ago.

A lot of my clients are simply looking for the perfect white or greige when repainting or choosing colours for a new build. I list a few perfect Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams options that can be found in my White is Complicated: A Decorator’s Guide to Choosing the Right White  e-book, which  you can download here.

The days of painting each room a different colour are OVER.

Because we are decorating with much cleaner colours in the colour trend than we did during the Tuscan Brown trend, we need a neutral on the walls that will not look dirty with all these fresh colours and a colourful sofa in the living room.

Entry (Cloverdale 7928)

3. If the colours in your living room are fresh, the rest of your house should be, too!

As you’ll see when you read this post, the palette throughout my house is not just raspberry, green, and sunflower yellow. Creating flow is not about simply repeating the same colours from your living room over and over. It’s about making sure all your colours are either clean or dirty.

The biggest mistake most people make (including design professionals) is combining clean and dirty colours. We will be talking about this throughout our in-class exercises coming up in San Francisco next week, and Houston next month!

I chose a softer yellow than my sofa through my entry and hallway because this colour is too intense to have in a main living area, but it’s fabulous through a hall you’re only walking through.

Now, obviously, it would be smart to continue your main neutral down your hallways if you have carpet. A bright colour with a more muted, earthy shade of carpeting will not be fabulous.

Cabinets | Artisan White by Cloverdale Paint

The same green found in my living room is the only accent in my white kitchen.

 Rice Paper, Cloverdale CA-037

Laundry Room (Cloverdale 7928)

4. If you have already chosen a few colours, repeat them.

I repeated the yellow from the hallway here in my laundry room. You can see my raspberry powder room colour here. It still needs to be renovated, so it’s not part of the tour.

View from the family room into the kitchen

The raspberry accent colour in my house was inspired by this piece of art found at a big box store and custom framed. I love this piece of art. She looks sweet and kind, something I aspire to be daily. : )

The colours in my family room are orange and yellow, with a small hit of navy. Truthfully, I had these navy pillows kicking around, so one day, I installed them in here. I am a total pillow tramp, as many of you know.

These striped ginger jars I ordered in the summer from One Kings Lane .

I found that column in the corner from an antique store and chalk painted it. The end table came from the Pottery Barn.

Kelly Green front door | Cloverdale 7669

5. What colour is in your entry or adjoining rooms? That could be your front door colour.

I love my green front door. When it’s open, the colour relates to my living room. And as you can see, I’m breaking the clean and dirty rule with my carpet here. I have found that so many greens look good together this is when you can break the rules.

Transitioning paint colour | BM Pale Sea Mist (Guest Room) 124 Orange Appeal (office),

6. Paint your bedrooms a colour. These smaller spaces can handle a brighter shade

There’s no greige, only colour at this end of the house. It’s just happiness here.

Our guest room is green (it’s not finished yet either) and Terreeia’s office is sorbet orange. You can see through the doorway that the green chair and ottoman repeats the green from the room right beside it, and the orange and yellow artwork in the bedroom repeats both colours, too.

I specifically created the vignette on the dresser facing the hallway in the guest room because this door is never closed, and I love looking at it when I walk in and out of the master bedroom.

Here’s a peak at Terreeia’s office. It still needs drapery. My studio office is behind the house here if you haven’t seen it . This post also includes my garden.

Terreeia’s view from her desk is through the hall and into our turquoise master bedroom.

SW Rainwashed

Turquoise and yellow. This is really where turquoise is introduced. It’s nowhere else in the house, but the colours still flow.

I had an old black-and-gold striped ottoman that I slipcovered to go in this room’s sitting area. The sofa and loveseat are from Martha Stewart Furniture.

I simply adore these custom-made, off-white drapes. See how the horizontal stripes are uneven? It creates a ballgown effect. The end table is from HomeSense.

Some of you know how obsessed I am with a cute face . I recently picked up these gossiping parrots at HomeSense. ; ) ; )

I did not schlep this vessel home from Tuscany this past summer; it’s from a gift shop in Fairhaven.

I love the soft and sweet look of maiden hair ferns. I simply replace them when they dry out if I forget to water them in time. If that’s monthly, so be it.

And finally, I repeated the turquoise shade of the bedroom in our dated main bathroom right beside it. What will the colour be when it gets renovated? Only time will tell.

The only room you haven’t seen is our master bathroom ensuite. I also painted it the same turquoise shade, but when it gets renovated, I will paint it a coordinating colour from the master. I like looking into a different room and seeing a different colour.

When people walk through my house, they’ll say “It feels so fresh!” And that’s because it flows and all the colours are clean instead of more muted and dirty. It’s NOT because I’ve decorated the entire house with colours strictly found in the living room.

The same feeling of flow can be created with any colour scheme, even if you prefer earthier colours. Just because the colour/fresh trend is here doesn’t mean everyone loves it or can realistically re-decorate.

Once you’ve chosen your paint colours, arrange them in front of you and compare, compare, compare to make sure one doesn’t jump out more than the others. That usually means it’s a cleaner colour than the rest.

I’ve noticed clean colours are EVERYWHERE finally. It’s only taken 5 years for that to happen but even sofas are colourful which I think is fabulous!

Are you into the colour trend or do you prefer earthier colours?

Related posts:

Grey is Out! (Maybe) The Colour Trend is Here! 

Are you Waiting for your Paint Colour to Propose?

How NOT to Choose Paint Colours (But Everybody Does It)

If you would like to transform the way you see colour, become a  True Colour Expert.

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13 easy styling ideas (you can use right now), 67 comments.

Wait, I’m confused.

You said this: “The days of painting each room a different colour are OVER.”

But also this: “I like looking into a different room and seeing a different colour.”

Thanks clarifying!

*for clarifying.

Great question, I’m referring to the main rooms of the house and in this case mine are the kitchen, living and family room. Most people aren’t going to paint their hallway a ‘colour’, mine is an exception because I’m a colour expert 🙂 I love specifying colours for bedrooms, laundry rooms, powder rooms and dining rooms. Maria

Hi Maria, We are building a new home. I made my choice of off-white cabinets, medium brown floor. Countertop, not sure. Looking at Giallo Ornamental granite but it blends in with floor. Any suggestions? Also, what are your thoughts on gray cabinets-looking at them 5 years from now you could say “installed in 2015”? Thanks for your thoughts!

I’m not sure. I know I can’t live with brights. I wear only black, charcoal, navy and white an my house is basically the same way except it includes a lot of soft, muddy red and some leaf green. My walls are a soft grey and I don’t think they’re a dirty color but what do I know? They look great with my red couches but when I look at my couches I’d call the color “dirty”. I just repainted my husband’s south and west facing office and I’m pretty sure the color is “dirty” and my do I dislike it even though it’s a beautiful color and very light, almost white it seems to suck the vibrancy out of the room.

Obviously I need to take your class!!

By the way, I LOVE your bedroom curtains!!

Thanks Maria. Great to gave a sound bite in one’s head. I choose dirty so good to know that I mustn’t be tempted to try and mix with fresh until I have taken your course and learn how, or if, it’s possible!

Sorry ‘learned’

I love earthier neutrals and grays. I really love the grays. I gravitate to them like a moth to a flame lol. I have updated my rooms with new paint and accessories. I also love the geometric shapes and patterns that are everywhere! Love. I learned that I can add color here and there as needed or simply keep it soft. Your undertone ebook was and still is so very helpful to me. Thank you. Your home reminds me of a palette of sorbet–(if there is such a thing lol) very pretty and refreshing. All of us have to be true to ourselves. Again, thanks for your help and ongoing instruction.

Maria, Thanks for the tour of your home it is SO beautiful…and so colorful!! Just right for you! I’m a “dirty” girl (one of the MANY things I learned from you 🙂 ) but I don’t like the brown earth tones, I like the gray-greens and other muted tones of the current colors (blue and green).

What if your guest room, hall, and office had wall to wall carpet. How would you select a carpet color to go with these three areas which have three different colors?

Hi Barb, Carpet is hard, most people are not going to go with white or cream so then you end up in the world of beige or grey. I would stick to green undertones because they usually are the most versatile. In kids bedrooms, the bedding is the star so that’s when I just ignore the carpet. Hope this helps, great question! Maria

Maria, I’m also confused like Jo. In the last few years, I have found that more and more clients prefer less colour change, with the exception of children’s bedrooms. In a small bungalow, I’m a fan of keeping the flow by using one paint colour through the main living areas. I also have to comment on one other item in your post. Although I’m on the East Coast, this is obviously a West Coast phenomenon as well. While there are many unique and local decor shops, too many designers shop at Home Sense or Home Goods (USA)?! My clients want me to find accessories that their neighbours can’t pick up at Home Sense. We owe it to our own fabulous creativity and to our clients to avoid the big box stores.

Hi Jules, Since the main living areas are neutral in my house (other than the hall which is an exception for sure) I’m not sure what else to say to clear up your confusion. I specify one neutral for my clients every day, however if your house is more dated and you do have different bossy undertones in the main areas of your house, then you might not be able to use just one colour. That’s when you have to diagnose the undertones in each room to choose the best colour and then work from there to make sure they flow. And sometimes you have to ignore the flow in order to get the dated space looking the best you possibly can, which trumps perfect flow in my opinion.

I would LOVE to have an alternative to HomeSense but here in Vancouver anyway, there are very little options, if I have a lot of accessories to buy for a client I might hit 2 or 3 of them in a day. As a stylist, the reason HomeSense works well is because they have a LOT OF PRODUCT. In a short time (and I am being paid to do this after all) I can have bathroom decor (for example) picked out with 3 different colour schemes to choose from. That’s much harder to do and takes much longer if you have to go from store to store.

That’s my take anyway. Thanks for your comment. Maria

Truthfully, Home Goods gets shipments in twice a week with different products, if you don’t buy something when you see it, I guarantee it will be gone when you go back- so I don’t really think you have to worry about your neighbors having the same items!

I shop frequently in Home Sense namely for accessories and like Maria and Kathi find; the turnover in stock changes from week to week. That said, it is one reason why when I do see something I’ve been looking for I snap it up knowing I can always return it if doesn’t suit the space. Another hint when shopping there, if you do see something, toss it in your basket as you browse since items can disappear quite quickly off the shelf. “Now you see it, now you don’t’… ☺ -Brenda- P.S.: I missed out on a piece of artwork and a vanity bench within a matter of minutes … LOL … and to date neither one has been restocked nor could I find them in any of their other five stores located in my city. -Brenda-

hi maria..love your color flow…my question is do you take the same principles with ‘dirty’ (i don’t like that term, i prefer “muted” or earthy) colors? i have a desert SW home, and while i love the ‘clean’ color ) look, i just can’t imagine in our desert home (especially the primary color brights, which i can totally see in overcast and rainy vancouver!)

…i started using navy, light blues on walls, white baseboard moulding etc, but we have neutral ‘dirty gray’ sectional, plus we have a LOT of wood tone furniture that was custom many years ago and we love it…

Yes, same principles apply, just keep all your colours more muted and they will transition nicely.

Your home is colourful, but it’s such a happy, sunny look Maria. I love the corner where you see the guest bedroom, Terreeia’s office and the yellow hall walls. I am interested in how you integrated furniture from your last home. The green chair in Terreeia’s office which was mistakenly covered in the green. Perfectly placed. I prefer fresh colours like the ones you use. I can’t imagine living in a neutral home. It is so refreshing to see colour, and thanks for the explanations you shared. I admire your talent.

Your home is beautiful Maria!! Thanks for sharing! I love all colors—clean and dirty—they all sing in the right place and at the right time. Because of this, I can be my own worst client 😉

Beautiful. Love the happy clean colours. Maria. What color is your family room and kitchen painted? Is it rice paper? Thanks.

Yes it’s the same colour.

Maria, Is there an equivalent color in BM or SW for rice paper?

Yes it’s very similar to SW Shoji White.

I’m guessing the master bath will be a soft shade of yellow.

Maria, do you ever suggest painting ceilings anything but white?

Yes, and if you look again, you’ll notice that the ceiling in my living room is blue. But because the sky is blue, it feels natural and is easy to miss.

In the Tuscan Brown trend we painted ceilings more often because a white ceiling looked wrong among all the earth tones, creams and beige’s, now they work white because we’re using so much white in our decorating. But in the right room a painted ceiling is fabulous!

Thanks for your comment! Maria

Thanx, Maria. I did not pick up on that. BTW love the parrot cushion!

Great post! Lovely colours! Happy! Happy!

Hi Maria, what fun to see your home loved it. We moved into a newly built home 15 years ago and I knew at that time I needed to have a decorator ,which is cheaper than living with your many mistakes. I chose clean happy colors with the entry being the same yellow as you have, also reds and greens. You do a great service to help people. Thank You

Maria, I love everything about your home. The colours are so cheerful. You have picked wonderful, happy prints. Your house is beautifully decorated with just the right amount of decor. Thank you for sharing it with us. I agree that the main living areas should be one and the same colour and prefer a neutral. I must check out ” rice paper”. My bedroom fabrics are cream and flax. I assume they are ” dirty” colours. Do you think it would work?

In the family room, what color is the rug? It looks like a beige. And the curtains look like a beige and cream stripe. So that’s dirty, no? And the chair is a cognac color, not really an orange, so I would call it an earth tone. I’m not saying this room doesn’t work, but I’m thinking it’s an example of how you CAN mix clean and dirty if the colors are not too bright or cold. For example, the yellow in the room is a canary yellow, not a cold lemon yellow, so it works with the warm, rather earthy chair and the beiges. Am I missing something?

Great question, the rug and drapery are a green beige that are pale enough to go with bright colours and cognac many times is as neutral as denim but looks particularly good with orange and hot pink. All those cognac bags we wear with everything? Like that.

My best advice for students in my colour course is that you can mix clean and dirty colours but you just won’t be doing it in our classroom. This way you’ll learn how to get them right.

Sometimes a magical rug or fabric that incorporates both the dirty colour/s you still have to work with in a space more dated and one that’s more clean and fresh and when that happens, then you can have it all!

Maria, Great post! You make us all think through our decision whether it be clean vs dirty or bright & happy . It also let’s us know you can break the rules once in a while.

Thanks for all of your info! Your house reflects happiness.

Enjoyed the tour! I had to scroll through the pictures again, so pleasing to the eye! Beautiful spaces. Thank you!

Hi Maria & Terreeia, As usual an excellent post!!! Loved the home tour…particularly the fabulous kitchen and the Happy… Cranberry Colored Drapes in the Cheery living-room. I’m smiling from the eye-candy!! Guess what….flood in the bathroom…..renovation time!!!! Creamy whites…here we come!!!!

Thanks for this tour Maria! I almost feel like I got a vicarious trip to your home. 🙂 Actually that’s exactly what happened. It sparkles–like YOU!

Thank you for sharing your home with us, Maria. The best part is that you love it so much.

I think the biggest problem people have is when you have two rooms that join (but are not necessarily “open”) and the current furnishings are clean and dirty. So in my living room, the first room you see when you walk into the house, it’s all clean. Actually, you helped me pick the wall color a couple of years ago when I renovated my kitchen as this room is open to the kitchen. But the TV/family room has a big, bossy, dirty, brownish-mossy green couch from our previous home. It’s difficult to find the marriage between the two, especially since we don’t plan on replacing the couch until the kids are out of the house (and the 85 pound white dog has moved on the the afterlife).

Ahh… I feel like I just took a great yoga class. Your home is so graceful and relaxing. I love the fruity colors you chose, especially the lemon yellow, apple green, tangerine and raspberry. Your laundry room put a big smile on my face.

May I ask what you arranged on the shelves in your living room?

Painting my powder room rainwashed. In your bath it looks different than the master suite. Must be lighting . It’s a lovely color.

I have a neutral, BM Coastal Fog in my common living areas because it goes with my kitchen cabinets and counter. I like neutral with pops of color. My favorite neutral is linen, which I feel is like a good pair of jeans- goes with everything!

Maria, your house is lovely and cheerful, just like you! 🙂

Hi Maria, your house looks absolutely beautiful. One question, I thought its best to keep the number of colors in the house to a maximum of 5. In your house, I can see green, yellow, orange, navy blue, turquoise, white(that also counts as a color right) and raspberry pink. But it still all works wonderfully together. How to apply that rule ? Using more than 5 colors wud make the look bohemian ? May be all colors in one room would make it look bohemian ? Would appreciate if you can shed some light on this topic.. Thanks 🙂

Yes that rule generally applies to an individual room. Great question, thanks for your comment. And given what I do, my house has to be the poster child for COLOURFUL! Maria

Maria: I LOVE your house! I keep trying to get my house to be more ‘fresh’! But based on your comments and suggestions when we have consulted online I am getting the impression that I really can’t change to fresh. I think this is really hard stuff to get right and I admire your talent and skill so much! Best, Norma

Hi Norma, Your colour scheme is totally fresh. It’s just a different kind of fresh, fresh doesn’t just mean clean, bright colour! 🙂 Maria

Have you considered dark frames for all of the hallway art? You have white frames on one wall and dark on another. The white frames on yellow look dated to me, perhaps unifying frame colors would make the look more cohesive and contemporary? PS the ginger jars really elevate the family room look- very nice.

I’m sure it would but those frames came from my last house so I’m not that committed to changing them at this point for such a small detail 🙂 Thanks for your comment! Maria

The white frames, to me, look light, clean, and fresh. The parrots pillow is adorable too, and I love your happy colors throughout the home!

I love the white frames with your color palette! It keeps things looking fresh and bright in my opinion. I adore color and it’s wonderful to see a website that has so many ways to use it and look elegant and dramatic. The gray has been so overused (entire houses), especially with the dusty rose and white. They started out pretty though. Thank you for the inspiration!

Thank you so much. This was so incredibly helpful. I’ve been stuck for months, and I just got unstuck.

I love fun colors, & always have! It’s nice to see people starting to open up to them a bit more. It’s always been my mission to help people overcome their fear of color. Color is happiness!

This is a great, informative post. I am one of those people who has 8 gray colors on the wall trying to find the best shade. It’s an open floor plan with kitchen, dining room and living room all visible simultaneously. The floors are an espresso hardwood, and our sofa is a true red. I think we are finally are going with Collonade Gray by Sherwin Williams. Going off the Traditional Twist collection, we decided to use Burlap by Sherwin Williams for the accent wall, which is where the fireplace is and the focal point of the room. We also thought about painting the “mantle”, if I can call it that, Foothills by SW. In your opinion, do these colors go together? Is there a yellow that could go with this in our loft and hallway upstairs? These are visible from downstairs. I’m considering Butter Up by SW. Thank you!

What do you do when fixed kitchen cabinets and all doors of a house are whitewashed (with a red/pink undertone)? Red would be warm, but it is so light, like white? And the counter top is black…white back splash doesn’t seem right and the earthy tone disappears? I have never heard anyone address white wash… Thank you for any thoughts on this.

Hi Stacy, You can still use all the grays with those cabinets for walls. When it wouldn’t work is if you started looking at colours that were too close to what you have now but that’s probably not what you want. If you need me to help you chose the right colour, go here to purchase a single colour consultation: https://mariakillam.com/shop-landing-page/#interior-solutions Hope that helps, Maria

Maria! Thank you for such a prompt response! Just after I wrote the question, I purchased your ebook, How to Choose Paint Colours. I am excited to see what you have to say, today (hopefully). If I still can’t figure it all out, I will use your “link!” ; ) Thank you so much for all of your work, it is so fun to riffle through it all…inspiring!

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I finally understand clean vs dirty. My home colors are dirty, still in the Tuscan color scheme, problem is, I still love my colors after 20 yrs. I love all the information you share.

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I’m closing on a home at the end of the month and there’s so much I want to do! I found your blog through Google images (looking at yellow living rooms) and am so inspired! I’ve got your site bookmarked now. Really love the tour of your home!

I’m so glad I found your blog while looking for colour ideas for our home. Your house has the kind of freshness and cheer that I’d like for ours. Yes, indeed; how to be happy walking in the front door is important, and being happy waking up to a colourful, organized home is important to starting your day off well. I’ve bought 2 of your ebooks and a set of the neutrals and whites colour boards so far. One step at a time. The other half and I (he who only likes blue and we’ve had an entirely blue 5 bedroom house to prove it) need help to prevent another 3 year long discussion on what colours to paint things. The discussion was a what to paint trim on the red/brown brick house with red roof, pale yellow vinyl siding and brown trim; we choose a light buff yellow for everything but the dull orange front door which frightened the neighbours before they decided they liked it. The inside of the house was lovely, to make up for the ill-gotten exterior. I don’t want another very long discussion, hence your colour lessons. Could you sometime have a word about what happens when husband and wife fundamentally disagree on colour, especially if one of them is colour blind? We’re redecorating a 4 level sidesplit, but neither of us has ever lived in a mid century house or one with so few doors, so life is about to get interesting again. With your help, I know we can do this.

• Pingback: Why You Need a Whole House Color Palette (and How to Get One) - Paintzen

In your main bathroom the one that the guest uses Terreeia’s, in the blue bathroom, the gray and white ottoman who is that by and where can it be purchase.

I know this is an old post but I love the examples and your explanation of the concepts I’m designing a modern home, sort of mid-century, and been thinking along these lines as well. I am an artist, I love color and have tons of colorful art, and I want to prevent the modern home from looking too stark. I’m thinking Ivory or Cream in the great room space (along with light woods), with colored walls in the pantry, mudroom, bathrooms and bedrooms. I may even paint some of the doors bright colors. When asked where the powder room is, I love the idea of saying “behind the orange door.”

I love your house colors! I know this is an older post but I’m in the process of trying to change my kitchen/dining area paint colors. My issue is that you can “see through” to the living room, which is the about the same shade yellow as your laundry room with an accent wall of a darker farm red. I’m also working on painting my cabinets to white and need to something that will also work with that. My dining room has a white chair rail with a sage green on the bottom and a very light yellow on the top. I currently use teal as an accent color. Any suggestions?

Hello Maria,

It’s certainly been a journey through design trends the last seven years since you wrote this! Your advice is often timeless, but what about this case? Would you still say that painting the main rooms of the house different colors is not recommended? Of course I’m referring to homes with a classic layout where you can see the walls of another room from inside the others, but there’s still a clear ‘doorway’ or transition that provides an easy way to paint them different colors rather than an open floor plan. I feel like maybe actual colors on the walls of living rooms and kitchens are coming back in style, so I’m interested in your thoughts on how you might update this article for 2023? Thanks!

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Maria Killam is an acclaimed decorator, stylist, and a leading authority on colour. Known for her revolutionary Killam Colour System™ and her innovative Understanding Undertones® Neutral Colour Wheel, she's also an educator, sharing her expertise and insights on all things colour along with her timeless design aesthetic. Colour Made Easy™

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Business Insider

10 easy design tips that will make your house more attractive to buyers, according to a home stager

Posted: March 15, 2024 | Last updated: March 16, 2024

• Home staging has become crucial in selling homes quickly and above the asking price.
• Meridith Baer started her business after a friend's home that she staged sold for $500k over asking.
• Baer shared her biggest tips for successfully staging a house in order to sell it quickly .

Home staging has become a key part of selling a home quickly and for above the asking price.

If you're trying to sell your house, you'll want to make it as appealing as possible to the widest variety of people, and home staging is a great place to start.

Business Insider spoke with Meridith Baer , the owner of Los Angeles-based luxury home-staging company Meridith Baer Home.

Baer said she got her start over 25 years ago after she was told, out of the blue, that she would have to vacate her apartment.

Having nowhere to live or store her furniture and plants, she asked a friend who was trying to sell a "spec house" if she could move her belongings there. She argued it would allow buyers to envision what it would be like to live in the space.

"That particular home sold in a couple of days for half a million over asking, and then my phone started ringing," Baer said.

What began as a passion project soon flourished into a thriving business. Baer's company now home-stages about 2,000 houses yearly, holds offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, the Hamptons, and Miami, and employs 350 staffers.

In 2019, a representative for Meridith Baer Home told Forbes the company "could be evaluated at $100 million."

Baer told Business Insider that the priciest home she's staged recently was a $200 million property in Florida. However, she also clarified that home staging can benefit any property seller, no matter how big or small the asking price might be.

HomeAdvisor reported that sellers typically pay between $787 and $2,837 for professional home staging, but the cost can be much higher depending on furniture rentals and the property size.

"Pricing is based on the scope of work necessary to make each home look its best. We consider the volume and caliber of inventory as well as the number of hours needed to execute the job," Baer said.

The investment can certainly pay off. According to a 2021 survey by the National Association of Realtors , 82% of buyers' agents said home staging made it easier for their buyers to visualize themselves in the home.

Realtor.com also reported in 2023 that staged homes sell 88% faster and for an average of 20% more than non-staged homes.

Here are 10 easy design tips that will make your house more attractive to buyers, according to a professional home stager.

When staging a house, talk with your broker about what kind of buyer you're hoping to attract.

While the goal of most home stagers is to attract a wide variety of potential buyers to a property, they might coordinate with a broker to determine who the ideal buyer might be, or what the market might be for the home depending on the neighborhood or asking price.

"Depending on the neighborhood, we try to imagine who is most likely to buy this property when we stage," Baer told Business Insider.

A bachelor pad might be staged differently from a family home, and Baer's team is adept at creating those moments of awe for a prospective buyer.

"We used to joke with each other that we do kids' rooms with 'kid bait,' so we would add in the most adorable teddy bears," she said. "We try to just leave little props around that would instantly appeal emotionally to the member of the family that we're showing the house to."

You'll want to remove as much "clutter" and excess items from your space as possible.

Baer said that above all else, her biggest tip for home staging is to get rid of the clutter.

"Our advice to sellers is to get rid of as much junk as possible," she said. "You want it to look easy to live there, so you want to declutter."

"Take a kid's room, for example," she continued. "Instead of having the 22,500 toys that kids have, put most of them in a big basket, stick it in the garage, and just leave a few of those items out," she said. "In other words, just have less stuff out. You don't want your paperwork lying around. You want it to look really easy to live in that space."

Cleaning out your closet and arranging your clothes by color can make a space appear more organized and appealing to buyers.

While Baer doesn't recommend completely emptying your closets, she said putting your home on the market is a good opportunity to do a closet cleanout and organize it more than you might normally.

Getting rid of clothes you haven't been wearing and arranging the rest of your clothes by color can make a closet more streamlined and appealing to the eye.

You might also want to remove personal touches like family photos and heirlooms.

While family photos add a lot of personality to a space, put them in a safe space before your open house.

"You want to make sure that buyers immediately go, 'This is how I want to live,'" Baer said. "So, obviously, they don't want to see your family photographs all over the place. They want to see themselves living there."

However, strategic personal touches like a high-end coffee maker or flowers in the kitchen can make a house feel more homey to prospective buyers.

Baer said that while certain touches can make a space feel homier, they should always still be aesthetically appealing.

"You want to put away as much as you possibly can. It might be convenient to have it all out, but you want to hide anything that isn't pretty," she said. "I always love putting bowls of fresh fruit and maybe some flowers in the kitchen."

Buying fresh linens and towels can make a huge impact at a relatively low cost.

Baer said switching out your old towels and bed linens with new ones is a simple way to elevate a space.

"That's stuff that doesn't cost a lot, but really makes a huge difference," she said.

Replacing store-bought shampoo or soap bottles with neutral glass ones can also make your bathroom or kitchen look higher-end.

If you don't want to just put all of your personal items like shampoo, body wash, or dishwashing soap completely away, putting them into neutral-colored glass bottles can create a more aesthetically pleasing look.

"Only keep out on the counter things that are generally pretty and maybe of the same color or the same ilk," Baer said.

Take down any heavy draperies or curtains to let in as much natural light as possible.

Baer recommends removing curtains or heavy draperies entirely to maximize the natural light during the daytime and experimenting with ambient lighting for the evenings.

"I always pay a lot of attention to ambient lighting," she told Business Insider. "I love lamps, and I always recommend putting dimmers on light switches, so you can play with the light at different times of the day."

A neutral coat of paint can also brighten up any room.

"I think, for the normal person if they can't afford staging, is just add a fresh coat of paint on the walls. It's one of the least expensive things you can do to get kind of a maximum impact," Baer said.

Baer also said that when it comes to paint colors, avoid "trendy" or bright colors to allow your furniture pieces and space to really pop.

"I always recommend a really neutral color. If your favorite color is blue, don't paint all the walls blue," she continued. "I would say a nice white and an off-white would be the best bet for staging purposes because it's the most neutral."

Styling bookshelves can keep your decorative items organized while adding personality to your space.

"Even in my own home, I'm constantly rearranging my shelves," Baer said. "I think that with shelves, again, get rid of a lot of clutter and make them look easy to the eye and interesting. It's a place where you really can put some personality if you just really spend some time looking at them and moving things around until they feel good to the eye."

Baer also said that if you have a lot of books with brightly colored covers, try wrapping them in paper or turning them backward so that the pages face out for a more neutral look.

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6 top-rated newport mansion tours + tips from a local.

Newport's famed mansions are a must-see in the City by the Sea.

Top-Rated Newport Mansion Tours

Gavin Ashworth | Courtesy of Newport Mansions

Experience peak luxury and elegance at these stunning properties.

More than a century ago, America's wealthiest families commissioned their "summer cottages" to be built in the coastal enclave of Newport, Rhode Island , along the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The era's most renowned architects outdid one another in size and scale as well as opulence and grandeur. Today, Newport is synonymous with its exquisite Gilded Age mansions, and experiencing them in person is an absolute must.

The majority of the Gilded Age mansions in Newport – but not all – are owned and operated by the Preservation Society of Newport County, and many of the most popular are open to the public year-round. Get ready to explore the Bellevue Avenue Historic District as you tour Newport's best mansions.

The Breakers

Courtesy of Andrea McHugh

Price: From $29 for adults; $10 for youths 6 to 12

Standout perk: The Breakers offers an audio Family Tour that engages young visitors with stories about the lives of the children who summered there, the staff who ran the home and interesting things to see in the mansion, such as the playful dolphin sculpture beneath the grand staircase.

Considered the grande dame of all the Newport mansions, The Breakers was no doubt built to impress. The summertime escape of Cornelius Vanderbilt II and his family was designed by the Gilded Age's preeminent architect, Richard Morris Hunt, and boasts a classic Italian palazzo design with panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean.

Visitors can explore the mansion at their own pace via the self-guided audio tour available in nearly a dozen languages on the Newport Mansions free app, which will come in especially handy if you plan to explore more than one mansion. Take some time to explore the beauty of the 13-acre grounds as well, and be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes .

Those with a curiosity of how a mansion of this magnitude worked – after all, The Breakers was considered a modern marvel when completed in 1895 – will enjoy the Beneath The Breakers Tour. This guide-led tour takes you through the boiler room, tunnel and basement. Guests will learn how the home was outfitted with electricity, still considered a novelty during the Gilded Age. This tour requires a separate ticket from The Breakers' audio tour and is best suited for visitors 13 years and older. Advance reservations are recommended.

Local tip: As The Breakers is the most visited mansion in Newport, a good time to visit is either when it opens or toward the end of the day, especially in the busiest summer months. The early evening light can be ideal for photos, but plan accordingly as the house and grounds close one hour after the last tour admission. Before you visit, save time by downloading the free Newport Mansions tour app.

View & Book Tickets: The Breakers | Viator | GetYourGuide

Marble House

Price: From $25 for adults; $10 for youths 6 to 12

Standout perk: While it's hard to rival the splendor of Marble House, the Chinese Tea House on the end of the mansion's lawn parallel to Cliff Walk is an unexpected visual delight. For $35 extra, tour ticket holders to Marble House can enjoy sandwiches and refreshments at the cafe at the Chinese Tea House or make a reservation for brunch and afternoon tea service, offered on weekends May through December. The service is operated by Stoneacre Restaurants, which owns two popular restaurants in downtown Newport.

From the moment visitors walk under the four towering Corinthian columns fronting this mansion, they know they are in for a treat. Like other Newport Mansions audio tours, Marble House has a self-guided tour available via the organization's free app, allowing visitors to peruse the property at their own pace.

Inspired by the Petit Trianon at Versailles , Marble House is an architectural masterpiece. Made from 500,000 cubic square feet of marble, the mansion was a 39th birthday present from businessman and philanthropist William K. Vanderbilt to his wife Alva. He spared no expense for their summer escape. Later in life, Alva Vanderbilt Belmont became a suffragist and hosted events at Marble House in support of women's right to vote. Viewers of the popular HBO series "The Gilded Age" may recognize rooms in the mansion as it was used for filming on location and also inspired sets.

Local tip: Don't miss the ballroom on the first floor – while it's not the largest in Newport, it's widely considered the most ornate, with gilt details from floor to ceiling.

View & Book Tickets: Marble House | Viator | GetYourGuide

Standout perk: While The Elms is spectacular, its formal gardens – 10 acres' worth – are extraordinary, complete with nearly 40 species of trees plus terraces, gazebos, fountains and colorful blooms, depending on the time of year.

Fashioned after an 18th-century French chateau, The Elms is a must-visit mansion, from the sun-soaked conservatory and the drawing room to the handsome library and the breakfast room bearing Chinese-style lacquered wall panels. A self-guided audio tour is available in nearly a dozen languages, but any fan of "Downton Abbey" or those curious about life behind the scenes of Newport's mansions will appreciate the Servant Life Tour at The Elms.

On this newly updated, guide-led tour, visitors start in the basement, where you'll see the operations of the house such as the kitchen and butler's pantry, all the way up to the domestic staff's living quarters on the third floor. Along the way, travelers will learn more about the personal lives of staff, and see rare photographs of servants at work and in their free time. You'll even get to learn about topics like immigration and labor disputes on this tour.

Local tip: The Servant Life Tour is not only fascinating, but you'll get the rare opportunity to go on The Elms' rooftop and be rewarded with an amazing and unexpected view of Newport Harbor.

View & Book Tickets: The Elms | GetYourGuide

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Rough Point

Price: From $20; free for children 12 and younger

Standout perk: Rough Point sits at the southern end of Bellevue Avenue, so getting here allows you to enjoy views of both private mansions and those open to the public along the way. The mansion's oceanfront perch offers an uninterrupted view of the beautiful Cliff Walk Bridge, a stone arch bridge across the rocky inlet where Doris Duke would swim regularly.

Though a Gilded Age mansion through and through, Rough Point is perhaps best loved not for its grandeur but for its most famous resident: Doris Duke. The late heiress, collector and philanthropist – dubbed the "richest little girl in the world" when she was born – spent considerable time at Rough Point until her death in 1993. A self-guided audio tour leads visitors here through the art-filled home room by room, highlighting eclectic sculpture, family portraits, centuries-old tapestries, renowned furnishings and many pieces Duke collected as an avid world traveler.

While the formal rooms such as the Yellow Room and jaw-dropping Music Room are a sight, the ocean-facing Solarium affords the best views. Whether before or after your tour, visit the house tour on the website for footage of Doris Duke at the home as well as behind-the-scenes videos. Note that Rough Point is typically open seasonally from spring through mid-November.

Local tip: On Rough Point's grounds, you'll find a pair of life-size topiary camels inspired by Doris' pet Bactrian camels, Princess and Baby. Both enjoyed the summer months with the tobacco heiress at Rough Point and have become the unofficial mascots of the mansion. The Newport Restoration Foundation encourages taking a #camelgram photo with the Princess and Baby topiary to share on social media.

View & Book Tickets: Rough Point | GetYourGuide

Dave Hansen | Courtesy of Newport Mansions

Standout perk: Rosecliff's signature feature – despite being home to Newport's largest ballroom, which hosted lavish society events throughout the Gilded Age – is its celebrated heart-shaped grand staircase.

Following a multimillion-dollar renovation, Rosecliff resumed tours in September 2023, much to the delight of Newport's visitors. Architect Stanford White, who was the mastermind behind Newport's historic Casino Theatre and myriad other important buildings, modeled the mansion after the Grand Trianon at Versailles for silver heiress Theresa Fair Oelrichs. Its European influence is felt throughout.

Explore the mansion at your own pace via the self-guided audio tour on the free Newport Mansions app. Don't forget to look up in the ballroom, where the trompe l'oeil ceiling creates an air of whimsy and romance, making it the ideal setting for the filming parts of "The Great Gatsby" with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow, as well as the more recent "27 Dresses."

Local tip: Rosecliff hosts many amazing events, including the annual Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival, which features dinners, events and seminars with wines and other libations from around the world.

View & Book Tickets: Rosecliff | Viator

Chateau-sur-Mer

Standout perk: A new audio tour is your guide to this National Historic Landmark, considered Newport's first true mansion. Learn about the lives of the Wetmore family members who lived there for more than a century.

Until the arrival of the Vanderbilt houses in Newport in the 1890s, Chateau-sur-Mer was considered the seaside city's most palatial residence. Today, visitors can explore the home, an Italianate-style villa built for wealthy China trade merchant William Shepard Wetmore, who did quite a bit of entertaining at this summer cottage.

Local tip: While Chateau-sur-Mer is essentially a Victorian Era time capsule, the mansion's grounds are home to amazing tree specimens, shrubs and more, including a striking weeping beech tree. If you explore deeper into the grounds, you'll find a cool circular maze made from mounds of grass; this earthwork by artist Richard Fleischner is known as the "Sod Maze" and makes for a relaxing place to meditate.

View & Book Tickets: Chateau-sur-Mer | GetYourGuide

What to do nearby

In addition to the historic mansions, Newport offers a variety of historic attractions, walking trails and museums. To help you fully explore the area, here are some recommendations for things to see and where to eat.

Things to do:

• Wander along the Cliff Walk
• Visit the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• Explore the historic Fort Adams
• Discover automotive history at Audrain Automobile Museum
• Explore The Sailing Museum
• Visit the Redwood Library and Athenæum
• Discover the oldest synagogue in the U.S.
• Browse the private collection at the Newport Car Museum

Nearby restaurant recommendations: 

• Breakfast: Annie's, Lucy's Cafe & Bakery or Corner Cafe
• Lunch: Cru Cafe, Belle's Café or The Mooring Seafood Kitchen & Bar
• Dinner: White Horse Tavern, Clarke Cooke House or Castle Hill Inn
• Drinks: Midtown Oyster Bar, The Roofdeck at the Vanderbilt or The Lounge at The Chanler

Why Trust U.S. News Travel 

Andrea McHugh is a travel and lifestyle writer based in Newport, Rhode Island, where the famed mansions of the Gilded Age are common sights along her daily run in the City by the Sea. Though she regularly visits the mansions as they play host to local business and social events, such as the Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival, Newport Classical Music Festival and Newport Film, she spent a recent "staycation" touring these turn-of-the-century behemoths to write this article.

You might also be interested in:

• The Top Things to Do in Rhode Island
• The Top Things to Do in New Hampshire
• The Top Things to Do in Maine
• The Top Things to Do in Vermont

Tags: Travel , Tours

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‘A Squatter and Her Goat Refused To Leave My San Antonio Home—This Is How I Got Rid of Them’

The house seemed like such a deal.

Daniel Cabrera , a house flipper for 15 years around San Antonio, TX , was excited to buy the five-bedroom, 2.5-bath property on Dahlia Terrace for $175,000. The woman living there was facing foreclosure and agreed to sell him the home.

At closing, he paid the woman her share of the sale money, which amounted to about $12,000. He also gave her a week to move out and hand over the keys.

At that point, the previous owner stopped replying to his texts and calls. When he drove by the house, he saw that it was still very much inhabited—and there was even a goat tied to the front porch.

“When I saw the goat, I’m like, ‘Oh, s–t,’” he says. “Keep in mind, this isn’t some oil town. It’s not the backwoods. We’re in San Antonio!”

Cabrera tried to approach the door, but the goat was not having it.

“It kept coming for me,” he says. “I’m like, ‘I better not get any closer.’ This is crazy. It was a very unique situation.”

Now that his name was on the property’s deed, the previous owner “was a squatter,” he says. “A squatter with a goat.”

(Daniel Cabrera)

Why squatters are so hard to get out

Squatting has become shockingly common in the U.S., with stories of people refusing to vacate properties they neither own nor rent. These trespassers are notoriously difficult to remove due to tenants’ rights laws and in certain states, squatters’ rights.

In New York, for example, any individual who’s lived in a property for 30 days cannot be evicted—even if they had no right to be there in the first place.

In one recent case, Adele Andaloro was even arrested after changing the locks to her childhood house, where she found squatters. (The squatters got to remain in the house.)

On Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation aimed at making it easier for police to intervene if someone lives in a home without legal permission or documentation. The law states that “a tenant should not include a squatter.”

Cabrera, whose company, Sell My House Fast SA TX , has flipped about 200 homes, had never faced a situation like this before.

When the owner of the goat initially contacted him on the Fourth of July weekend, she was facing foreclosure within days. He thought the house would make a great investment, and he wanted to help her.

“She was in a bind,” he says. “And I’m a problem solver.”

He reached out to about 300 law firms to acquire a temporary order to stop the foreclosure. The only lawyer willing to work on a holiday weekend charged him $5,000 instead of the usual $1,200.

“I put so much time, energy, and money into the house,” says Cabrera. “And now she won’t leave and I’m stuck with her and her goat. And it wasn’t a little goat, either. It was a solid-sized goat.”

When a home’s inhabitant refuses to leave

In Texas, a squatter may be able to remain in a property if they’ve lived there and paid taxes for five years. In Cabrera’s case, an attorney who specialized in evictions explained that this woman would be considered a “tenant at sufferance” and had certain rights.

Whether Cabrera’s seller was technically a “squatter” also depends on whom you ask.

“We think of squatters as random individuals who simply move in and take over someone else’s property,” says Texas real estate attorney Keaton Frieberg , who works with Cabrera. “But it is possible to view the previous owner in the goat example as a squatter. In a Texas court opinion, it was mentioned that the ‘defendant’ neither owned nor rented the home but, in simpler terms, was a ‘squatter.’ In Texas, the term is used loosely.”

Regardless, it was abundantly clear to Cabrera and his attorney that the former homeowner had no right to be in the house. Nonetheless, forcing her and her goat out into the street wasn’t an option.

Cabrera’s lawyer posted a three-day eviction notice on the home’s door. (Thankfully, the goat was no longer standing guard.) Yet, the woman stayed.

The next step was for the eviction request to work its way through the court system. After two months, Cabrera’s lawyer attended the hearing for the verdict. Since the former homeowner did not show up, the judge ruled in Cabrera’s favor.

It took about three more weeks (and an additional $500) to get law enforcement to accompany Cabrera to the house.

On Nov. 29—nearly five months after closing on the house—Cabrera returned to the residence with two police officers. The woman wouldn’t open the door, which Cabrera expected. He had brought along a locksmith to open the door. Then he learned the goat was now living in the house.

“The goat butted one of the officers,” says Cabrera. “He said, ‘The goat got me good.’ The officers were like, ‘This is nuts in here.'”

The home was also overrun with cats and dogs. Yet the woman was surprisingly friendly.

“Once the door was open, she immediately came over to us, saying what a nice guy I am and how much I’d helped her,” Cabrera recalls. “I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?'”

Cabrera also had a moving crew with him—and they immediately started removing the woman’s possessions and placing them in the driveway. That’s when they realized the woman was a hoarder.

“It was a lot of trash,” says Cabrera, who also called animal control to retrieve the goat.

“I assumed they were going to take the goat, but they didn’t,” Cabrera says. “I don’t think it’s every day they have to deal with a goat. They had no idea what to do.”

Meanwhile, to get the woman to leave, the police had to threaten to arrest her. She left, but only so far as the driveway, where she sat down on a mattress with a few of her cats.

Cabrera knew the woman had a boyfriend as well as children, but none of them took her with them. The woman’s son did show up for the goat.

The next morning, Cabrera returned to the house to begin renovations. He was stunned to see the woman was still on her mattress in the driveway.

“I feel terrible about anyone sleeping outside all night,” he admits. But by the next day, she was gone.

“I feel for her,” Cabrera admits, surmising that she had mental health issues. He also knows from experience that many homeowners facing foreclosure can become irrationally attached to their homes, holding onto them even when it is in their best interest to sell.

“You have people who are thinking, ‘I’ve lived in this home for 20 years, I raised my kids in this house. This is the first property my husband and I bought,'” says Cabrera. “There’s an emotional connection. Unfortunately, some people can’t accept they’re getting foreclosed on until the sheriff literally comes to the door and kicks you out of the house.”

Homeowners in tough situations like this are much better off selling, he says, noting that this woman “called me at the last possible minute, on a holiday weekend. She would have been foreclosed on in three days. I doubt any of the other local homebuying companies could have helped her. With me, she was given months to find another situation, and she walked away with some money versus walking away with nothing.”

Additionally, she now has no debt and no foreclosure on her credit report .

Evictions involving animals

Frieberg, a partner with Texas Suits who has done “hundreds” of evictions, advises investors to never pay the homeowner until the person has moved out, which can prevent situations like the one Cabrera faced.

If a squatter still refuses to vacate, Frieberg says it can be less expensive to do a “cash for keys” transaction. This is where the investor pays the squatter to leave rather than going through the court system.

“You can give the person money to leave or pick up their moving costs,” Frieberg says. “Investors don’t like to hear that, especially if they’ve already paid for the house, but it can be a lot less expensive and time-consuming than going to court.”

At least a quarter of Frieberg’s evictions involve animals.

“If I know there’s going to be animals at the residence, I call the local shelters,” he says. “Unfortunately, lots of times the shelters are so full, and they’ve got nowhere for these animals. So then I’ll put the animals on Facebook.”

Recently, he says, someone who was evicted left behind eight puppies. Frieberg posted them on Facebook and found them all homes.

If an animal seems dangerous, such as a vicious dog—or in this case, a goat—Frieberg recommends leaving the situation to animal control. However, he only calls the agency as a last resort because, he says, “I don’t know what happens to them.” (City animal control will often euthanize animals because the centers are so full.)

The cost to clear an illegally inhabited house

All told, Cabrera spent $7,500 on legal bills to remove this home’s former owner. He spent an additional $50,000 and two months cleaning up and rehabbing the house.

He quickly sold the house for $295,000, earning a $40,000 profit.

(Realtor.com)

“I should have made more, considering everything I had to go through,” says Cabrera. “But it was a solid investment. Earlier in my career, I may have lost money on this. But by now, I’m good at figuring out if a house will be profitable or not.”

Cabrera says this flip taught him a valuable lesson to never let his emotions sway his judgment. In this case, he’d felt sorry for the woman, which allowed her to take advantage of him.

“When you’re going to a closing, make sure you’re getting possession of the home. Don’t give the owners an allotted time to move out,” he says. “If they have to move out to collect their money, there’s far more incentive for them to leave.”

He tells this goat story as a warning to anyone looking to buy a property inhabited by someone in dire straights, whether due to foreclosure, the inability to pay rent, or other issues.

“A regular homeowner wouldn’t have known what to do. This is the difference between a regular homeowner and an investor,” he says. “I’m more accustomed to difficult scenarios—and this one threw even me.”

Kiri Blakeley is a writer in Brooklyn who has written for Forbes, The Stir, Daily Mail, Marie Claire, and others.

Twitter Follow @KiriBlakeley

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Costco's New Shed Doubles As a Backyard Retreat—And It's on Major Sale Right Now

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