Should I Leave My Pictures Up When Selling My House?

Pictures to remove

Personal/Family Photos

The ones I don’t recommend leaving up are the ones with family or personal pictures. Sometimes you will see them displayed on a coffee table, sofa table or in the foyer. This is because the buyers don’t need to know who lives in the home. They want to envision themselves living there so I would just put away any or all family or person photos.

I had one homeowner ask me about the family tree that was painted on her wall with all the individual pictures and I recommended taking all that down because you are going to be moving. That is the main idea. You need to get past the thought of “this is your home” because as soon as you think about putting your home on the market it is no longer your home. So just start taking that stuff down. Some of it may have sentimental value so just start taking it down. It’s going to be easier because you will be packing up that stuff anyway, right?

If you have to have one personal photo then you can have one or two small ones, that’s fine. Maybe put them on a nightstand, but everything else really needs to go.

Military Certificates/Diplomas

Remove any military certificates, diplomas or degrees because it’s a perception thing. Sometimes you will see people come walking around a house and notice that a Colonel or General lives here or a doctor lives here. They say, well we can low ball them because they don’t need a full price offer on the home because they can afford it. That is exactly what you don’t want to hear. They don’t need to know who lives there so just take all of those down. No military certificates, diplomas or anything like that.

Nude pictures

I don’t recommend leaving up any nude pictures. I’ve seen some moms who just love their pictures of kids in the bathtub. That is fine for you but not for buyers walking through. Even nude paintings, while they may look artistic, it doesn’t suit everybody so those types of pictures or photos I would take down as well.

Hallways and staircases

You really don’t need to fill up the hallways or staircases with pictures. You really don’t have to have anything so I would take all that down because sometimes it can look cluttered. It’s something that they eye is drawn into and you don’t need to show off that hallway or staircase. They’re not going to take a picture of it anyway, right? Put away the photos in those locations because you don’t need anything there.

Expensive artwork

Put away any expensive artwork especially when you know they are worth thousands of dollars. Definitely take those down. I had one homeowner who had a room full of her art pieces that was special to her. It was all over a room and she had them on easels and hung on the walls everywhere. I said, this is not an art gallery, this is a home that we are trying to portray. Maybe we can use it as a family room or playroom or bedroom or whatever it’s supposed to be. But it is not supposed to be an art gallery. So I would again put those away because you don’t know who will be coming in. They may knock over something by accident and again it’s sentimental to you or very expensive. Again, I would take those types of pieces down.

Pictures that you can leave up

If you have some kid’s drawings, like a toddler drawing that was just magnificent or it was very colorful, you can leave those up and put them in a nice frame. You can use them in their room or a kitchen which is fine (just not all over the fridge). Any pictures with neutral landscapes are ok as well. Clocks and mirrors are ok to leave up and can actually add color to a room as well.

Need some artwork for the blank walls?

Maybe your walls are empty and you need something on them. Check out my Etsy shop, Willow Brook Printable, where you can download photos instantly, print them or blow them up for a poster size and hang them up. You can find castles, flowers, cityscapes, black and white photos of London, Paris and so much more.

So in answer to your question, should I leave my pictures up? Yes some of them. Some of them will be more appropriate than others. But if you have any questions or need to know specifically for your home, please contact Blue Diamond Staging & Design.