The kitchen is an essential part of the home. It’s a central piece of your life where you cook your meals and spend time with your household. That’s why it’s so important to make it stand out when selling your home.

A study by the National Association of REALTORS® found that the three most important rooms to stage when selling your home are the living room, primary bedroom, and the kitchen. If you need help staging your kitchen, these tips will help you give this space a facelift that homebuyers will appreciate.

Give it a deep clean

Everyone loves a clean kitchen, and you should give yours a deep cleaning before showing your home. Start with the following tasks:

• Wiping down cabinets and counters
• Cleaning the inside and outside of the fridge
• Removing burnt food stains from the stove
• Polishing stainless-steel appliances
• Cleaning the oven
• Removing garbage, recycling, and pet items
• Running the dishwasher, and emptying it
• Cleaning the floor

Declutter the countertops

If you’re getting ready to sell your home, decluttering is a priority for every room in your house, especially in the kitchen. Your countertops can become home for a variety of appliances, cookbooks, and a multitude of other items. You should remove everything, only leaving a few select items—try to limit yourself to one appliance like a coffee maker or toaster. You can also add some fruit like apples, oranges, or lemons in a decorative bowl. Make sure to only use a single type of fruit in the bowl and that it is fresh. In addition to the countertops, make sure to remove items from the top of the fridge and cabinets.

Depersonalize the space

The front of your fridge can become highly personalized with magnets, notes, photos, and your child’s artwork. Before showing your home, you should store these items away. This can help homebuyers better envision themselves living in your house.

Give the cabinets a makeover

If you’re cabinets are in good shape but a little outdated, you can apply a fresh coat of paint to give them an upgrade. Make sure to match the cabinets to the countertops by painting them a neutral color like white, beige, or gray. After you’ve finished painting your cabinets, add some new hardware like handles, knobs, and hinges to complete the look.

Update the lighting

If the lighting fixtures in the kitchen are a little old, this is a good time to give them an upgrade. By switching to a more contemporary choice over your island or sink, you’ll help give your kitchen a like-new feel. Additionally, avoid light bulbs that cast a yellow glow and stick with daylight style bulbs that will help your space feel more open and cleaner.

Replace the electrical outlets

This is a simple kitchen upgrade that can help give it a stylish new look. Simply find a decorative outlet cover that fits your kitchen, unscrew the old cover, and add the new cover. Best of all, this is a relatively low-cost upgrade that will help your kitchen stand out.

Help the space look larger

Give your kitchen a more spacious appearance by changing out the furniture. If you have an eat-in kitchen, try using a smaller table and chairs set to open the space up. You can also consider removing some of the seating. If your kitchen table typically holds six chairs, remove two. If your island has the space for four stools, take away two.

Organize cabinets and the pantry

When people start viewing your home, they will likely look inside your cabinets and pantry. If they’re packed full of items, it can send the message that the kitchen does not have enough storage space, so make sure to declutter these areas.

If you’re looking for more staging help, these thrifty tips will help your home look good without breaking the bank.