I saw the following pic and had to laugh… We’re trying to sell our home currently so I’m comparing the look and feel of our place to others. All of the Real Estate programs tell you to de-clutter and present your place in the best way possible. De-cluttering would include removing the umpteen family photos you have littering your lounge.
Potential buyers don’t care what little Johnny looked like at the school formal with the chick he tried to bone down at the park… Besides that, what would make you think that covering your coffee table in photos would add to the decor of your room? Buy a bloody photo album. This place just screams “Nanna”. I’m disappointed with the agent obviously not pushing the point that this looks crap, but it does help make our place look a bit better 
Here’s my tips, stolen from others, in how to present your home… not that it’s worked for us, yet. Grrr
1. De-Clutter – Remove the knickknacks (eg. the porcelain elephants and your school photos) you have accumulated over the years. You are selling your house, and need to make it look as spacious as possible. There is a difference between de-cluttered and bare though, so keep a few tasteful ornamental items out to make the place look homely. De-Clutter the yard too, by getting rid of the kids’ toys, the dead tree and mowing the lawn for starters.
2. Clean – Don’t do a normal weekly clean. We’re out to impress, so make sure everything is gleaming. Our favourite word at home currently is “Gumption”. A magic abrasive paste for cleaning off the nasty stuff from your sinks, cook top, you name it.
3. Fix it – Those little jobs that you have been putting off, get them done. The drawer that doesn’t shut in the kitchen, the light that doesn’t work; they all add up to something that either makes a buyer walk away or ensure the offer they put in is lower than it might’ve been.
4. Paint schemes – Keep it neutral. Add your colour with furnishings and paintings. That feature wall you have put in each room might look great to you, but Sam down the street probably thinks it looks awful. “Its only paint”, I hear you say. That is true, but that requires the buyer to ‘imagine’ what it looks like without the ghastly colouring, rather than ‘see’.
5. Ask for constructive criticism – Ask impartial people what they think about the presentation of your home and what they’d change if it was theirs. An outside perspective from an honest viewer can make a World of difference in the saleability of your home. As in the pic above, all they needed was some constructive criticism, eg. “The photos are nice, but how about we pack them away just for the home opens? We need to make the buyers look at this spacious room, not your lovely family.”
Hope you got something from my tips, Nanna. Now get rid of the bloody photos… after we sell our house. 
Update : See, I’m not full of it… We have received an offer on our house after two home opens. A combination of realistic price, good presentation and a decent agent lead to a successful transaction.
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