Do you like Joanna Gaines’ taste in decor? You should, especially if you’re considering selling your home. Shows  like her iconic “Fixer Upper” don’t get popular for no reason. They get popular because they found a niche that has mass appeal.

If you are considering selling your home, watching Fixer Upper can give you ideas for renovating and decorating your home in a way that has massive appeal to the home buying public. We may laugh occasionally about her go-to design elements, like shiplap. Yes, shiplap has become predictable in her designs. But guess what? My wife loves it, and therefore I designed my fireplace renovation with shiplap. So I can’t so much laugh at her, but laugh with her—she has her finger on the pulse of home design trends, and that’s a good thing for home sellers and Realtors.

Let me share an analogy, since many of you have owned your homes for decades—or at least a long time in pop-culture years. I’ve been married 33 years and still get my wife’s opinion every now and then on what kind of clothes she likes me to wear. Trends change, and although I don’t want to be on the cutting edge of fashion, I do want to wear clothes that don’t look like I hopped out of the 80’s with a pink Izod and corduroys. Every now and then it’s just good to break old habits and update my wardrobe.

Well, it’s the same with home decor. If you’ve owned your home awhile, chances are good there are some spaces that are a bit dated. Maybe that kitchen needs updating, or feature wall in the living room needs some help. If you don’t want the expense of traditional staging, you can consider virtual staging. Either way, staying abreast of current design trends, whether through Joanna Gaines’ show or other popular home design social media accounts (Pinterest is a good place to start), will help. And if you’re not naturally drawn to shiplap…well, if you’re selling, you won’t be living there long, anyway.