In the last How to Stage a House post, I shared with you tips for setting the stage with good bones. You can read more HERE. I am going to walk you through the house and share with you tips for making each room inviting, starting with the Living Room.
Dani wanted to use as much of her mom’s furniture as she could in staging the house. Her budget was small, $400, and she didn’t know where to start. The first thing I did, was go through the house to see all that was available. I took mental note of colors that were similar in different items throughout the home. I also had her put a Post It sticker on each piece I thought we’d use for staging and that way the movers knew what needed to go.
When staging a home, it’s a fine balance of paring down the furniture so the house doesn’t look cluttered and keeping enough furniture in there so that it doesn’t look “too staged” and sparse.
Dani’s mom had an eclectic mix of furniture and decor, so there were some great pieces to work with.
An easy way to think of staging each room is with color. Find colors throughout the house that go together. Don’t be afraid to move things you find in the bedroom, into the living room if the color scheme goes together better.
In the Living Room we used dark wood and cream, building around the furniture and pieces Dani’s mom already had and added in punches of wine, gold and hints of blue.
We bought tall branches and wine colored pillows.
Edit furniture so you don’t overwhelm with too many pieces and create focus points in the room.
We bought wine pillows, curtains in similar color and lamps.
When grouping, think of things in threes. It’s visually more interesting.
All of these items were found in different parts of the house.
Don’t hang pictures too high. Eye level is always good and it makes the room feel cozier and more inviting.
If you don’t have large pictures to fill a space, use a collage of pictures that look similar to fill the area.
Take the time to turn chairs “in” to create a welcoming, conversational space. That way when people do a walk through, they can picture themselves sitting and staying a while. Pay attention to the details without letting imperfections get to you. See the footstool? There was a rip in it, so we covered it with an old rug.
This was the first room a future homeowner walked into. We spent more money on this room, but wanted buyers to be wowed right off the bat. (Approx. $115)
The colors and textures pull this room together. If you look over to the right, you’ll see a peek of the kitchen. We’ll go there in the next How to Stage a House post.
What would you do differently if you were staging this room?
