1. I like to look and not spend.
2. It gives me inspiration.
3. It is much easier to look at someone else's space and criticize, than look at your own.
While looking I realized some of the key mistakes most homeowners make while trying to sell their houses.
1. Get rid of the clutter people! You may be proud of your child's grades or drawings at school, but while selling a house take them and the magnets off of the refrigerator. People don't like to walk into their potential house and see your mementos everywhere.
With some appliance upgrades this would be a lovely kitchen. With all of the clutter on the counter and on top of the upper cabinets you miss the great things about this kitchen. The features of this room are the cabinets, granite counter top, large center island, ceramic tile floors and a beamed vaulted ceiling.
2. Out of date decor. Don't get me wrong, I am all for antiques and re purposing furniture, but when you enter a room you shouldn't feel like you have entered the twilight zone. Think of it like the fashion in the 80's it was cool then, but unless you are going to a Halloween party leave the mullet at home.
This room would be ready to sell with a more up to date comforter, pillows, window treatments, coordinating art, and new shades for those fabulous lamps. There is no need to break the bank, most people have these things in their attic or lying about in some other space in their house. We live in an age where the curtains don't have to match the comforter;) pick a coordinating material or color and just go with it! I personally love eclectic rooms!
3. Location, Location, Location! As well as real estate location this also applies to furniture placement. Most people can not imagine a rooms potential unless it is created for them. Start by arranging your furniture towards your best feature in the room...men this is not the TV. If you don't have a feature in your room such as a fireplace, then it is a particularly great time to create a focal point with art!
Obviously this is a challenging space, but they did it wrong...way way wrong. This could actually be a very cute room if you made the fireplace the focal point. Take away everything in this room... anchor the room with the rug in the center of the floor parallel to the fireplace. Create a conversation area with the two couches by placing them facing each other on either side of the rug and then filling in from there with a coffee table, accessories, and of course art on the wall. *Side note* people do watch TV and they will be looking for a place to put it when they enter their potential living room. With the furniture angled in such a fashion one has an option to put the TV in the space opposite the fireplace. I can't tell if it will work in this space or not because unfortunately that is where the picture is being taken from.
If your home is on the market, take the emotion out of it and look around. Is the way your home is staged inviting to others? Are you creating a visual map with your decor, on how they could set up their home. Statisitcs show that proper staging can increase the value of your home.
Happy Staging,
Megan
