The living room is a heavily used area in most homes; whether it is to watch a movie, play some games, or gather with friends, this room is not only important to you as the homeowner but also to potential buyers. The challenge in staging this room is that it is used constantly, so it takes some time and effort to keep this area in “showing ready” shape.  Here are some tips for staging a living room at your house in Locust Grove.

Remember that staging a home is different than how you live in it.  This doesn’t mean that the way you had furniture arranged was wrong or bad, but staging to appeal to as many buyers as possible can mean making changings. 

Simplify the furniture

Do you have a fireplace in the living room of your house in Locust Grove?  Is there a set of windows that overlooks your beautiful backyard?  Do you have some built in bookcases?  Whatever the features are in your home, you want your furniture to compliment and highlight these features, and not hide them.  

Removing furniture in a room and keeping it simply helps buyers to appreciate the space in the room and see their own things in the room.  You want buyers to be able to move freely around the living room too.  You might have a large sectional sofa that is perfect for movie nights but it also blocks half of the opening into the room.  Switching this piece of furniture out for a small sofa that sits across from the fireplace is more appealing for the scale and proportions of the room.

Often, by decluttering first, sellers find that they don’t need all of the furniture in the room because after cleaning out the space the furniture (bookcases, end tables, coffee tables) are no longer storing things.  

What do I do with the furniture I removed?

If it doesn’t fit comfortably into another room, but you want to keep it, consider renting a short term storage unit or asking a friend to hold onto it for a few months while your house in Locust Grove is on the market.

Make it mostly neutral

I’m sure that you’ve heard that neutral colors are the best options for paint on the walls.  But, that doesn’t mean that all the room has to be a mix of white, beige, and cream.  While these neutral colors are currently trending, you can still incorporate some color into the room with furniture, fabrics, and wall art.  If, over the years, you have collected a variety of things in different shades, then take a look at what you’ve got and use the shade that you have the most of to be the secondary color in the space after your neutral shade.  (Make sure that it complements the neutral color.)  An accent color that adds some interest should be a color that you use the least in the room.

Why neutral?

You may love your mustard yellow wall or bright pink accents, but when we consider making a room appealing to the largest pool of buyers as possible, neutral shades are the way to go.  They allow buyers to focus on the room and it’s features and not your decor.  Some buyers also dread the time and money that can go into painting over a strong color at a house in Locust Grove.

Groups of Threes

After you have decluttered the space, you may be ready to decorate again.  While going minimal is always a safe bet, arranging decor pieces in groups of threes is a great way to make your staging look professional.  Think about placing a tray on top of the coffee table with a vase of flowers, a shorter candle, and a small coffee cup.  You can stack two books in a bookcase with a picture frame on top.  When using this method, keep the scale of the items in mind.  Typically three items of different heights work well together.

Do I need to group everything?

No, groups of threes work to bring a focal point to a piece of furniture, a mantle, or bookshelf.  Keeping the decor minimal helps buyers to see their own things on a bookshelf and appreciate the storage within the space.  When rooms are cluttered, buyers automatically think the storage space in the house is lacking which may not be the case.

Move away from the walls

Furniture does not have to be placed along the walls to make a room look larger.  Instead you can consider creating a grouping of a sofa, chairs, and table near the fireplace with a rug underneath to bring the buyer’s eye to this comfortable and inviting area.  Likewise, you make a little reading nook in the corner with a chair and lamp.  Creating a few zones in a living room also will highlight its multi-functional uses.  Don’t be afraid to try out a few arrangements to find the one that works best in the living room of your house in Locust Grove.

Bring in the light

Buyers appreciate spaces that feel light and bright.  To achieve this, switch out heavy curtains for lighter ones or go without if the location of your home allows it.  You can have several sources of light in a room too.  Think about utilizing not only any overhead lighting that you have, but also add a table lamp to a dark corner or under counter lights to brighten a bookshelf.  Doing this is especially helpful in living rooms that are lacking natural light.

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