Nice job on the room! It looks good like it is.

Purely from a staging perspective, I would go even more bare and remove the two floral arrangements on the mantle, the flowers on the bookcase to the left of the white desk, and the extra candles sitting on the hearth. If you have someplace to put them, I would remove the armless chair from the room, the bookcase, and maybe even the coffee table.

This is the first room that buyers will see and you want to give the impression of space. Imagine three people walking into the room at the same time and standing there - the couple who might buy it and their agent. Clear as much standing room as you can.

All that said, in this market, with houses sitting unsold for weeks and months, it is impractical to remove so much of the stuff that you live with. In the end, the price will determine the speed at which it sells more than the staging.

I love the living room. The only thing I would remove is the beige chair in the corner.

Nice transformation! Any chance you could remove the desk and wall shelves and place the bookcase on that wall ... paring down its contents as much as possible? Or like Graywings suggested move the bookcase out of the room too.

I think you did a phenomenal job.................can you come over to my house???

I agree about removing the beige chair. The room can speak for itself without any kind of staging at all. Which is why I've never understood why people stage unless it's an ugly room.

If I was looking for a home, my eye's go to the walls, floor, etc. I totally ignore the furniture.

BTW, I do remember the before pictures. You all did a wonderful job. Too bad you're moving though!

If this were my house, I would love it. If I were selling it, here's what I would do before showing:

1. In Photo 1, remove the clock from mantel, the small candles from the hearth, and the pillow from the beige chair.
2. In Photo 2, if there is room, I would angle the bookcase into the corner, clear it completely out and put an arrangement of pretty books, some vertically, some horizontally with lots of empty space. Also add some pretty accessories that you probably already have around your house. Based on what you've done with your fireplace, you have a good eye for balance without overdoing it, so put that talent toward your bookcase arrangement.
3. In Photo 2, I'm torn about taking out the "office." If you leave it, definitely organize the desk and shelves, and hide the "stuff" in pretty baskets or something similar. The board on the wall needs to come down for sure.
4. In Photo 2, remove photos and wall art going up the stairs.

Good luck with your sale!

One more thought as I looked at your photo #4 again. You could put the beige pillow on the sofa in the corner farthest from the fireplace.

Agree on removing the chair beside the fireplace. Wouldn't necessarily remove the desk, but would remove the bulletin board. Put all your bills and office supplies in baskets that hide them. Remove the small table with the flower arrangement. Possibly remove the bookcase, but it may be fine when it's tidy and the other items are removed. Would leave the ottoman...maybe put an ivory knit throw across it. Being that the items on the mantle and on the hearth don't really seem cohesive, I would remove those as well. You could warm up the mantle with some simple groupings like a trio of candles on one side and maybe bring back one of the better arrangements for the other side. Also would take down the wall hanging above the door way.

Ok,here's some pics with nothing but the mirror for the fireplace and with/without chair. We really do need the desk while we "live" here. It "feels" very empty in that corner without the chair. SHould I put anything in that corner?

I put the little black end table to hide a very ugly outlet. I actually had a larger endtable there before that I took out. I had to "build" the books up to hide the outlet. :)
Bookcase kind of needs to stay. We need some storage in this room as the kids room bookcase is leaving.
Here's without ottoman:

Your things on the fireplace looked homey. Now, it just looks cold.

I think the brick looks way too white. I'd either strip the paint and get the brick back to the original or I'd faux paint it to something a bit darker. The browns, beige and green are muted/earthy colors and subdued. The white is very bright against that wall.

I agree with meowzer... put the items back on the fireplace....! :)

I would definitely remove your calendar and the wall photos in the stairwell.

The bookcase looks way too cluttered and too big for that space. If it is staying, can you have baskets to organize everything in? I would reconsider keeping it in the space otherwise.

The rest of the room looks quite lovely as you have it. My biggest concern would be making it look as roomy as possible. The less clutter (calendar, bookcase contents,) the more open it will feel.

I love the white fireplace - I think it's such an upgrade from the original stained red brick and provides a nice crisp contrast to the subdued colors on the wall and the warm furniture. I'd put a small green plant in the corner where the chair was. I'd also put a colorful vase on the mantel and two colorful pillows that match the color of the vase on the sectional.

I also might put a couple stacked coffee table books on the ottoman to bring some visual interest (maybe some modern art books with yellow, blues or reds?)

I'd also lose the bookshelf and the calendar/bills/misc. stuff over the desk. Other than that, I think it's a great room! Best of luck selling.

I remember your room too! I think you've done a great job!
But I agree with meowzer.

� Put the things you had (except the clock) back on the mantle.
� Put the chair back (there is a lot more room there than we are seeing in images, in person I'm sure it looks much different even when you first walk in the room, images just aren't conveying this). Agree with removing the pillow.

� Move games and "not pretty" stuff from the bookcase to the hall closet. As others have suggested only a few books arranged with lots of empty space and a very few other nice accessories (use the clock here).

� Move the bulletin board to the back of the hall closet door.

This should keep things functional. I think your little nightstand/bookshelf is done well and would leave it.

It "feels" very empty in that corner without the chair. SHould I put anything in that corner?

Yes, put the chair back. It gives a homey feel where a home buyer might envision themselves sitting and reading a book by the fire.

I put the little black end table to hide a very ugly outlet. I actually had a larger endtable there before that I took out. I had to "build" the books up to hide the outlet. :)

That was VERY smart. I liked it there in the first place.

When staging (IMO) you are trying to put your house into the same form as a model home. Model homes have a homey feel without clutter or personal items. Making your home too stark and empty is not the answer, IMO.

Wow--what a great room! You've created a stylish (but still homey) space.

Staging is totally worth it, though miserable to live through. We sold our house in 9 days this year, which was a mercy, because having no books, no coasters, no visible dish soap, no microwave, and no visible bath towels got old quickly!

Here's my suggestions:

1.Clean up the bookcase as was suggested & leave it where it is. I think it will balance that side of the room.

2. As everyone else said, take down the bulletin board & family photos on the walls.

3. As for the FP, move your mirror to the left & then put your 2 floral arrangements beside each other on the right side, with maybe a couple books under the tallest one to differentiate height. The vase on the floor should be centered in the space between the wall & FP & perhaps replace what's in the vase now with tall salt cedar sticks.
Also try putting the ottoman in front of the FP.

4. Take down the iron item over your doorway.

5. A very simple floor lamp would look nice on the right of the FP... keep the chair out of the corner.

6. A pair of white/ivory pillows on the sofa will tie in the whites of the FP, rug, & blinds, & the desk.

7. Check the height of your pictures on the wall. The center of the pictures should be 60" from the floor.

Good job, girl!!!

And I want to know what technique you did to knock down that horrible texture on the ceiling!!!

~Jeana

In my ideal world, you could flip the seating to the other side, so it would face out the window, but I am guessing the cable comes in where the TV is now, and that would get too complicated.

So, let's work with what you have. Remember, first impressions are everything.

First, I would move the bookcase to be flat against the wall at the left side of the window, down by the fireplace, where the beige chair was. The bookcase doesn't seem too deep, and from the side you won't see all the clutter and the busy-ness when you look into the room. You have to get the stuff off the top of the bookcase - stick it under the couch if you have to.

In the corner where the bookcase was, I would place the beige chair, angled into the corner, with that small black table next to it that is currently by the desk. Get the framed piece that was on the wall by the window where you have now put the bookcase, and hang that by the chair.

I would see if you can take the bulletin board and turn it 90 degrees, hanging it above the desk below the first shelf, or in between the two shelves. Make it a part of that workspace.

The sectional, assuming it has to stay there, needs some color to make it inviting, not so blah. I would look for some inexpensive pillows that bring in some white and cream and green, even a bit of red. If you sew, you can make pillows easily. If not, you can even buy some fabric and fold the existing pillows in it like a package. Put the wrapping flaps side to the back, and simply use large safety pins to hold it together. Add a pretty light green or creamy white throw over the arm of the chaise, to focus the buyer's eye on that part of the seating, not on how far the chaise sticks out into the space. If you don't have something that color, see if someone else does, or fold a pretty piece of fleece so that it looks like a throw - no sewing involved.

To the fireplace area. Bare is not good, but your first pix had too many separate things, almost like they were guarding the four corners of the fireplace. I would leave the tall candlestick where it was. I would hang the mirror, to get as much visual height out of the wall as possible. A break between the top of the fireplace and the mirror will help that, even just a couple of inches. I would use the tall wheat sheaf that was over on the top right, and put it over on the top left, moved in a couple of inches from the outside edge of the mantle. Then get the pumpkin that was on the bottom left of the fireplace and put that part way in front of the sheaf, so that it also overlaps the edge of the mirror a bit. If the fireplace works, I would at least have wood in there.

Take the wrought iron piece that is hanging above the doorway to the dining room, and hang it on the fireplace between the firebox and the mantel. It will help break up all the stark white and create some texture there. You can use Command adhesive hooks of some kind, which remove without damage or residue.

Take away the colorful arrangement that was on the top left of the fireplace, and put that on the small table next to the beige chair.

Take the floor arrangement and put that on the side of the tv stand that is closest to the door, to soften the hard angle of the cabinet a bit.

If it will fit, I would take the ottoman and put that to the left of the fireplace. It will give the feel of extra seating, yet won't make the center of the room feel cramped, as it does in front of the sectional.

Finally, the thing you need most is lighting. The ceiling lights are fine for cleaning, but their arrangement feels like landing lights, and only leads the eye into the opposite wall, emphasizing the narrowness of the space.

You should be able to find some very inexpensive lamps that will do the job for now. Check Target, JC Penney (always stuff on sale) or IKEA if you have one nearby.

You need a desk lamp on the desk to open up that corner, A floor lamp at the non-chaise end of the couch, and a small table lamp by the beige chair.

One other thing that I think might be worth trying. I would pull the rug under the seating, so that you have a few inches of bare floor in front of the tv stand. I think it will fool the eye into thinking the room is a bit wider, and the chaise won't seem as long, because there will be a disconnect between the seating and the cabinet.

I think that just decluttering your bookcase would work wonders; as for your desk, same thing, as much for privacy during viewing as visually but it does look neat enough.

For safety purposes, remember to remove your hanging keys by the door, you never know.

Wow. So many suggestions your head must be spinning.

I'll keep it brief, just to add another vote on a few items.

1 - I liked the second picture best: no beige chair, keep ottoman.

2 - the first thing that jumped out at me from original set was the desk area (not fireplace). Bulletin board must go.

3 - I like Les suggestion to put bookcase where the beige chair was and the chair in bookcase corner.

Good Luck!

Keep in mind that most potential buyers are going to be first looking at your photos. The reason many here have suggested removing that chair by the fireplace is because in your photo it looks crammed in making that space seem very small. Even if in real life there is plenty of room, it does not show that way in the photo. It will feel empty to you because you're used to having a big chair fill up that space. Maybe just put a small table with a lamp on that side of the sofa to give a little more visual interest without taking up alot of space. Or try switching places with the bookcase and chair as someone else recommended.

Agree you need to put some items back up on the mantle. Several of the suggestions above would all work nicely.

Keep the ottoman.

You have a really pretty room and a few accessories (like throw blanket and or pillows) will warm it up without a bunch of clutter.

While I do totally understand the motive for staging, I have to say that at times it seems to get carried away. The idea is to have your home be attractive, inviting, and make a buyer feel that they could live there. I understand some of it on the subconscious level, such as de clutttering the desk/bookcase etc. But I think that what you have so far is perfect,with the addition of decluttering the bookcases/depersonalizing the bulletin board, I think that the rest is overkill- I mean are you looking to sell your house furnished as is? It looks great/

Sheilaaus, we have HGTV to thank for that~~I believe that's where the concept was first featured. The fact that it helped me sell a condo AND a home in southern CA during a very depressed market(condo/3 years ago this December, house/this past May)there must be something to it.

Myself and my best friend did the house and it sold the first day on the market for full price, with two back-up offers. The condo in 3 months, but had only 5 viewings with 5 offers. In my case it was certainly worth the effort, and I spent very little money. ;o)

LOVE the white fireplace, in fact I am thinking of painting mine now.

Thanks everyone.
I will have to try out some more of these ideas. To answer some questions:
The ceiling was completely taken down and replaced and we added the recessed lights. There was NO way to fix that ugly stamped ceiling. We painted the fireplace white because the dark brick just sucked out all the light of the room. I was a little nervous about it, but love it now.
Here are a couple more pics where I cleaned up the bookcase. I still haven't taken down the bulletin board, but it's coming. I bought some baskets for the shelf above the computer, I just haven't had a chance to organize them yet. I'm going back and forth with the chair in the corner though. Moving to where the bookcase is, will have it stick out into the walkway, so I don't think I will do that. IT's either keep it where it is or remove it altogether. I do have a smaller IKea chair in my kids room I"m going to move out of there so maybe that could be added to this room. I'll have to see how it feels. Pics by the stairs will be coming down too.
Here's some updated pics:

Nice job, Nadine. Have you considered angling the bookcase in that corner? It may or may not look good, but worth a try.

Looking good. I would take away the tiny things on the top shelf & add more books. Get some random books at a garage sale. Then take all the books & face the spines to the back of the bookcase so that what you see from the front is pages. The texture & uniform color of the pages aren't distracting, as well as the titles. Stack some of the books vertically too.

~Jeana

Sorry I've been away for a little bit. I've been finishing up getting everything ready. The house is officially on the market now. Here are the listing pics of the living room. Thanks for all the help. It's probbaly not perfect but we had to rush to get it listed before the weekend.

This is like the Twilight Zone! I believe it was this week on the Nate Berkus Show, a couple had their house on the market forever and couldn't sell it. Their LR was identical to your's, exact same size. Even the heavy furniture, the heavy chair by the FP, and the TV in the same area. Even the entryway was nearly the same.

Of course Nate gave them money to replace the heavy sofa, but he said because of the heavy furniture, it makes the room appear smaller which caused potential buyers not to want the home.

I know you can't do this, but he had the heavy sofa, especially the heavy chair near the FP (it's crowded there) taken out, and put two matching smaller chairs flanking the sofa. It made the room appear much larger. He also had them put in a coffee table.

If you can watch his show online, try to catch it. You'll be blown away by the similarities!

I am late to this thread and have not read most of the replies, but will throw my 2 cents in....
I think the listing pix look nice, but I actually like the shelves over the desk before more than now. It looked real before and now it looks cold over there. I think taking the bulletin board down was good and the bookcase looks great, but the baskets on the desk shelves look contrived now and the orange/red does not help anything.

FWIW - I am a full time r.e. agent with almost 22 years exp.

I think your room looks lovely. Good luck, and please keep us updated on how things are going. You will learn a lot from comments of people looking at your home and can make any adjustments based on them.

It could be that the home to which oakleyok referred had some other major problems that were not shown on the program.

I think you've done a great job. I'd make 2 suggestions, if you are open to them:

1- Remove the heavy sectional sofa and replace with something lighter. Store the sofa if you want to move it later. Try the clearance room of a local furniture store, or IKEA, or Craigslist (if it's in immaculate condition).

2- Your first pics have too much clutter (sorry) on the mantel but having it empty is bare. I'd put one item, at most 2, on that and any other surface (dining table, etc.) throughout the home.

Good luck!

I think it looks lovely. It took us a year to sell our house (we unknowlingly listed it the first month of the recession in 2007 and it was definitely overpriced) and I continued to delete and move things during that year. I HGTV'd it, but tried to keep it liveable for a family with 2 kids. I kept some family photos, but only the ones that looked more artsy or had simple black frames or were black and white. One thing that helped was packing up stuff I didn't need and storing the boxes in the garage - it made moving easier, and there were a lot of things we didn't miss at all. Our realtor (who was well-known in the $1MM+ market) said she wished all of her sellers presented their home in its best light and asked me to stage a custom home later on, so I think it's worth it!

It looks so much better and I like what you've done. As someone already mentioned, the sofa is too big for the space. Can you swap sofas with a friend? Or maybe take away the chaise piece and move the chair to the armless side? I also would not place more than one dried floral piece in a room.
We successfully sold our house in 12/2010, just 90 days after listing. I placed a colorful art piece from world market ($35 on sale) and a throw over the ottoman and it had a wow factor. I also edited like crazy. Are your can lights on a dimmer? Setting a mood is powerful.
See the 24 pics at my Zillow link below. PS-I did a lot more editing after these pics. Happy selling!

Here is a link that might be useful: My house listing

You definitely need some lamps to add warmth to the room. It also just looks odd not having any.

I read some replies, but not all of them (sorry). My first thought was that the chaisse cuts into the room. I had the same issue when staging my home. We separated the chaisse from the couch and used it as a stand-alone piece with a small end table. I'm not sure if you have room in your space for that. If not, what about removing the chaisse from the room and adding a table at the end of the couch? I think it would lighten the furniture, without having to replace the couch completely.

This is so late but that paint color is gorgeous! Could you tell me what it is?

Hi All,

Sorry I've been MIA. We got real lucky and had an offer 2 days after the open house. So we've been busy negotiating and working on our next home search. I'm sure I'll be back on here for more info for the next place, but we'll temporarily been in an apartment for a little while.
The paint color is Spartan Stone by Behr. It took a few tries to find the right green/grey but I love it. I may need to use it again in the next house. :)

That is fantastic! I was a lurker on your thread because you had so much excellent help already, and it looks as though your efforts have paid off. Congratulations on the sale of your home! Although luck always plays a part in a house sale, don't minimize the value of your own hard work and attention to detail in getting it ready for showing. All the best :)