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I know the shades are dated, and the lamps too for that matter, but they are staying.

We had our first showing today and they seemed to like the house. She said she passed over our zillow listing several times because there weren't many photos, so I loaded these and will retake some when I get a warm and homey vibe going in there. After they left, I walked through turning off lights and noticed that in the laundry area, there was no switch plate cover over two switches. I had taken it off so dh could replace one of the switches because the electrician had messed up one of the white paddle switches and temporarily subbed in a beige toggle switch. He never came back to replace it and we got so used to it being that way that we didn't even notice that they were different until yesterday. Argh. Next showing tomorrow.

p.s. If you have any suggestions for that little cabinet beside the fireplace, I'm interested. I need to keep it out, but can't figure out where to put it so it looks like it belongs.

Usually a room looks better with the blinds fully open. Is there something outside you don't want people to see?

Those photos were taken around midnight last night, and I was in my pjs, so I didn't open the blinds for the pictures. I'll take some later today with them open.

To get some color into the room, your pillows idea is good. I would also get some inexpensive colored shear panels for the windows. Maybe matching the color of the pillows. I'm just not a fan of bare windows. They look unfinished to me. I would make the fireplace the focal point in the room, not the TV. The arm chairs can be moved on either side of the fireplace. Draped with a colored throw on the arm. Sofa moved back a bit from the chairs facing the FP. For your pictures I would hang one to the right of the FP, passed the window in the 2nd picture. The other I would hang on the larger space back wall to the left of the TV. Is there another empty space on that back wall for the small cabinet? Put it there with perhaps books or candle holders to make it appear taller. Good luck with selling!

That would be a good idea, but it isn't two chairs, it's a chair, loveseat, and sofa. I was trying to arrange the furniture so both tv and fireplace were visible from all the seating. Hard to do when they are at opposite ends.

Missouri, when I sold my house and 2 years later my mothers, I took down all but blinds and roman shades from the windows, removed any hardware and had the plaster repaired from the removal. Yes, that crisp clean uncluttered look and an opportunity for a buyer to imagine their own color, how they might soften with some fabric if they should want to add that.

While I like your pieces floated and away from the walls, I find the furniture arrangement a little off too. You have people seated to watch the television with their backs to the fireplace, rather than a cozy 'set yourself down to enjoy the fire and a movie' which might be more welcoming.

Just remember you are staging for sale, not decorating. A little color by means of some pillows, a throw could be all you need and may even be something you have that could be 'borrowed' from another room.

Thank you morz8. I completely agree with you about the holes in the wall, especially for curtain rods. After patching all the holes, I hate to put more in unless absolutely necessary. I've noticed that in most listings around here, the blinds are all that are in windows. Very few curtains. I do have curtains in the bedrooms. But those curtain rods were already there.

How would you arrange the furniture? The tv can't be moved btw.

The chair/loveseat needs to go closer to the wall so the power cord to the light isn't a tripping hazard. Do you have a coffee table you could put between the chairs and sofas (or could you borrow one)? Open the blinds, add a little bit of color if you have some spare pillows. Clean and simple is far better than personalized and I wouldn't buy anything to decorate a house you are trying to sell unless you know you want to take it with you to the new house. I would not add any window treatments.

I'd either warm the room up or get rid of all the furniture in there (if that's possible).

If you're using the room. Curtain rods are cheap. I'd just leave them with the house. Curtain panels are inexpensive, too. Or if the view is nice, just open the blinds all the way.

Add pillows, some throw, maybe a floor lamp, side table, bowls. Anything that you have in your house somewhere else. Maybe a rug.

I'd arrange for two areas: One for the TV, the other the fireplace.

Can you give us a room layout with dimensions? Right now, the first problem is the layout of the room.

The focal point needs to be the fireplace and not the seating group around the tv. Once you have the furniture rearranged so it focuses on the highlight of the room, the rest will fall into place.

I've been gone most of the day so missed the comments about not doing window coverings. This is what I've brought home. The valance is on a tension rod so no need to make holes. And of course, it's dark again. Got the valance done first and then found these pillows. I'm not sure I like them so haven't untied the packaging. The red matches the red in the valances, but they may be too red.

I'll move the furniture closer to the walls next. I hadn't planned on even plugging the lamps in when other people are here, but just leave the lamps as decoration I guess.

The tv has to stay in that spot because the video camera cables come out of the wall right there. And yes, this is the main living area for us and our only place to sit and watch tv. It's not the only fireplace though. The furniture in the formal living is grouped around that fireplace.

Here's the layout.

It has been a very fast area. I talked to a realtor today who said she has been turning a house on average of 7 days. But she also said it slowed a little when school started.

Yes, I mentioned dh's office because that is another room that leave me blah. I haven't started on it yet though.

I would rather not put up full length curtains if these will do. We just patched all the corners from previous curtains, and I'm half afraid that the patches will shatter if we try to put another shield in them.

Had to wait for dh to wake up and go to bed before I could move the chair. Here is the furniture moved back to about 2 feet from the walls. I don't have a coffee table since these are all recliners. But here is an end table placed in front of the sofa just to see what a coffee table would look like. I don't want to buy one just to have to get rid of afterward, and I don't know anyone I could borrow from, so maybe there's something else? The little trunk?

All my throws are packed, but I have 3 quilts still unpacked. Will any of these do? They don't drape like a throw and a quilt across the back of a sofa screams old lady to me and it slides off when anyone sits on the sofa. If one would work, across the arm, or where?

This one has the right blue but the red is a purer red than the pillows which are a bit rusty red.

This one has the right color red, but no navy blue, just medium blue.

This one has a pinkish red and no blue at all.

Yes, no sense spending money if she is right. She was also pitching her service to me. Two homes on our street did sell in the first week and for list or above, but that was in July and early August.

Would you keep all four pillows or just one red one on the sofa and one on the loveseat? I could exchange one set for another color or keep looking for pillows with red and blue in them.

First I like the red but many people are "scared" of red.

I would not hang the valances. All you need to do is raise the shades, make sure the windows are clean and let the light in.

I would use the pillows I think with the third quilt. Love all three though.

How about putting the furniture angled between the tv and the fireplace?

However, my first choice would be to move the tv anyway and disguise the wires. Remember you're trying to sell the house. Once you make that business decision, you need to stop thinking of the house as yours and you need to think as to how best to showcase the positive features of the house. That is not the tv. It is the fireplace. Fireplaces connote warmth and coziness. While having 2 fireplaces isn't important to you, it might be to a buyer and needs to be played up.

I think it's a mistake to not play it up with the couches in front, and that gorgeous quilt implying that you could sit under the quilt with a good book, a warm drink, etc as you watch the fire. You want to play up the romance of the fireplace.

Yes, you'll be inconvenienced, but if homes are selling in 1-2 weeks, that's a short time to be inconvenienced to make the sale and move on with your lives.

OK off my soapbox and here's my idea. Tomorrow I'll play to show you my thoughts for moving the furniture to showcase the fireplace.

cpartist, I love that plan! I'm going to go move the furniture right now.

It didn't work out as well in the room as on paper. I think our furniture must be a little larger than the ones I chose from icovia too. It really looked off from the door going into the room.

So this is how I would rearrange it for real so the fireplace is the star. A small coffee table isn't necessary and if you do one, I'd get a glass one so it is light and not heavy in the room.

I moved a table in front of the wires where the tv was and moved the chair to the back corner as a separate place to read. Put a light on the table there to make it appear there are multiple things the room can do.

1. Watch the fire

2. Read

3. Watch TV.

4. Sit and chat with family and friends.

(PS: You need a larger painting over the fireplace)

If the couch is too big to do along the side like that, switch the loveseat and couch positions.

But the beauty of setting it up like this is now a family coming to view the house can see how they can have a fire AND watch tv at the same time. Before, people coming to look would most likely do a "huh?" This layout now "explains" it to them in a way they can see it and when staging a house, that's what you want and need to do. Make it so people can see how they too can put their furniture in the house.

I agree with you 100%. But there's still the issue of all the cables feeding down the wall and into the back of the tv where it is now. If we move the tv, we wouldn't be able to show them how the security cameras work. And we wouldn't have anywhere to watch tv for the next few weeks or however long it takes to sell. This room is, and has always been a problem because of that fireplace location and the tv. The glare from the windows even with blinds down, makes it impossible to have the tv beside the fireplace in reality. I tried it out there one time with the arrangement pretty much like you have it.

Can you put the tv on the wall there or maybe put a small tv there? Then from the couch you could watch it and still show how the security cameras work.

That's a good idea. We do have an extra tv. I need to see if it has enough and the right kind of plugs. Thank you!

cpartist, I rearranged everything over the fireplace like you suggested and it looks even better. Thanks!

Happy to help. :)