It’s always fun walking into a place for the first time since I never know what I’m going to see. Trust me, nothing surprises me anymore :). It was pretty obvious that there were two students living here, and I was going to have a limited amount of furniture to work with.
Since we have to stay within budgets, I knew the main floor was a definite priority to get painted in a neutral colour.
Living Room
The turquoise walls were too bold to appeal to the masses. I noticed the wall color more than the actual space or the nice fireplace.
Once the walls were painted we started putting the ‘style’ back in. In order to keep costs down, I was able to reuse their drapes (which looked completely different with the new paint colour) and all their furniture. Adding the red area rug helped give the ‘wow’ factor and it anchored the room. The was our new colour inspiration for the artwork and accessories.
We were able to use their furniture, but adding lamps, artwork, accessories on the coffee table and accent cushions made a huge difference. Removing the bookcases by the stair case and just adding some metal artwork really opened up the area.
Dining Room
Nothing adds drama to the dining room faster than hanging a nice light fixture. Not only does it give the room some character, it also helps define the space which is important when it’s an open concept.
Since I only had two chairs, I didn’t set the table since I didn’t want to draw attention to that. I always have to remind myself that I’m ‘staging’ and not ‘decorating’ a house. My job is put in just enough to help the buyers get their own ideas.
Buying an $85 light fixture completely changed the space.
KITCHEN
Simply adding bright and cheery artwork and red accessories make the home feel warm and inviting. The colours all flow from one room to the other which makes if feel larger.
Bedroom #1
This 2 bedroom condo is the ideal model since both bedrooms are considered ‘master bedrooms’ because they are basically the same size and they each have their own full bathroom.
Unfortunately there wasn’t the budget to paint the bedrooms so I worked with the colours to show buyers that they can look beautiful just by adding artwork and new linens.
Moving the bed around and removing the shelves, allowed me to make the long wall my focal point. This also gives more floor space so the room looks and feels larger.
I carried through with some purple accents so you could see that these two rooms went together.
Bedroom #2
The huge corner desk took up so much room and made the room feel off-balanced.
By removing the desk, and brining in artwork and lamps, the room felt more ‘grown-up’ so we can appeal to a larger target market. Buyers can see that there is still lots of room for a dresser.
Balance and symmetry is important in staging. It’s just easier on the eye so you can focus on the room.
Keep it simple. Sometimes all a room needs is a good tidy up and deep clean.
