Tips for Staging Your Living Room

One of the first rooms potential buyers see is the living room. That is why it is extremely important that it be welcoming and appealing.  The first step is to de-clutter and depersonalize the space. Go through the room and remove personal photos, collections and any décor item that is smaller than 6”x6”. People want to see the room, not your personal items.

abq home staging Living-room before after.jpg

Does the room need any repairs or repainting?  Now is the time to do it. Get rid of that bold color you added eight years ago. Maybe upgrade that light fixture with something nicer. How are the carpets? Do they need a cleaning or should they be replaced? I can hear a few of you saying, but I don’t want to spend that much money, well here’s the thing, if you don’t you’re going to pay for it in the way of a lower selling price. And here’s the thing, it’s cheaper to pay for a repair or update than what the potential buyer will deduct from their offer.

Next, consider the floor plan. Look at the room objectively and decide which pieces of furniture need to stay in the room and which need to go.  Is there a better way to layout the furniture than how you’ve had it for years? You want to make sure it is easy for potential buyers to walk around the room. Is there a view that you want to highlight, make sure it is accessible.  Or do you want to take away from a bad view?

Once the furniture is in place, consider adding a few colorful accessories.  A large piece of art or two, throw pillows. Décor items work best in a pair or a grouping in odd numbers. Make sure to keep the décor simple to appeal to the greatest number of potential buyers.

The last thing to do is to get great pictures of the room. Most buyers look online so it’s so vital that the photos of your room look fantastic.  My parting advice is to hire a photographer.