Professional home stagers know how to play up your house’s strengths, hide its flaws, and make it appealing to just about everyone. We talked to several pros across the country to get their tips for freshening up the rooms in your home without breaking your budget.
- Set The Tone at The Front Door
- Paint Wall Colors Light and Neutral
- Living Area: Make Sure Your Sofa Talks to Your Chairs
- Let The Sun Shine In Your Kitchen
Hang at Least One Mirror in Every Room - Scale Artwork to Your Wall
- Layer Your Lighting
- Anchor Rugs Under Furniture Feet
- Call in a Pro to Declutter
- Use Visual Tricks to Raise The Ceiling
- Give Old Finishes The Cinderella Treatment
Paint Wall Colors Light and Neutral
Stick to colors like beige or gray, especially on the first floor, where flow is important. “You want to minimize jarring transitions,” says Breining. Neutral walls give you the greatest decorating flexibility, allowing you to easily switch up your accessories.
And if you have two small rooms or studio apartments next to each other, painting them the same neutral color helps them feel larger. Look at a paint strip and move up or down a shade or two for a subtle variation from room to room.
Let The Sun Shine In Your Kitchen
“When it comes to heavy, outdated drapes, a naked bank of windows is better than an ugly one,” says Lynne. Ideally, window dressings should be functional and elegant: Think sheers paired with full-length panels.
If your room gets a lot of suns, opt for light colors that won’t fade. The most recommended lightweight fabrics for panels are cotton, linen, and silk blends because they tend to hang well.
Scale Artwork to Your Wall
“There are few things more ridiculous-looking than hanging dinky little art too high on the wall,” says Breining. The middle of a picture should hang at eye level. If one person is short and the other tall, average their heights.
Also, take scale into account; for a large wall, go big with one oversize piece or group smaller pieces gallery-style. For the latter, don’t space the pictures too far apart; 2 to 4 inches between items usually looks best.
Anchor Rugs Under Furniture Feet
Follow these basic rules for an area rug: “In a living room, all four legs of the sofa and chairs in a furniture grouping should fit on it; the rug should define the seating area,” says Breining. “At the very least, the front two legs of the sofa and chairs should rest on it,” he adds.
Even living rooms with less than generous proportions usually require an 8-by-10-foot or a 9-by-12-foot rug to properly accommodate a seating area. Go too small with the rug size and everything looks out of scale.
Hang at Least One Mirror in Every Room
“Mirrors can make a space feel brighter because they bounce the light around the room,” says Breining. But placing one in the wrong spot can be almost as bad as not having one at all.
Put mirrors on walls perpendicular to windows, not directly across from them. Hanging a mirror directly opposite a window can actually bounce the light right back out the window.
Here are all types of ideas for your home to look eyecatching and eco-friendly environments.
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