 |
||||
An Uninviting Family Room Crafting a cohesive, warm look in your living room means saying goodbye to clutter and adopting a unified look. My client recently had purchased a new sectional sofa and area rug for her family room after her ex-husband had moved out. She decided to sell her home and had followed my suggestion to refinish the hardwood floors and repaint the house. (Painting and refinishing floors can give you a tremendous return on your dollar.) She lived in an upscale neighborhood where all the homes offered for sale were presented impeccably. She knew her house needed some finishing touches and asked me to help her stage it. The couch, area rug and coffee table offered a good foundation for creating a cozy, inviting family room. My client was going to move to a smaller home and she didn’t want to buy anything new, nor did she want to spend money on renting furniture. So, we decided to “shop” for things in her home to stage it and keep new purchases to a minimum.  Before Before • The basic furnishings were well arranged and fit the room perfectly, but the art on the wall did not meld with the furniture’s warm earth tones. When staging your home, it is best to choose artwork that harmonizes with the room’s color scheme and to avoid crowding it together. • The clutter on the table and couch had to go. Who wants to look at a messy room? • The coffee table needed dressing. • This room needed life! I like to have at least one plant (or a bouquet of flowers) in every room.  After After • We removed the watercolors and used them separately in other rooms in the house. We found a pair of compatible framed pieces in a closet. My client had seen them at a local discount store years before and had bought them “because they were cheap.” They fit the earthy, masculine feel of the room. If you don’t have the “right” art to stage your home, check out local discount stores. For less than $50 you can find some appropriate framed pieces that can add the perfect touch – a very worthwhile investment. • We packed away the clutter. I let my client know that during the time her house was on the market she would need to keep it clutter-free. • A pair of candlesticks, a book opened to a colorful page and a plant adorned the coffee table. • My homeowner wasn’t keen on taking care of living plants, so the realtor leant her the fern and the ficus (just to the left). It’s OK to use silk plants for staging, although real ones are preferred. Avoid using gaudy or fake-looking silk flowers – they can work against you. Feng shui-wise, it’s best not to use dried flower arrangements.
|
||||
|
||||
Kit Davey, an interior designer based in Redwood City, Calif., helps clients redecorate their homes through the creative use of their existing furnishings. E-mail Kit your questions: 
