DIY Home Staging Tips

How to Arrange Furniture

Monday, October 14, 2013

Most of us arrange our furniture in one of two ways. We either put furnishings where they seem to function best -- an end table snug up next to the sofa, chairs clustered around the dining table -- or we place furniture as if on display, maybe the way our mothers and grandmothers arranged furniture decades ago.

When a home is on the market, each of these approaches can work against making the right impression on buyers. Today, homes on the market need to look terrific in photographs. But they also need to be believable, practical, and functional.

I’ve collected all the tips and tricks, all the best professional designer advice, all the guidelines and formulas in one place -- an eBook devoted exclusively to arranging furniture to make rooms look better and function better, too. I wrote with the home seller in mind, someone staging her own home to sell it fast for a good price. But the advice will resonate with anyone who takes pride in her home and wants it to look its best.

Sitting areas should feel cozy but not cramped.

Whether it's formal or not, the dining

room's importance can't be underestimated.

To look inviting, bedrooms should always

feature more than the bed.

A fireplace in the room presents

a number of possibilities.

Every buyer wants spaciousness. Furniture placement

can enhance the appearance of roominess.

The size and style of furnishings are just

as important as where they are placed.

Here are the kinds of topics I cover in this easy-to-understand eBook.

How to create a dining room that gets used!

What to do about a corner fireplace

Four unusual ways to test your furniture arrangement

How to find a focal point

How to take measurements and when not to bother

Seven tips that make a home office function well

How to make large rooms feel comfortable and small rooms feel spacious

What to do about a path that goes between television and couch

How to easily place wall art

Best arrangements for narrow rooms

Plus tips on

Lighting

Rugs

Bookshelves

Family Rooms

and -- especially -- Staging your home for sale

Don't let poor furniture arrangement ruin your chances to impress buyers, whether they are seeing your home online, on a video, or on a personal home tour.

I’ve titled my extra-helpful book

How to Arrange Furniture --

A Guide to Improving Your Home Using What You Have.

It’s a 25-page PDF that you can download now.

Autumn Curb Appeal: Pumpkins and a Grapevine Wreath

Thursday, October 03, 2013

Do you want to sell your home?

Is it staged to tell home buyers that you care about your home?

It doesn’t take much to put out a happy, positive message to buyers, starting with the outside entry.

Sweep the area near the door.

Knock down the cobwebs.

Put out a new welcome mat.

Maybe paint the front door.

Add something that reflects the season. Now’s the time to add some autumnal décor.

Keep It Simple

I concentrated on green this fall. And it worked fine indoors. But green just doesn’t have the punch for a festive front entry.

So, I chose black, white and orange as a theme. I recycled a grapevine wreath I made a couple years ago by striping it, spraying it white, and gluing on some bows and balls. I made three fabric pumpkins. And I bought some mums. Done.

With those elements, I was able to dress up this home’s front step.

I hung the wreath on the storm door
so it could be seen from the road.
I prefer a grapevine wreath to one of
foam or straw because it's lightweight
and stands up to all kinds of weather.

Polka dots are one of my favorite patterns,
and I think most people are charmed by
them, so I made three polka-dot bows.
I like to use odd numbers when
constructing a wreath. I added plastic globes.

A strip of ribbon glued to a plain plastic
flower pot dresses it up.
It was the scrap I had left
from a roll of ribbon. The mums tie
the colors of the front door
to the colors in the wreath.

Fabric pumpkins are surprisingly
easy to make. Start with a long rectangle,
stitch or glue the short ends together,
then gather the long ends and stuff.
Glue on a cork or driftwood stem and silk leaves.

Drapery weight fabric works best for pumpkins.
These sit under a porch roof, so they
are protected from wet weather.
I stuffed them with filling from an old pillow.

Don't ask me why I had bright orange polka
dot fabric in the back of
my fabric closet, but it came in handy
to repeat the wreath's polka dot motif.

The fabric for this pumpkin is an
old linen tablecloth. The silk
leaves and embroidery
thread wrap-arounds are optional.

If you are selling your home and you want encouragement and a whole host of tips for staging it yourself, download my popular DIY Home Staging Tips to Sell Your Home Fast and for Top Dollar.