The larger your home on the market appears the more money it commands.
Yes, buyers will study the square footage stats, and appraisals will be based on numbers, but buyers will also respond to how your home feels, how they experience it.
Of course, removing clutter and excess furniture goes a long way to making a house look spacious. But what else?
One trick decorators have up their sleeves is employing the magic of diagonal lines.
If you think about a square, and then visualize the line that goes diagonally from corner to corner, you'll realize that the line that goes from corner to corner is longer than the line that goes from side to side.
A diagonal arrangement forces the eye to wander back and forth across the space, and makes the walls of a room appear "pushed out."
Tables, chairs, and couches are the obvious choices for diagonal furniture placement, but a bed can be set kitty-corner as well, even in a small bedroom. Don't overlook the possibilities of setting case pieces like bookcases, benches, armoires, chests or dressers the same way.
This kitty-cornered loveseat rounds out the room while it directs attention to the outdoor space, a selling point in this home. Photo: BHG |
A simple twist of the four chairs so their lines don't parallel the walls of this narrow patio, make the space more fluid and interesting. Photo: Suk Design Group |
This approach is a big improvement over the traditional arrangement of a major piece of furniture facing the opposite wall straight on. Photo: Homedit |
Everything in this room that could be moved was re-arranged to sit at 45 degrees to the wall. Doing so makes the room look more friendly, less formal. Photo: One Kings Lane |
Furniture groupings such as conversation areas and dining rooms often take on a cozier look when they are placed off the square grid. One caveat: Make certain the angle is pronounced enough to make the placement look intentional, not as though someone has simply been careless about shoving furniture around. To be safe, keep angled furniture at 45 degrees to the wall. And make sure there is still adequate room to move about easily.
Floors can handle it, too
I laid peel-and-stick tiles in two rooms of this 1920s home to unify the rooms and make them look wider. |
If you are laying flooring like pre-finished or engineered wood, running the boards diagonally will create the illusion of a bigger room.
A square or rectangular rug will do the same thing if placed 45 degrees off the wall.
Tiles on the floor or wall, in a herringbone pattern or otherwise, are widening as well.
Anytime you can show off the longest line in the room, do it, either by what you put on the floor or walls or how you arrange furniture.
So, even if your home's measurements aren't all that impressive, when buyers step inside your home, you can still make them feel like it's roomy.
To test this method yourself, move some pieces of furniture to be 45 degrees off the wall, and see if you haven't increased the visual dimensions of your space.
Have you staged your home like a square or a diamond?
I give many more pointers on how to arrange furniture in my eBooks written especially for people staging a home. You can download it now and start your home staging today.