Do you have a cosier looking chair and ottoman that you could put in the room? Something that would make it look like a great place to read. Its a pretty room, just not very inviting.

ML

This post was edited by maddielee on Sun, Jan 6, 13 at 11:35

I can see your struggle, especially not wanting to purchase furniture. I don't see it as a passageway, it feels more like a waiting room. To properly stage will require additional furniture. I would add a sofa along the big wall, and a comfy chair and a reading light in the corner.
Without that, I would definitely put the rug back down. The rug with create an atmosphere, but people will still recognize the hard wood as a value. Those truly interested will pull the rug back to see the floor. Turn the chairs so they appear to offer a visiting area. Maybe add a footstool and a comfy throw and a couple of magazines. When I staged our basement family room, I set up an extra table and staged a two handed card game.
Is it possible to purchase a sofa and recliner from a second hand store, just for staging? I'm probably not much help, but this post may encourage those with a better vision to respond.

If you could "borrow" a sofa or love seat from somewhere else I would place that where the chairs are and place the two chairs facing the sofa so that their backs are facing the opening to create a conversation area. I agree, put back the rug.

Good suggestions...and so simple. Wonder why I didn't think of it! OK, so here are a couple additions. The rug has been rolled up so isn't laying flat, but hopefully will give you a general idea. To me it does look a little cozier and the throw and rug add softnss. I could also pick up an inexpensive footstool to make it appear more inviting as a reading nook. If at all possible, I would like to make what I have work, but could pick up some inexpensive accessories. We've purged a ton of stuff in readying for the move, so I think if I showed up with something large my husband would kill me!

Regarding the couch, we do have one in the basement, but I think it is too big for the space. The only other chair that we have is a black leather recliner (or really ugly overstuffed one).

Might try moving the book case to the far wall, put chair beside it to suggest a reading area. I could also see a round table in middle of the room with a board game or cards. Good staging hints at possible uses of a room but doesn't stifle a buyers imagination with too much stuff.

That looks much better, but I might move the rug back under the chairs a bit more. Honestly, your house is so beautiful, no one is going to worry about the way that room is staged. I think you shouldn't worry either. It's clean and neat and fabulous in every room.

Lovely room and home. I like it with the rug very much. I don't think you need to spend much or any money to make it look more appealing. I like the 2 chairs and would not bother bringing in a couch.

I don't like any of the red items in the room. (throw and lampshades). To me they crush the relaxing vibe created by the aqua and tan. The picture is fine. But it you had something to swap out without the red try it and see how it looks.

I would remove 1 of the 2 lamps, and either switch out the other with another in your home, or get a plain off-white shade for one of them.

If you have a cream or tan throw I would add it where the red throw is, otherwise it looks fine without one. Clean and zen are the feelings that I get from the space, and I think you mostly have that now.

Good job! I would still close the chairs some, to make it a cozy sitting area. Think of it las a place to sit and chat with a good friend. I think the red is fine for your purpose. The only thing I would change is the location of the throw. Place the throw on the inside corner of the left chair so that the eye reads the line, starting with the tall lamp, next lamp, down to the throw, and on into the next room. The room may not be posed as a living room, but it is warm and inviting. People will get the idea.
Good luck!

You are right Julie, the red doesn't work very well so I'm trying more muted colors. I do like the scale of the picture....before this we had a couple of pastel types that you can see in a couple of the pics in the first post. We relocated them to the bedroom where they look much better. So, here is without any red accents (but the pic stayed, I could likely get a nice calming print from Home Goods if this pic is deemed not to work). I can't rearrange any furniture because my husband is not home. But the more I think of it, I kind of don't want the pro pics to be of the back of any type of furniture so may just try adding footstool and hope that will suffice. I really like the idea of staging it with a card table and game of some sort. With the arched door openings, I don't know where though. Thoughts???

On another note, juliekcmo, I am assuming by the user name you are in my neck of the woods. This is a Lenexa house that we will be selling to move to Brookside. We put an offer on one that didn't pan out. We and are hoping that the market opens up in the coming months, the inventory is very light right now!
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I like the room and the house will obviously sell itself. Personally, I'd remove the lamp from the table and try the throw on the opposite chair.

I'd also remove the wire basket and place either a decorative box, or some stacked books on the table.

I used to live close to Brookside! Love that area.

I agree that you don't need too much. Your house looks lovely.

I like it much better with the red removed.

And I live in Brookside, and just love it. We had 2 new families move in our our block between Halloween and Christmas. So nice move-in-ready homes are selling quickly.

Having recently been in the position of needing to sell furniture from my mom's house, I can tell you that there is a ton of furniture available at give-away prices. If you decide to acquire a sofa or other piece, do check Good Will, St. Vincent de Paul, etc. as well as Craig's list. It's a bad time to be the seller, but a good time to be the buyer.

I like the chairs the way you have them with the neutral throw and only one lamp. I do not like the bookcase...it seems so bulky. Maybe if you emptied it and then put back only the things that make it looks nice, such as the, one picture centered on the top shelf, lantern off to one side on the second shelf with some nice books (one book end to help them stand up). Third shelf, which is narrow...two stack of books, Fourth shelf..artifical plant with maybe a small framed picture on a stand and the fifteh shelf...put a lid on the box (or get one with a lid). I think less is always better than more....nice house...love the arched windows.

Much better! I like it without the red, especially the lampshade. The rug made a HUGE difference, made it look more like a room rather than a hallway. A chaise or loveseat facing the chairs would be great, but it's very nice as is - and better to err on the side of too little furniture than too much.

I think it might look nice to move the bookcase over to the wall where the chairs are now. Perhaps place it in the middle and have the two chairs in front and yet centered. Have the two art pieces flank the bookshelf.

It is a lovely room! Love the color and the vibe. It seems very cozy and warm. The rug adds a great deal of grounding and warmth.

I think it is a good idea to always try and put something in the buyers mind so they have a starting idea of what a space can be.

I had an empty nook in a home I staged. I could have left it empty. However, I wanted to show it could be a usable space. The funny things is the buyers bought everything in that nook! So... guess I was right on that one. At least with those buyers.

I have attached a link below to it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Perfect Reading Nook

You may be right pal, I just shampooed the rug, but once I replace it after it dries I'll try the chairs facing in and imagine a sofa there. But unless I am completely convinced I may just leave as is and move on to tackling the closet, a project I have been dreading.

This has been very helpful, I may hit you up on some of the rest of the rooms! Thanks!

It's a pretty room and the rug warms it up. However, if I were a buyer walking in, I'd look at the room and wonder why such a pretty room looks as though it isn't really lived in. I'd start asking myself if it was too small or if there was some other issue. A beautiful front room that looks unused would give me pause. I'd be distracted by that as I toured the rest of the house. This room looks to be just inside the front door, so I'm guessing it will be very much part of a potential buyer's first impression of the house.

I know it's painful to bring more things into a house after you've streamlined your possessions, but a love seat or sofa on the long wall would go a long way to making the room feel much more usable. You can get a cheap used sofa that looks ok and donate it when you're done. Try that with the chairs facing in toward the sofa. It it feels too cramped, try one in on the left side as you face into the room. The bookcase may need to move or even be removed.

I suggest moving the chairs a bit closer to the lovely table between them. Then put a low round table (about 40") in front of the chairs and stage it as someone suggested a board game set up as if playing is going on or a deck of cards that has been dealt. If a game is set up as if 4 are playing, you might consider pulling in 2 dining room type chair to sit across from the other chairs.

I would also have more books and fewer accessories in the bookcase to indicate what a good reading room this is.

Hope this makes sense.

This post was edited by walnutcreek on Sun, Jan 6, 13 at 19:59

I know this doesn't help you, but I can't but think that is the perfect music room. A baby grand piano would be lovely there. I can just imagine chamber music nights, sight-reading piano quartets, with friends listening and snacking in the family room.

I still think the red items fill in some space. The beige takes it back to a waiting room. The red was warm and inviting, and I am a neutral gal!
Place the throw on the right chair. The eye moves from the lamp, down, and into the other room. Just my opinion.

It's a lovely room, but the lack of a couch in there makes it look even smaller, as though a couch would not fit.

I have a living room much the same size. I have not had a couch for about two years, just chairs. I got a loveseat just a week ago, and surprisingly, the room looks bigger now.

I am so confused now. I feel like I need to do a complete research analysis to see which is the preferred look!

I did try the chairs to see how I would feel looking at their backs, and it didn't bother me but I don't know that it made the room feel bigger either. You'll have to imagine a loveseat on the opposite side, and the chairs may even need to be pulled further into the room.

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I have to wonder if it's worth it to spend the money to bring in another piece of furniture or if I am overthinking this one room and need to move on. Somebody earlier mentioned it leaving a poor first impression since it is the room right off the entrance, but I am not sure if that is the case. The family room lies right past it and to me, that is where your eyes are drawn. Here is the entrance view. Please ignore the very dark pic, it had snowed the day before so there was quite a glare coming from the windows straight ahead and my camera compensated in a way I couldn't quite turn off, but I think it gives the general idea. The problem room in question lies to the right ....my eyes are always drawn to the far wall....

Move on. The purpose of staging is to create a setting to depict a purpose for the room. Your room is staged for sitting/maybe extra seating for entertaining. It could be used as an office, but there is no need to bring in a desk. If you had posted an room empty you would have gotten numerous different ideas. A sofa isn't going to make it appear any bigger. Your house is beautiful and very warm and inviting.

I agree. An extra couch here or there will not be your deal breaker. I agree with loda, your house is beautiful.
In today's market you have to be realistic when you set the selling price. Have you done your research with comps in your area? Sorry if I missed this is if you discussed it)
People want a move in ready house and you have that!

The room looks lovely, and I agree you should move on to other projects. However, at some point, I would consider trying out a tall, feathery green potted plant - even faux if necessary/available, to bridge the area between the high window and the picture, in the corner behind the chair. I suspect it would visually balance the heavier bookcase and help with scale of the low chairs and thin lamp post. The natural look of a plant would also compliment the aforementioned Zen look....Amazing how effective the rug addition has been! good luck! - Penny

I like it, but for selling, I would

1. Lighten up the paint.

2. Take the bookshelf out

3. Do 4 chairs and a small coffee table or ottoman OR buy a used couch off craigslist for cheap, and resale it when you move, put it on the wall where the chairs are now, and put the chairs on the other side.

In the larger room I would take out or move the chair that seems to intrude into the hallway. Maybe that could be juggled into the front room in some kind of arrangement.

I think it looks best with the red accents and with the chairs against the wall. Two suggestions - if you have a realtor picked out already to list your home, have him/her come over and see if they would 'tweak' anything. Second, if you're still thinking of redecorating it somehow to give the room more of an identity, it seems to be the perfect room for a cool, vintagey themed home office. There are so many inexpensive decorating items out there that could help you achieve that look. The biggest obstacle would be some kind of desk. Honestly though, I think it's lovely just the way it is and you've made it easy for prospective buyers to project their own ideas onto the room. Good job!

Don't know if anyone else has suggested this but have you ever thought of staging it as an office? I could picture a desk, lamp, and chair, and then a comfy chair too. Since you have the bookcase maybe an office would look nice. Oh, and the rug looks nice too!

I just want to chime in again. I think the room is beautiful. I love the paint color and the items you have. I would leave it as you had it originally but with the rug and lighter throw. If you do not have an office set up anywhere in your home and have a spare desk I would definitely consider staging as an office. If not, it really does look beautiful as it is. Now that I see the photo of what people see upon first entering your house, I see the room in question is not the first thing their eye will go to.

Keep us posted!

Well, interesting turn of events. Our house is not yet listed, we are getting the house ready with the plan to list by the end of the month after we get some bigger things completed (namely recarpeting upstairs and a porch repair). We have our listing agent selected and she is aware of our plan. Last night I got a call from her that she received a call from another REA with a party interested in a house in only my subdivision. Inventory is very scarce and he has seen and dismissed the two houses currntly on the market in the subdivions. She was calling to see if my REA knew of anything else coming available. So, they are coming to look at our house tonight. Not enough time to do any more changes obviously. While I am realistic that this ideal situation will probably amount to nothing, I am happy to have a chance to do a trial run and get some preliminary feedback.

About the office situation - I agree that this would be the perfect set up. However, we have an office upstairs, and it isn't the pretty little wood desk office, or I would have just relocated it. It's a big L-shaped metal "working" desk that is definitely form over function.

I appreciate all the suggestions and will keep you posted!

Ooh that is soooo exciting Kellie! My boyfriend had the same thing happen with his Seattle house and the couple bought it!

Keep us posted. Fingers crossed!

The same thing happened to us with our last house. The couple came by in the early afternoon to look at it and then again in the early evening. At 9PM that same night we got a great offer: asking price/all cash if we could be out in 40 days. Done! Keeping my fingers crossed that this works out for you, too.
Lynn

We got an offer! We are still finalizing some details and the contract isn't signed, but it is heading that way. The details are pretty negligble so I think we will reach an agreement.

I am very excited, but also a little nervous that we don't have a house to buy yet. Our plan is moving from our 1990 suburban home to a 100 year old house with more charm so I am sure I will have lots of decor questions. Provided we don't live in a tent that is. We looked at a Tudor today that I loved, but my husband didn't. I may be in the market for a better husband soon.

Congratulation! Keep us posted, it will be fun watching you decorate your next home.

Fingers crossed!

Wow, you are so lucky. It's much more fun to house hunt when you know your current house is sold. Our previous house didn't sell for several months after we had already purchased our current one. It gets a bit stressful with 2 mortgages. Good luck finding the perfect new, old house. Can't wait to see how beautiful you will make it. You have very good taste in decorating.

That is fabulous!

Congrats!!!!

Amazing....! Great news!