When it comes time to prepare the living room for the showing, the big question is whether to empty the room, or have it staged. Staging your home is actually the better option because it helps to convey how the space can be used properly, should the buyer have a lot of furniture that they would like to incorporate.

In fact, staging your home, especially the living room, can make all the difference in whether or not a buyer wants your home.

Tips for Staging Your Living Room

There are multiple ways you can incorporate staging into your living room to ensure that buyers fall in love with your home as soon as they walk through the door.

• Have lamps plugged in and set up near the corners of the living room, to illuminate any and all dark corners, which will add more light and bright feelings to the room.

• Do not block any of the windows or natural light sources, unless it's a light curtain that is practically see through.

• Only use small chairs and sofas to give the illusion that the room is bigger than it actually is.

• Showcase lamb’s wool, satin, silk, and any soft fabrics by having throws overs chairs and sofas.

• Place mirrors, paintings, and anything of the sort in the room to add more dimension and depth.

• Create conversational areas by arranging the furniture in a vignette style.

Staging your living room is one of the most important things you need to do when selling a home, because it's generally where company will be entertained.

Even if you do not have a lot of furniture staged in there, it helps to give the buyer a mental image of what they would do with their furniture, random items, and how they will see themselves within the room.

Giving a buyer a perfect mental picture of how they would do things and how they would entertain any guests within the living room is incredibly important, and will definitely help you to sell your home a lot faster.

The Importance of Traffic Areas

While staging your home, it's incredibly important to keep traffic areas in mind, which need to be kept open to allow a good, natural flow.

Traffic areas are self-explanatory, but they are the areas where people will be traveling through a space,

the areas that will be walked through the most, and the areas where you will be showcasing your living room the most, so make the most of it.

If you have carpeted floors, then traffic areas will have already shown because of the years of traffic while you lived there.

Therefore, if there are traffic lines within your carpeted areas of your living room, be prepared to stage the room so they do not show.

With the proper amount of furniture and planning, traveling throughout your living room will be free of blemishes and will ensure that the buyer can have a perfect mental image of where they would place all of their belongings.

Identify and Utilize the Focal Point Within the Room

Focal points are specific features within a room that captures a buyer's eye as soon as they enter the room.

All of the focal points within your living room need to be highlighted when you are staging your home, with the goal being to draw and enhance the eye on these special features, to ensure that the buyer instantly falls in love with the room.

The focal point in a living room is generally the fireplace, but if you do not have one, then your focal point is whatever is the largest, most dramatic object within the room.

A bookshelf, for example, could be further enhanced by placing books, candles, and a large mirror nearby.

The most common focal points within living rooms are as follows;

• The fireplace

• Arches, beams, ceilings, and walls that are angled

• Height ceilings

• Tray ceilings and other interesting details within the ceiling itself

• Arched, bay, large, and other forms of windows that really stand out within the room

• Reclaimed lumber, old brick, and other forms of featured walls

• Entertainment centers

• Bookcases that are built in

With a fireplace, hanging a large mirror or a large piece of art over it really adds perception, depth, and extra drama to the room, and will always draw a buyer's eye successfully.

You could further enhance the fireplace by adding a beautiful vase, floral arrangement, candlesticks, or any object that will catch the eye of a buyer within a symmetrical line going across the mantle of the fireplace.

When it comes to focal points, symmetry is better than asymmetry because it helps enhance the focal point itself while keeping everything neat, tidy, and does not give a look of complete clutter.

For windows, however, ensure that they are kept completely open and do not have anything that could block the window itself or the view outside.