Sep 1, 2021

Creating a Story in the Living Room

When staging a home, it’s important to create an atmosphere that extends effortlessly to every room. This is called creating a story. For a perfect staging story, the stager draws inspiration form one central room and carries its color palette and furniture placement throughout the rest of the house.

To illustrate a staging story, I’m going to walk you through the central room for a recent staging I completed. I found the inspiration for this home from a local magazine called “Modern Farmhouse Style.”

As soon as I walked up to the ranch style home in Snellville, Georgia, I knew I wanted to stage it using techniques from that magazine’s front cover. To accomplish my ideal staging story, I had to choose a central room. I decided to start with the living room.

Step One: Highlight A Focal Point

Highlighting the focal point in the living room is key to my staging designs. In some homes, focusing on the the focal point is as easy as placing the furniture around a beautiful fireplace or a picturesque window. For this particular room, however, the focal point was a blank wall. The exterior of this home had several trees and a luscious lawn so I decided to create my own focal point by using a magnolia leaf wreath anchored with two white farmhouse window panes. Then I added a table with décor to complete the focal point from top to bottom. Now on to the next step.

Step Two: Create conversation groupings

The idea of a conversation grouping in furniture arranging is used to define the way that the furniture is placed to create a cozy and inviting area. Creating a conversation grouping can vary from house to house depending on the size of the home and the desired traffic flow. A stager may choose to use a sectional for a spacious to highlight an open concept house.

Another way to create a conversation grouping is to place a sofa and loveseat on either side of the room to create a included in the space. For this home, I used a third conversation grouping technique by pairing two accent chairs with a couch. I chose this grouping because I did not want to block the room’s two large windows with bulky furniture. Instead, I chose to use smaller accent chairs to keep an open room flow and optimize the natural lighting.

Step Three: Add secondary furniture

Secondary furniture fills in all the empty gaps in the room as it adds depth to the main furniture and wall art. First, consider adding a few end tables. I added one table between the two accent chairs to create length within the furniture groupings and to highlight the windows. The coffee table should always be centered between the conversation grouping along with an area or throw rug underneath.

This creates a layering effect, which is more inviting to buyers. If you’re left with any unbalanced or empty space, you can add a smaller piece of accent furniture as a finishing touch. For this living room, I chose a large white wicker basket with a throw blanket which I felt kept the aesthetic closer to the farmhouse theme. However, other space fillers could include large potted plants, blanket ladders, or standing lamps. Once the secondary furniture is done, it’s time for the final step.

Step Four: Layer on accessories

Now that you have laid the foundation, you can add a little more to the color palette through a variety of accessories. Layering accessories is one of the most enjoyable parts of staging. Soft goods such as blankets and pillows are a must in any living room staging design. I added fun square pillows to the accent chairs and sofa. A soft, black blanket tucked into the nearby basket built extra depth to the warmth of the space. Lamps are another great staging tool for both function and style. I chose the lamp in this living room primarily for style purposes to add a little glam to the space. As an extra touch, I always try to include local or favorite magazines, especially if they include aesthetics that inspired the living room. Floral arrangements are a great way to liven up any space. For this room, I used a glass vase with limelight hydrangeas arranged on a rustic serving tray.

When preparing the staging design, a good stager strives to tell a story throughout every detail so that they right buyer will connect with the home. Creating a story when staging a living room starts with a focal point that moves through the furniture arrangement and into the layers of accessories. All steps are equally essential to creating an ideal staging aesthetic. This living room in Snellville, GA was meant to portray the story of a ranch style home with a modern farmhouse design. By doing this, we created the perfect atmosphere that buyers fell in love with and prompted offers above the listed price.