How To Create An Inviting, Aspirational Living Room

The key to a well-staged living room is to make it appear warm and inviting as well as upscale and aspirational. This can be a difficult balance to strike, but a good stager will do this every time by elevating the look and feel of the room. You might think of this as how you'd love to have the living room look when guests see it for the first time.  

To maximize the appeal to potential buyers, follow these steps:

1. Find the focal point.

A focal point is the first thing the buyer sees when entering the room. A well-positioned fireplace is often the perfect focal point for your listing's living room. No fireplace? No problem. An experienced stager will know whether to highlight a window or use a sofa to create a focal point for the room. 

2. Align the furniture.


Next, arrange the furniture to draw the buyer's eye to the chosen focal point. Here is where things can get interesting.


In many homes, the fireplace is on the far wall. In this case, the best arrangement is usually to set two sofas perpendicular to the fireplace or a sofa on one side and two chairs on the other, as in the photo above.


If the room is narrow, however, consider placing the sofa opposite and parallel to the fireplace, a little further back, and then adding two chairs to flank the fireplace and help draw the eye in.


When creating a focal point with a sofa, as in the photo above, it's often best to position the sofa on the far wall opposite the entrance to the living room. Again, using two chairs to flank the sofa draws buyers' eyes into the room and toward the focal point.


This is tougher in an open-concept home, where the kitchen, living room, and dining room are all one space. The trick here is to use an area rug to define a living room and then to place the sofa on the largest part of the wall, opposite where the buyer will enter.


3. Accent the focal point.

Choosing just the right décor will elevate the look and feel of the room. A pleasing piece of artwork or a mirror over the mantel can be just the right touch, perhaps along with an orchid on the mantel. A few birch logs or a Boston fern will accent the hearth.

If a sofa is the focal point, dress it with throw pillows in colors that complement the color scheme. Using pillows with different textures adds interest in a subtle way.

4. Further define the space.

A larger room may need another piece of furniture, such as a credenza or a decorative chest. The right coffee table, placed parallel to the sofa or sofas, will help set the stage. Place a pillow on each side chair. Position art on open walls or over key elements to complete the room.

5. Accessorize.

While every surface needs a decorative element to warm up the room (without accessories, the room will appear sterile), it doesn't take much. Just a few key elements will help buyers envision how they'd make the space theirs. This might be a few art books and a succulent on the coffee table, candlesticks and a bowl on a credenza, and a few pretty photos on shelves.

Elevating the look and feel of the living room can help seal the deal for your buyers. If you'd like to talk more about how I can make your upcoming listing shine - and help you get the highest price for your listing and your seller - please contact me.