LOVE the after! It highlights the beauty of the actual room so much better.

Matter of fact, just last week I took this risk, and it was like the room breathed a sigh of relief. It's a long great room, and having the sofa parallel with a long wall (necessary to see fireplace/TV) was making the room feel like a bowling alley. The change also made me realize I need to ditch my long butcher-block dining table; I just picked up a 100-year-old pedestal table that expands to a large oval shape. Taming the long straight lines of the room is making it feel much more homey. :D

I love the new living room! looks so inviting, intimate and homey.

interesting. Would have loved to see where the slipcover chairs and extra table etc were before the re-do.

well yes it looks amazing! But no thanks also to all the amazing accessories like slip covered chairs, extra lamps & pillows plus removal of the TV? and addition of that chair. A great thought for us when we're moving soon though.

Hard to see the pure effect of repositioning. I like the before better: it's cleaner and calmer. The after scene is too cluttered and busy by comparison.

Oh dear, that "after" is VERY fussy - the effect of the new diagonal layout would have been much clearer without all the tablecloths, ruffles and brocades, and endless ornate lamps. As it is, the "before" looks more spacious. I would like to see the whole room, actually!

There is so much more visual interest in the after. The before is just a little bland and boring - safe.
Good job!

The after space makes me feel claustrophobic, I couldn't live in that space. Although I am glad the walls are no longer two colors.

Would have been better to just float the sofa off of the wall (and repaint, add rug, and about 1/2 of the accessories.)

Try removing anything smaller than a basketball - your real estate photos will read much better and the room will be much airier!

@doxallo - it looks like they slipcovered the wooden chairs by the window, and threw a tablecloth over the existing table there - so they are basically in the same place.

I dont mind the offset of the couch. Gives it a different feel and you have an idea of how much space...but there is way to much stuff in the after.

You cant see the details of the room anywhere with all the clutter. way to many skirts on things.

@potpie Exactly. White, and a Kelim or a worn Persian, and some bits of real colour.
And that "smaller than a basketball" is great advice!

I don't disagree with going on the diagonal in principle, but in this room it looks like doing so created a lot of unusable space in a small room. It might be more interesting visually - although I'm not sure the new accessories couldn't have accomplished that - but I think it's a lot less functional.

When I lived in Brazil, it was the only time in my life I had a housekeeper. And it drove her crazy that I had my couch on the diagonal. Every time she came over she would rearrange the furniture back to right angles. It was an amusing battle of wills between us. I didn't know enough portugese to explain my decorating philosophy.

This really works mostly because there's space to do it. It's not a small room, all furniture considered. If it was an apartment that was much smaller, or it had a combination dining area and living area, you wouldn't be able to pull this off.

While I agree that the sofa on the diagonal creates a more lively arrangement, I also agree with Potpie that there are too many accessories and ruffles and whatnot going on. And if this is being staged to sell, I actually prefer the "Before" picture because the room looks more spacious. Painting the walls, removing the TV, adding a rug and some big accessories, and slipcovering the table and chairs would warm up the room without having to rearrange the sofa on the diagonal.

The after looks much more interesting, but all I can think when I look at it is how hard it would be to clean it.

That's really how I judge everything.

The room still looks crowded and small to me. It would be nice if the TV could be installed in those bookshelves some way (remove a shelf I guess?). A different paint color would also help.

The best way to make a small room look/feel smaller is to shove lots of small pieces of furniture in it. Sofa, chair on the side, coffee table - done.

the after seems a lot more lively and dynamic. it's warmer. and the single, lighter paint color makes it more refreshing overall. very cozy.

works great for me, although one of my walls happens to be diagonal and just long enough for the sofa. using the bay window walls makes a nice seating area in my studio.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/63122153@N00/5562483284/in/set-72157623185972361/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/63122153@N00/3771113118/in/set-72157623185972361/

and before:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/63122153@N00/2434972215/in/set-72157623185972361/

I originally had my sofa perpendicular with our windows, facing the wall with the tv. After my husband moved in, I came home one night to find it on the diagonal. It was weird at first, but it's a much better arrangement - we get good sightlines to both the tv and the big windows, and it's easier to move around the sofa to the dining area.

Brilliantly perfect!
Love the corner window location for tea table.
Good couch location for "behind" natural light, too.

The size of the room before looks more awkward, even if it does seem more spacious. I would rather live in the "after" room because it seems more cosy. I think the bookshelf has been nicely de-cluttered, and I like the addition of the large items on top, because I think it fills the space nicely and draws the eyes upward. The addition of lights has made a big difference, too. I wouldn't want quite so many pillows, and I have mixed feelings on the treatment of the bistro set. Without seeing the rest of the room, I'm not convinced that I would put the couch on an angle, but I do think pulling it out from the wall is a good choice.

Moving the sofa into the corner isn't what opened up the space for that other chair...
...but getting rid of the TV sure did.

Amazing difference. Can the stager come to my place? lol

The after looks too cluttered. I like the before better.

The after photo looks smaller with the couch on the diagonal. I'd rather have the space look larger.

I also feel that the after photo is way too busy and cluttered--feels like my grandma's house, and she's had over 90 years to collect and hoard.

But my biggest issue with this type of before and after is that the before room is a realistic room, in the sense that the majority of people want to be able to see a television from their couch. In the after room, the TV seems to have vanished altogether--this is only a useful suggestion for stagers, people who have enough rooms to essentially have a TV living room and a more formal one, or people who shun television. I don't get cable but I like TV-based entertainment enough that I'm still going to position my furniture in a way to make viewing the TV enjoyable. This means sacrificing otherwise good design ideas (like making my fireplace the focal point) but my home is meant to be used and enjoyed, not just on display. I think solutions for furniture placement should honor not just aesthetics but actual use as well. I'm not convinced this after room does that, as clearly the before room has the TV positioned such that it appears to be important to the occupant.

Yes! I did this, too! Same shape of room and although common sense said to put it under the windows... I did diagonal. Much more welcoming in a narrow room!

I agree with those who say the diagonal sofa looks nice but it's much too cluttered and 'fabricy' in the second picture. I love the sense of airy-ness in the first picture.

Regardless, still a gorgeous home both before and after!

Yep, my sofa is on the diagonal. It's less space efficient, but it de-emphasises the focal point of the TV without reducing visibility. The couch appears to "point" at an artwork in the corner of my living room, not the TV next to it.

I used to have the sofa on a diagonal. I liked that it emphasized the length of our smallish living rm, but also because it let my son hide all his legos back there and play to his heart's content without having to pick up *and* without cluttering the whole room. He loved it.

After is SOOO much better. Should put away some accessories though. Also, the little table near the window with the table cloth is just too much.

hmmm it's got me thinking what I can do in our L shaped lounge/dining (which we have NEVER dined in)

I like the after paint color, otherwise it looks too much like a grandmother or crazy cat lady house. I liked it better with the TV. This is from someone who doesn't own one anymore (but not because I think myself superior) I love seeing how people incorporate their TVs into their spaces.

The "after" looks somewhat like the interior of Marsha Mason's apartment (after she and Richard Dreyfuss hooked up and he got his big break) in The Goodbye Girl.

Very 1970s NY-chic.

I've tried the couch on the diagonal thing a hundred times in various apartments because I'm constantly itching to tweak and rearrange and I always wind up going back to the couch against the wall. Maybe it's just the living rooms I've had, but it always looks weird.

I think I would have put the couch in the window nook facing the room and then put a couple of arm chairs facing it but further out towards the fp. And remove a lot of the other stuff. But that being said, I love the warm tone of the new paint color!

I have long loved the idea of off center and diagonal furniture placement, but have lived in a whopping one apartment that had enough space for me to do so, and even then it was with a loveseat, not a full size couch.

I'm too busy drooling over the architecture.

Our couch is on the diagonal in the living room. We have a odd layout with one of those 1970s rock fireplaces jammed in the corner. The only way to make the room look balanced is putting the couch on a 45 degree angle. Also, I think the room looks way too cluttered in the after.

I think it looks nice, but a little cluttered. I realize it's being staged, but I think that for the sake of my shins, a round or oval coffee table would be much more appropriate here. And it might make the space look more open?

diagonal sofas when looking at real estate always makes me actually move the sofa to see if there's a big stain under the sofa-

I looked at a home once where the sofa was artfully placed (in a good way) over a wine stain in the carpet. For some reason, I looked under the sofa- and we laughed a long time over that.

love love love! my studio has a similar layout and originally i tried to put hte love seat on the diagonal but it felt too small for the room...but i'm inspired to try it again...i never thought of putting the couch facing away from the window! it could work though i like to look out...definitely worth a try! thanks for the inspiration.

The addition of the pillows, upholstered chair and many objects d'art creates more of a cozy Victorian style room in my opinion. Painting over the darker orange(?) wall helped to make the room seem more airy despite the extra furnishings. Always good to change it up -- nice job!

I have to agree with a lot of the other comments - The diagonal sofa seems like a great idea but the "after" room looks too cluttered with skirts and ornate lamps to really appreciate the effect of the sofa move.

agreed. ditch the table/chair covers and some of the knick knacks, and you'll have a more staged look.

potential buyers need to envision themselves in the space, not feel like they're invading someone else's home. it's needs to be clean, functional, spacious and most of all, minimal.

Yup, my sofa is on the diagonal. It helps focus the energy on the living room, and breaks the dining room into it's own space.

don't try this at home, kids- sofas on the diagonal *rarely* look right, and usually make a room look cluttered and cramped. (full disclosure- my own home has my sofa on the diagonal, but opposite my fireplace, also on the diagonal. it's ok, but wouldn't be my first choice if i could arrange another way).

What happened to the TV?

Ya...the TV! Also, in the 'After' what use can you get from that end table sandwiched behind the couch and the wall?!

Hey everyone! For those wondering where the TV went, the owner moved out and took it with her. Also, there's a wall under the lofted area where I shot this at a right angle to the fireplace where a TV could be hung/set up. For those that know Boston, this studio is in the Back Bay, an area where frou frou fabric-y does much better for sales than minimalist clean in our experience. Thanks for the lively discussion!

Thanks for response tarabellucci. Just the usual severe criticism you see around here. Little is ever good enough for much of this crowd unless it looks like a dorm room or has an Eames chair and a Nelson lamp. And I've never seen a makeover where a certain element didn't *always* like the before better. Very high school. I they didn't distract you from the thoughtful comments. Keep up the good work.

You can't do a before and after to compare the placement of furniture if you also add a ton of stuff that wasn't there before. For all we know, it may only look better because of the new stuff, not the new arrangement.

Very well how you placed the sofa,, diagonally,,but I would leave the bay windows open,,looks cluttered with the table and chairs..maybe a nice tree plant or some pictures ..but I would leave it open,,for the scenery outside.nice how you blend the walls with a nuetral color too.

Is the rest of the house empty now? I like the general style of the after but how do you walk around in there? It's highly cluttered