apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

my husband is notorious for hoarding little scraps of paper, so i make sure I have visually pleasing bins strategically placed around the house(the term landing strip has no meaning to this guy) so I can dump his piles in there for later sorting, usually recycling tho. I makes for a much calmer, put tether look for the home.

Why remove the rugs? Some rooms can look really empty and cold without them...

It does look big and clean, but I think the compromise version would be more attractive. I like books on shelves and rugs on floors.

brickhouse - i believe we are married to the same man....although my hubs won't even get them into the bin - he'll actually leave them on top of it!

Great tips! Make sure the windows are really clean ... in and out! All personal products in the bathroom out of sight. If the space is small, paint all the walls the same neutral colour (if selling). It also helps make a space feel bigger if you have the opportunity to have the same flooring throughout the space.

Hm...I don't know. Spacious yes, but it seems a little cold. On the other hand, if you were throwing a party and having a lot of people over, this would be exactly the thing to do. As a space to live in, I'd want the rug back.

And I think the candle thing should go in the seller's only list. I can't think of anything more inviting than showing up for a holiday party and seeing and smelling a pumpkin scented candle lit on a coffee table. On the other hand, if you were having more than a handful of people over, the candle might seem hazardous and I'd suggest skipping it.

For selling your house, those tips might be fine -- but for having to live in it, they seem like downers.

For selling your house, those tips might be fine -- but for having to live in it, they seem like downers. (No books on bookshelves, seriously?)

If I go to someone's house and there isn't at least one filled bookcase, I think a good deal less of them. Just saying. They're not my kind of people.

I agree with some of the commenters. Maybe if you're selling, this arrangement might work (though you may want to paint..) but I can't imagine how one could live in a house this cold. It looks totally barren and not welcoming in the least. It screams boring people live here.

Staging gone awry.

Scented candles scream "I'm being staged!!!" and perhaps not in a good way - it just seems so contrived. I think something more subtle - like burning candles an hour before a visit and then putting them away - might work better. Or just some good-smelling fresh flowers instead.

For living, I'd absolutely want rugs, but I guess clearing them off when you're trying to sell shows there aren't any problem hiding beneath.

a rug would make your dining room look a lot more cosy and inviting... right now it feels spacious but barren. similar sentiments to those voiced above.

I don't see how a simple/plain light colored rug would make the room that much smaller?

I'm torn, I love the way my place feels wide, open and clean when Drapery,rugs and nick nacks are removed, but then again when you want to curl up on the sofa with a blanket, a lit candle and a cup of tea, it just isn't the same.

While I'm not trying to sell my house, I do always have that overbearing feeling of too much. Creating clean, object free spaces really gives that open, and bright feel. I'm okay with no rugs, but maybe some potted plants or fresh flowers?

That space needs a rug. What it doesn't need is those curtains.

I think I would feel sad and detached living in a space that was so bare. Hotel-like is not a compliment from my perspective. It smacks of anonymity.... and what is your home, if not personal? As for no books on bookshelves.... if you dont use them for books, they're purposeless objects... large, purposeless objects...and should follow everything else you got rid of.

That's not staging, that stripping. And too much of it. Bookshelves should be full of books, rugs warm up rooms, walls should not be that bare of art and photos, etc. A house is meant to be lived in, not emptied of life!

I don't understand why this was even done... I understand the need to cull and to simplify, but it looks like you just moved in. I was looking forward to tips on furniture placement and stuff like that.

For Selling, you want buyers to be able to visualize themselves in a space, and to feel as if the space is new and un-used, like a hotel room -- no matter that we all know the space is used heavily. It's about ATMOSPHERE. There's something compelling about putting yourself into a space that feels as if no one else has been there. So the home pictured in the post above is pefect for selling, if too empty for living.


* Remove personal photos -- you want your buyer to visualize themselves in the house after they leave, not your family
* put other personal collections away, too.
* Clean light fixtures. Don't let them see any dust.
* Clean your baseboards. Everyone vacums, but rarely do people wipe that layer of grime off the top edge of baseboards.
* if you can afford it, change brass-toned doorknobs and hinges to brushed nickel -- it suggests improvements that go deeper than fresh paint.
* Bleach the beejezuz out of shower grout, toilet bowls, and sinks -- nothing screams "bathroom needs work" than mildewey tile. And put the lid down! It may not be eco-friendly to wash that bleach down the drain, but it can mean the difference between a sale or even a lower negotiated price because the buyer feels they'll have to do improvements immedidately.
* remove bathmats
* remove all toiletries from the bath counters and showers -- remember, you want the buyers to feel like like the space is new and unused (clearly they know it's not, but this is about atmosphere!)
* White or very light paint for bathrooms -- it will make the seem bigger
* if you can afford it, put in new faucets -- they make a kitchen or bath look like it's had recent improvements overall, while dingy and dirty faucets remind buyers that there is work to be done
* put pet food bowls and litter boxes away when showing, and be sure to clean the litter at least twice a day to eliminate lingering odors
* Get your carpets professionally cleaned. It's about $150 for a 1500 sq foot house.
* clean windows inside & out -- and open curtains and blinds to let in as much light as possible. Bright rooms seem bigger.
* change light bulbs to full-spectrum bulbs for lighting that feels more natural and pleasant to be in.
* clean out the pantry -- get rid of old cans, bags full of bags.
*Remove all garbage cans and recyling bins completely from the premises. Remember, it's about creating atmosphere and the illusion of newness. There are no garbage cans in furniture showrooms, either.
* clean major appliances if they are included in the sale (can't hurt, even if they're not)
* NOTHING on the fridge. No magnets, no coupons, no children's art. n-o-t-h-i-n-g.
* ditto for window art.

Kimg924 - great comments.

When I was looking for a house (very recently), we saw one that could have been wonderful, but unfortunately smelled like cat piss, and of course there was a foul-smelling purple candle on the premises, argh. NO.

When I toured the house I ended up buying, the main bathroom was just gross. Leftover toiletries, dusty, dirty. I told my husband we would have to remodel immediately. This did bring the price down. But after the bath was cleaned it actually looked quite good - absolutely no need to do a rush remodel! Good for us but not so good for the sellers.

If nobody lives in the house, as in, you're selling the house of a relative who passed away, please remove your loved one's personal objects (such as half-used toiletries) from the premises. It's really weird, otherwise. Throwing them out AFTER the house sold kind of defeats the purpose.

If nobody lived in the house for some time, please have a cleaning crew come in before you show it. Empty houses tend to accumulate dust.

Your home appears to be worth less if it is clear you do not care.

I almost bought a house because it had a gorgeous huge bookcase full of books. If you treasure your books, please keep them where they are!

Ditto to kimg924--I want to picture myself in the house I'm trying to buy. So if I see personal stuff, even books, I can't picture my OWN books, my OWN rugs, linens, furniture, artwork, silly magnets, etc in the space. I want to inject my own picture on the canvas.

You can streamline a space without making it totally impersonal, as has been done here.