A Home Stager Transformed This “Dark, Moody” Apartment — Now It’s a “Light, Airy” Oasis

For one seller in the Upper East Side in Manhattan, a 4,600-square-foot penthouse listing seemed to drag on and on without anyone buying it. At the time, the property was unstaged and empty. With hopes of moving the listing onto an actual sale, the homeowner turned to Interior Marketing Group and the team’s staging prowess — and got an offer within one day of listing it staged.

The approach to staging revolved around balance — balancing light and flow, and adding intentional choices with furniture and accessories that made the space, which featured dark wood throughout the apartment, look more fresh and welcoming.

“From the start, our goal was to brighten and energize the space,” says Camila Matho, the senior project manager on the job. “The property initially had a dark, moody ambiance, which felt less inviting, so creating a lighter, airier feel was paramount.”

Painting was the logical first step, as the penthouse was empty already. That brought in a lighter tone on the walls, complemented by added light fixtures, lighter-toned furniture, and large area rugs that could further offset the dark flooring.

The bedrooms are all located on one side of the apartment, which led the staging crew to give each one its own personality.

“We leaned into imaginative setups from a nursery to a tween room,” Matho says, noting that details in each room held extra importance. The tween room, for example, had an art piece with the word “Twitter” on it, and a hand-written diary entry in a notebook on the desk.

The playroom received a similar treatment, designed to encourage creativity. The team brought in custom-made furniture, like a large round sofa, built-in bench seating, and a two-person desk that would allow kids to play together on the same tabletop. Accessories and toys were pulled in as well to create a lived-in, more personal feel.

“Carefully placed blocks were purposefully left scattered to hint at a child’s recent play, infusing charm and realism in the design,” Matho says.

In the office, the team added large mirrors and moved the desk to make the room look more spacious and bright. Existing dark wood cabinets and open shelves were balanced out with the introduction of minimalist sculptures and textured decor pieces. Mirrors became a central theme throughout the home, including in the dining room where they were specifically placed to reflect light and open space.

Once the staging was complete, a buyer who’d seen the property unstaged saw it again — and made an offer on the spot for $7.875 million.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to see that our thoughtful staging brought the property to life and was an integral piece in positioning the space as ‘home’ for the new owner,” Matho says.