Make Sure Your Sofa Talks to Your Chairs
Think of a nice hotel lobby: The furniture is arranged in groupings that invite conversation. When you place the furniture in your living room, aim for a similar sense of balance and intimacy.
“A conversation area that has a U-shape, with a sofa and two chairs facing each other at each end of the coffee table, or an H-shape, with a sofa directly across from two chairs and a coffee table in the middle, is ideal,” says Michelle Lynne, a Dallas-based stager.
One common mistake to avoid:
Pushing all the furniture against the walls. “People do that because they think it will make their room look bigger, but in reality, floating the furniture away from the walls makes the room feel larger,” she says.
Let The Sun Shine In Your Kitchen
"When it comes to heavy, outdated drapes, a naked bank of windows is better than an ugly one," says Lynne.
Ideally, window dressings should be functional and elegant: Think sheers paired with full-length panels.
If your room gets a lot of sun, opt for light colors that won't fade. The most recommended lightweight fabrics for panels are cotton, linen, and silk blends because they tend to hang well.
Hang at Least One Mirror in Every Room
"Mirrors can make a space feel brighter because they bounce the light around the room," says Breining.
But placing one in the wrong spot can be almost as bad as not having one at all. Put mirrors on walls perpendicular to windows, not directly across from them. Hanging a mirror directly opposite a window can actually bounce the light right back out the window.
Layer Your Lighting
Every room should have three kinds of lighting: ambient, which provides overall illumination and often comes from ceiling fixtures; task, which is often found over a kitchen island or a reading nook; and accent, which is more decorative, highlighting, say, artwork.
For a living room, you should have at least 3 watts (42 lumens) per square foot. One visual trick Breining swears by: using up lights.
"Placing a canister uplight or a torchiere in the corner will cast a glow on the ceiling, making a room seem bigger," he says.
