Before and After: How Home Staging Reimagined a Dark, Dated, and Oversized Family Room

Lighting truly makes all the difference in a composition, whether you’re taking a photograph, painting a portrait, or staging a home for sale. Kara Woods, owner ofStage to Movein Danbury, Connecticut, understood this when she was brought on to stage a 5,940-square-foot home in Pound Ridge, New York.

挂牌资料,4-bathroom家说:“一个宝石,Woods, an award-winning home stager and an AHSC-Certified Approved Staging Instructor who specializes in the luxury market. When looking at the custom-designed shingle-style country house—set on a 9-acre lot amid picturesque country in northern Westchester—“you could tell there was a lot of care and love for this estate,” she says.

“The property and grounds were kept impeccably. Each light switch was labeled, the carpets were handmade, there were family photos everywhere, and you could see how generations of the family had enjoyed their time here. It was a home full of love and life.”

The only problem? It felt dark and dated, especially the great room, part of theopen concepton the first floor. Despite its soaring ceilings and generous size, the space needed help, she explains.

“When it came time to sell the home and the parents had moved on to downsize, our goal was to update the space and give it new life with the intention of seeing a new generation enjoy family time and luxury living,” she says.

So Woods set out to “lighten and brightenand to show the size and space of the room,” she says. Because the space had too much furniture, which was in dark colors and an outdated style, she removed most pieces and replaced them with light, transitional-style furniture.

She also painted the walls a lighter color, removed the heavy drapery, and updated lighting fixtures—all of which made the room appear more open and airy. It wasn’t a ton of work, and most of these changes were cosmetic, but it made a huge difference, Woods explains.

“The result is a room that shows off the size and feels updated and youthful again,” she says.

Afterward, the grand brick fireplace and the hardwood floors rightfully take center stage, and two carefully placed seating arrangements occupy the space without overpowering it.

“Most buyers don’t want to take on a residence that needs too much work,” Woods says. “By updating the space, it makes it a turnkey option, and that is a huge advantage to a property when selling.”