BEFORE, the living room and view, across the dining area, to the kitchen

This open-plan two bedroom apartment has soaring ceilings and exposed pipes, the perfect combination for people who want to live in the trendy East Village. With a wall of windows facing fourth Avenue, the main-living-entertaining space should be awash with light, sun streaming in at all hours of the day. Alas, that is not what welcomed us when we were called to this East Village property to prove an occupied home staging consultation.

AFTER, the living room bookshelves are pruned back and the leather sectional repositioned to make the living area open to the dining area.

There were 6 oversized frames tapestries lining the walls.

BEFORE – Yes, this is urban living, but storing a bicycle in the dining room just makes the apartment feel cluttered, cramped and not aspirational.

By reducing the framed tapestries to only two, buyers are able to focus on the exposed brick, the high ceilings and the large, open space itself.

AFTER, the addition of a sideboard creates a more graceful entertaining layout. As for the bike, it finds its way to temporary out-of-sight lodging during showings!

For this occupied home staging plan, we rearranged the living room sectional which opened up the entertaining space and created a direct path to the dramatic wall of windows.

A thorough cleaning of the unit as well as fresh accents in the form of decorative pillows, vases and statues, bed linens, towels and candles added a well deserved layer of color and warmth to the rooms.

BEFORE – comfort trumps style

AFTER – comfort AND style prevail in glorious harmony!

Occupied Home Staging Tip

The challenge with an occupied home staging is devising a plan the homeowners can live with – for as long as it takes to sell the apartment. We think the key to a sustainable plan is to keep the layout as similar as possible but minimize the personality, the clutter, the particulars that take buyers’ focus away from the space.  Of course, the most difficult part is keeping the property tidy, clean and ready for an imminent visit from….your mother-in-law?  A seller who is serious about releasing his property understands. In the case of this East Village apartment, the seller cam home from a business trip and absolutely loved what we had created.  Thankfully, he still wants to sell it!

Whew.