The sitting room / drawing room (or whatever else you may call it) is one of the most important rooms in a house which people remember, after the kitchen. This is the room where furniture can have the most detrimental affect… especially a TV.
FACT: Generally when women look at sitting rooms they ask if their sofa will fit, men ask if their TV will fit!
1) I always say it. DE CLUTTER!!! Most sitting rooms I work on require at least 3 boxes of books, magazines, ornaments, pictures and other household ‘stuff’ put into storage before the room has the look buyers go for.
2) Try to not make the TV the focus of the room. Think about how the room could be laid out if you weren’t constrained by power sockets and TV aerials and if you wanted to spend equal time sitting with friends as sitting on the sofa watching TV. This is the ideal room layout. Remember by using extension cords and areal extensions any equipment can be positioned in any location.
3) Try and avoid large overpowering furniture. When people say they can see past large furniture – they are lying! 80% of potential buyers think a room is small
er than its actual size when dominated by large furniture. This may mean you put some furniture into storage or even hire furniture which fits in the proportions of the room.
4) Plants are lovely in a lounge – they bring the outside in and make the room seem fresh and alive. If they are dead / dusty or (I’ve seen this before) have their pot used as an ash tray they should be removed immediately! If you don’t have a plant, Ikea sell bonsai from about £7 and orchids from about £5.
5) Be honest. Are your walls scuffed? Is your woodwork chipped? Is your wallpaper coming away at the corner? Resolving these minor imperfections can be done in very little time and can have the biggest impact as it makes the room look ‘finished’ not ‘tired’.
Lounge before:
Lounge after:
