To get your house in shape for showing it to potential buyers, you make plans to stage it so that it shows off its best features. The staging process involves everything from art on the walls to rugs on the floors. The tips in the following list help you judge sizes and spacing:
Area rugs: Use an area rug to ground furniture or delineate a sitting area. Steer clear of buying a too-small rug. A typical sofa–love seat configuration works best with a 5-foot-by-8-foot rug. Don’t try anything smaller than a 4-foot-by-6-foot size.
If you have nice hardwood flooring in your dining room, show it off instead of buying an area rug. But if you decide to use a rug under a table and chairs, look for one that’s 24 to 30 inches wider than the table and chairs.
When you’re putting one big rug in a room to cover most of the floor, remember to leave 20 to 36 inches between the edges of the rug and the walls.
Artwork and photographs: When hanging art above furniture, place the bottom edge of the artwork 4 to 6 inches above the surface or back of the furniture. If the art is alone on the wall, place it 54 inches from the floor to the center of the art piece.
Chandeliers: To hang a chandelier in the foyer, measure the height of the foyer. The chandelier should hang down 3 inches per foot of the height of the foyer. For example, if the foyer is 9 feet high, the bottom of the chandelier should hang approximately 27 inches from the ceiling.
Install a chandelier in a dining room so that its bottom is 30 to 42 inches above the table top.
Dining room tables: Remove a leaf and use fewer chairs to make the dining room look more spacious. Avoid using table cloths because they make the dining room look smaller. If you’re renting or buying, choose a dining room table in proportion to the room. If traffic flows around the table, be sure you leave at least 48 inches between the edge of the table and other furniture or walls.
