13 Home-Staging Secrets
Whether you're designing to sell or designing to dwell, here's how the home-staging pros get that "I have to have it!" look — and how their tips and tricks can make your own home look like a million bucks.
By Leah Hennen
11. Rearrange Your Art
If your home is like most, art is hung in a high line encircling each room. Big mistake: Placing your pictures, paintings and prints in such stereotypical spots can render them almost invisible. "Art displayed creatively makes the art stand out more and shows off your space," says Michael Friedes, Nest Home Design stager based in Oakland, Calif. Break up that line and vary the patterning and grouping by hanging a row of art in several ways:
- Diagonally, with each piece staggered a bit higher or lower than the next. This is great for directing the eye toward an architectural feature like a window or arched doorway. Designer Aimee Kim uses a diagonal arrangement (above) to add interest to a dining room wall.
- Triangularly, with one picture above, one below and one beside — a nice accent for a table-and-chair vignette.
- A vertical line, perfect for accentuating a high ceiling. "Hang pictures on different planes so that your eye goes up and down as it travels around the room. It creates interest on your walls," says Friedes. Try hanging things a bit lower than you're used to, as well, so that wall art relates to furniture groupings rather than floating (and getting lost) in its own space.
- Get more ideas for displaying art from the pros.
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