Here are 10 rules for buying furniture that will save you money and make home staging easier.

1. Make sure you can stage a comfortable and attractive dining area. If your dining area is small you should not take up the room with a china cabinet. I staged many houses with a black lacquer buffet. It looked very elegant and sophisticated topped with 2 lamps and some fresh flowers. My dining table is a traditional cherry drop leaf table that seats as few as 4 or as many as 12. My black lacquer chairs have been reupholstered many times.

2. Buy solid colors. Any solid color upholstery is easier to stage than any print, especially flowers. If you want flowers put them on throw pillows.

3. Always guard traffic patterns through rooms. People who are looking at houses need room to walk through the place.

4. Avoid country furnishings. A country piece here and there is OK, but don’t fill your house with this or any other style that might get too cute.

5. Skip the doodads and clutter. Less is more in this context. If you are a collector pack the stuff away before you start showing the house, especially if it is valuable. Did you hear about the woman who lost her engagement ring from her bedside table during an open house? Don’t let something like this happen to you.

6. In bedrooms highlight the bed and make it beautiful and attractive. It’s the star. If a bed is very large use a light colored bedspread. Other furniture may overcrowd the room. I normally stage even the master bedroom with the bed, 2 side tables and 2 lamps. If the room is large enough I make a sitting area for 2 people. Clothing belongs in closets. Dressers only work in very large bedrooms.

7. Don’t line every wall and space with furniture. Furniture is for comfort and conviviality not filling every space. Overcrowding your house will make it seem smaller. Most buyers want all the room they can get. Let them see the square feet you have.

8. Remember to furnish your yard. If you have outside room make it work for you.

The best thing about furniture is that you can take it with you each time you move. I have enjoyed moving from place to place. In each home we got to take a fresh look at the things we had and make it new again. It’s a lot of fun.

9. Buy smaller. A sofa or love seat is much easier to stage in a conversational group with 2 chairs than a big sectional. Conversational groups should fit completely in a 12 foot square or less.

10. Avoid sets of Furniture. Odd collections of furniture can create a more sophisticated, collected looking style called “eclectic”. This kind of collected furniture allows you to mix the old and interesting with the new and interesting. It’s more fun. One of my favorite style mixes is primitive antiques and mid century modern furniture. The esthetics work.

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