Let’s be real: most of us wouldn’t consider a three-bedroom house a small space. However, when a home is located in Texas, such as this one in suburban Dallas, that perspective can change a bit. After all, as the saying goes, “Everything’s bigger in Texas!” That was certainly the experience of home stager Nedra Hines of Effortless Charm Staging, who has years of experience staging large homes with multipurpose spaces such as formal living and dining rooms.
When the owner of this property, a real estate developer with whom Hines often works, approached her about this project, she knew it would take her out of her comfort zone. “I’m used to setting up larger properties where there are walls or things like chandeliers to mark out living spaces,” she says. “Plus, I wasn’t even sure I had the right size furniture in my inventory to get the job done,” she says.
Armed with precise measurements of the house and every piece of furniture she had available to work with, Hines began mapping out the layout of the open-concept main space. The first puzzle she had to solve: where to place the sofa. Getting it right was key because it would dictate many of her later choices, and the fireplace tucked away in the corner of the room didn’t make the decision any easier.
Homeowners often place the back of the sofa against the longest wall in the room, Hines says. In this case, it would be the wall extending into the kitchen area – which was forbidden. Since Hines designed for sale, not for living, she had to consider how the furniture placement would affect the photos in the real estate listing. “Putting the sofa on the wall that shares the kitchen wouldn’t have worked because there wouldn’t have been a clear view of the sofa when the photos were taken,” she explains. She also rejected the idea of placing the couch opposite the fireplace because it would obstruct the path to the hallway in the bedroom. In the end, placing the sofa on the wall of the fireplace was the best option.
With the sofa in place, Hines completed the living room area by adding two chairs and a glass coffee table, making sure to bring in the right-sized pieces that wouldn’t overwhelm the room. She used a rug, pillows and artwork to create what she describes as a modern, urban style with complementary shades of blue and rust.
Hines added a table and chairs across the room to create a dining area. She brought a bit of homeliness to the gray kitchen by adding bar stools and tableware. Bar stools provided seating at the kitchen counter, as well as additional seating near the living and dining areas. Says Hines, “Buyers need to see that they can take full advantage of the space regardless of the size of the property.”
In an amusing twist, the carefully staged property never even made it to the market. As Hines loaded supplies into her car after finishing the scene, a passing Uber driver stopped to ask about the property. Like a pro, she quickly invited him over to take a look. “He loved everything about it,” Hines says. “Property got an Uber driver contract in two days!”