When it comes to staging a home for sale, there are many design and styling rules that companies follow to ensure that when the house hits the market it reaches the right target audience, increases the number of potential buyers, and highlights the home’s best features while detracting from the less desirable attributes. From the selection and placement of furniture and artwork to the addition of accessories, there are many things to consider and incorporate when staging a home. While there are multiple furniture and decor pieces that all home staging companies use, there are also a few items that some businesses incorporate into the home that others don’t… and the choice to include or exclude these pieces can make a huge difference to the end result. One such item is a TV. Should a television be used when staging a home for sale or not, and why?
Some people argue that a television is a large and bulky black box that is an eyesore and detracts from the aesthetic of a living room. For that reason, some companies believe the space that would typically house a TV would be better filled with a piece of art so a buyer’s attention is not diverted from the beauty and potential of the room. While there’s nothing wrong with this approach, TV’s actually have a purpose and play a really important role in appealing to a potential buyer’s emotions, getting them across the line so the homeowner achieves a successful sale.
Although they may not be pretty, we will always incorporate TV’s into a living room when staging a home. The whole purpose of home staging is to remove a buyer’s need for imagination. They should be able to walk into a space and know its exact purpose. The reality is most households in Australia own at least one television these days, so by not using a TV when staging we would make a buyer use their imagination as to where it would go.
As you can see in all three images above, we always place beautiful pieces of art in a living room. The TV in each room, which is sized appropriately according to the room’s features and dimensions, is complementary to the artwork and other furniture and decor items on display. The black TV is tied in with other black coloured items, such as a coffee table, TV console, or picture frames. All of these considerations together ensure the TV fits seamlessly into the space, doesn’t detract from the beauty of the room, and nothing is left to the imagination of the potential buyer.
“We use TV’s all the time, you’ll see that in all of our styling, other companies don’t. So it’s just about articulating why we think it’s important.”
Phoebe Shorter, Co-Owner and Chief Stylist at Foxy Home Staging
Don’t get us wrong, a TV certainly isn’t as beautiful as a big canvas painting or framed print, but with the right room layout and television placement, it will blend into the room perfectly and look like it’s meant to be there, rather than stand out. Here at Foxy, our stylists have a few important rules to follow when staging a living room, one of which is that the TV shouldn’t be the first thing you see when you walk into the room. Instead, when first entering the living area you should be welcomed by a stunning, plush looking couch and beautifully styled coffee table. By doing this, it makes the picture perfect styling and the home’s best features the focal point of the space.
As you can see from these three annotated images, the way our stylists lay out and decorate a living room ensures the TV is not the area’s focal point or the first thing to be seen upon walking into the room. Based on each room’s point of entry, the first things a potential buyer will see are the plush couch, decorated coffee table, and other features like occasional chairs, pieces of art and plants. You can also see the TV is well blended into each room, which means it doesn’t stand out and looks well suited to the space.
Avoiding large TV’s like the 75 inch ones you typically see in houses today also helps with executing this look. Using smaller televisions allows us to achieve the desired result without it being large and obnoxious.
So, despite the concerns of some, incorporating a TV into a living room when staging is a non-negotiable for us. When done correctly, a television adds value to the space and levels-up the impact of home staging, helping the client to sell their home faster and for a higher price.
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions feel free to reach out to us on Facebook or Instagram – we always love to hear from you! Also, don’t forget to check out our Foxy TV Episodes. In this one you see to the right (or below if you’re on a mobile device) Cody talks about being priced too low before touching on using TV’s when staging homes.
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