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This home near Cedar Lake in Minneapolis is a true find. It has lots of finished living space, a well-proportioned yard and a desirable neighborhood.
But even with all its positives, it was difficult for prospective buyers to overcome the dark and dated interior.
"It was hard to see past that blue carpeting when nothing else stood out as a positive feature," said Lori Matzke of Centerstagehome.com. "Playing up the positives has a tendency to make the negatives a lot more livable."
Here's what Matzke did to enhance the features of the room and help downplay the carpeting.
While the drapes in the dining room were kept drawn to keep out the heat from bright sunlight, Matzke pulled them wide open to flood the room with natural light. She suggests leaving your window treatments open and setting the air conditioning to a comfortable level while your home is on the market, even if it means paying a slightly higher energy bill.
A wing back chair that had blocked the entry point of the room was removed to open up the space.
The sofa was pulled 2 feet away from the windows to allow buyers access to the view and help add dimension to the room.
The oversized coffee table was stored and replaced with a smaller, octagon-shaped coffee table that had been used next to the sofa as a side table.
Matzke replaced the large mirror over the fireplace with a vintage Chinese watercolor found in a secondary bedroom and a Tang dynasty horse sculpture from the sun room. The new accessories are more proportionate to the fireplace and because there is more visible space around them, they create the illusion of higher ceilings. The subtle shot of color in the picture frame also helps! to dimi nish the contrast between the strong colored carpeting and neutral walls.
To downplay the impact of the out-of-style built-in planters, Matzke traded the dusty, faded silk greens for less obtrusive silk vines (two potted plants at $6.99 each) and fresh cedar chips ($6.50).
A lighted glass cabinet that had been competing with the fireplace was de-cluttered and angled in the corner to put more emphasis on the fireplace.
Matzke moved the side table lamp -- and replaced the metallic shade -- to highlight the far corner of the room.
Swapping the velvet navy blue chairs for two white upholstered chairs from the sun room gives the room a lighter look; arranging them at opposite corners draws the eye through the room.
A soft velvet chair, in the same color family as the carpeting, rounds out the seating area and ties the color scheme together.
Branches from a maple tree! were arranged off-center on the coffee table to frame the fireplace.
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