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Project: A formal living room in Mendota Heights.
Positives: A spacious room with floor-to-ceiling windows and neutral paint color.
Negatives: The room was dark and dimly lit, with heavy furniture arranged in a long and narrow space.
This formal living room is well-used, but how you live in a space and how you show it to sell are two different things.
"Because of the heavy furnishings and lack of light reflecting back into the space, the room felt a little too dark and moody,"
said Lori Matzke of
Here's what Matzke did to lighten up the mood of this space...
To make the room feel more open, she edited the furnishings and accessories. Matzke moved two matching formal side chairs to the family room, which immediately opened up the space and allowed for a more inviting arrangement.
A small lacquer coffee table was removed to keep the space from feeling too cluttered. And a dark, attention grabbing print collection over the antique buffet was also removed to keep the focus on the space, not the artwork.
A heavy bookcase that blocked buyers at the doorway was moved to the opposite wall to allow easier access to the room and to create a sense of height that helps break up the long, narrow dimensions of the room.
In place of the bookcase, a small hallway table and soft artwork keep the space inviting without feeling too heavy.
A dark wooden chest that had been between the windows was moved to the wall on the opposite end of the room (not shown) for balance. Matzke replaced it with an antique buffet to draw attention to the full length of the space.
Floating the sofas toward the center of the room and placing them at an angle draws attention to the large windows and outdoor view. This arrangement also keeps the furniture on the carpet, which is surrounded by a band of hardwood floors, and gives buyers a better perspective on the size of the space.
An Asian garden seat next to the sofa keeps the arrangement feeling light and airy.
The overgrown plants and heavy planters blocked the windows, so Matzke romoved them to let more light into the room and reduce clutter. Cleaning the windows and removing the screens makes the room feel even brighter.
Blue-and-white porcelain and colorful art create a sense of consistency and flow.
Contents of the bookcase were stored and the shelves were decorated with a few pieces of porcelain.
Leaving some of the shelves empty makes the space feel even larger.
A colorful watercolor over the buffet was left in place to draw attention across the room, and a bright blue ceramic table lamp brings light to the far end of the room.
Matching sofa pillows were moved to the family room to enhance the room-to-room flow. And potted greens and a small flower arrangement make the space feel lively.
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