Before and after: does adding furniture make a difference to the look of a room?

What do you think, when you walk into an empty room? It may not happen often, but when it does - weird sensation, right?

Our eyes, and brains, are making decisions about where to look, all the time, without our conscious input. A recent study by Zoopla, covered by The Guardian, shows that people viewing houses tend to look at the items in them - the furniture, the artwork, and so on - rather than the blank walls.

Can that really be true?

Let's take a look at some images of the a room, before and after home staging, to find out for ourselves...

Spoiler alert: these images are of rooms that were staged by Mint Staging, the business run by me, Holly Hammond.

Before home staging: large bedroom

After home staging

Now that there's a bed in the room, it's possible to know how big the room is. When it's empty, you can't tell how much space this - the largest piece of furniture - will take.

Before home staging: living room

After home staging

The problem with some rooms, when photographed empty, is that their dimensions can play tricks on you. In this photo, we can see this at work; before the staging, the back wall seems pretty close to us, and doesn't feel like it has a natural layout.

After: well, see for yourself. The furniture fits, and tells you how to use the room.

Before home staging: small bedroom

After home staging

This room is interesting, because the ceiling slopes at the far side. In the empty version, this is confusing. The emptiness draws our attention to this unusual 3D space. However, when we see furniture and artwork, our eyes make sense of the space.

(Note how the placement of the pictures on the wall has enhanced the unusual shape of the room, working with the space, not against it).

Before home staging: kitchen-living room

After home staging

This is a classic case of unclear purpose. In the empty room, my mind thinks, "Is that all one kitchen? But where are the other cupboards? Where's the island?"

Our unconscious brains are processing previous visuals that we've seen - and the result is confusion. Our minds are seeing something they don't recognise. This makes this room really hard to see as a home.

But, when furniture is added - creating zones, purpose, and spatial structure - we instantly understand the room. It looks large, relaxing, and intriguing.

Maybe that's why the study by Zoopla concluded that UK homebuyers look most at artwork and furniture before making decision. Quite simply, home staging works to entice your buyer's eyes.

And Mint Staging knows how to do it right. Drop us a line to find out how we can help you, or follow us on Facebook.

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