Last column, I began explaining the importance of unimpeded visual pathways.  Although this is mentioned as an exercise in “staging” a home for a real estate “showing”, understanding the visual flow of movement through a room and an entire house is paramount to making the living space appear cozy and inviting.  

In the home being staged from the last column, the alcove by the stairs featured a large double-hung window on one wall and a series of smaller windows on the adjoining wall.   The wall space between featured a dark print of a ship pointing away from the larger window, toward the smaller windows.  Two problems were evident:  1.  During the day, the dark print created a dark “space” between the sunlit windows, distracting the eye from the view.  2.  During the night, the dark print captured very little light, and coupled with the now dark windows, the walls of darkness attributed an ominous appearance to the alcove.  The solution was really simple.  The homeowner just happened to have a marvellous batik canvas that solved both the daytime and night time problems.  The batik featured an Asian goddess outlined in rich eggplant tones against the crackled and waxed “white” background.  The canvas captured attention and reflected light.  In the daytime, the brightness of the batik appears to join the split view of the windows—a continuous panorama appears at a glance.  When the eye does settle on the batik, the goddess uses her hands to direct your line of sight out of the larger picture window, reinforcing the view.  At night, the goddess again captures light drawing the eye into the back corner of the alcove, inviting the beholder into the space.

BEFORE

AFTER

I mentioned in the last column that below the large window was a desk and below the three smaller windows were two glass-enclosed bookcases.  What is set on these surfaces can enhance or distract from the view.  Centred on one of the bookcases was a single plant.  The desk was completely clear.  The homeowner mentioned that a real estate program on cable had recommended that all personal items should be removed, so all of the surfaces were bare.  Hmmm.  It’s best to remember that those shows are directed toward a mass audience, so the advice is very general.   Whether or not you are selling your home, my advice is the same—personal photographs and collections make a house into a home.  It’s the arrangement that makes the difference between a showcase and clutter.  Showcasing your personal items sells your home and lifestyle to you, reinforcing why someone else might want to buy your cosiness.  Clutter, dissipates the good feelings in those personal items—the cosiness is lost on you and potential buyers.  So, I moved the plant to the far right end of the bookcases, which happened to be the far right end of the view too.  I added two personal photographs on the left side of the desk below the large window, which happened to be the far left end of the view too.  One photograph was an artistic view of a painted door, and the other photograph was a boy looking up—up toward the view in the daytime and up toward the goddess at night.  Now, the view, the art, and the personal items are in harmony.

This may seem like a lot of attention devoted to one small corner of the home, but it just happened to be the primary view window directed toward the bay.  Bringing the view into the home makes the room cosier, and cosier rooms imply home, and the idea of home sells houses.