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Home Staging and Light

Techniques > Home Staging > Home Staging and Light

Description | Discussion | See also

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Description

Do everything you can to create light in the house. Things you can do to increase light include:

• Clean the windows
• Tie back the curtains
• Remove any chintzy coverings over the windows
• Put up mirrors, especially at the back of long rooms, opposite the window
• Paint the walls in light colours
• Fit lighter carpets
• Repaint the ceilings
• Remove big, dark furniture
• Move things that are blocking the light
• Clean light fittings
• Place and turn on lamps in dark corners
• Fit brighter lamps than you normally use

Do a practice walk-through. Is the lighting just right? Is it too bright? Is it too warm or too cool?

Discussion

Light makes a place feel uplifting and pleasant. It acts to cheer people and make them feel awake. Darkness evokes primitive fears of the night and can make people feel soporific.

Whilst mirrors can be very helpful for spreading light, they can also be confusing. Excessive use of mirrors can also lead to people realizing that you are trying to make the place seem bigger and so focus on how small it really is. If they feel deceived, they will be suspicious and quite likely never to return.

Light often makes the house seem bigger, although strategic slight darkening into the distance can give a greater sense of depth. Pools of light can be more pleasant than a consistent light throughout, creating a sense of place in key areas such as worktops and seated corners.

Pools of light create zones, so use your lighting to good effect for this. Consider replacing old and tired light fitments. You can also create attractive light pools with stand-alone lamps.

Light can be warm (red/orange) or cool (blue/green). Photographers measure this as 'color temperature' in degrees Kelvin. Normal daylight is about 5500K. Generally, people feel most comfortable in normal daylight. If you have dark areas away from natural light, you may want to use lamps which are designed to create this color temperature.

See also

The Meaning of Colors