What’s wrong with this picture? Color? Furniture? Arrangement? Yes, yes, yes! As dramatic as red walls are, they just don’t hold universal appeal! Furniture and artwork look dull and uninteresting against these saturated walls. The furniture is casual, not appropriate for a formal living room. The dining area furniture is lost in the “red sea”!

Everything in these two rooms with the exception of the art work over the mantle, the red vase and red bowl and the fireplace tools moved to the family den. The den furniture, which was far more formal, was moved into these two rooms. The piano found a home in an area of the den that was devoid of furniture and badly in need of an “anchor” piece.

To create a living and dining area that would have a broad appeal to a diverse group of potential buyers, we painted the room a soft gray and used red as a highlight color to move the eye around the room. Every piece in the staged dining and living areas belonged to the owners. The only purchases were a red lamp shade and the flowers on the mantle. The owner walked into the room and almost fainted. She absolutely loved the changes and asked if I would come and place her furniture in her new home!

The living room flows right into the dining space so it was important to find a color that worked equally well in both areas. The space was small  and suffered from an abundance of furniture. The glass table, originally in the breakfast area of the home, gives a lighter more spacious feel to the room. The graceful style of the chairs worked much better in this formal room. Removing the rug further opened up the space. We hung the artwork that was originally over the fireplace to provide a bold focal point and  an anchor for the end of the two rooms.