I couldn’t believe my eyes!

Here was an apartment featured in the Sunday New York Times’ “On the Market in New York City” column.  As I viewed the pictures of this and the other two properties online with my home staging eyes, I cringed at the thought that  someone thought it was okay to photograph and sell these properties in their current condition.

While they are not horror stories, the three featured properties could all benefit from some free home staging advice.

So here it is:

1.  Upper West Side Condo – the personal photographs and wine bottle collection need to be removed.  Buyers shouldn’t be distracted by these and, more importantly, buyers need to envision themselves living in your space.  They can’t do that with your photos of your family, friends, vacations, etc. staring at them.

Also, while the seller and/or real estate agent think the pulley system for suspending the bicyle from the ceiling is an added feature of the apartment, it is VERY distracting.  The buyers’ eyes will immediately go towards that rather than the beautifully renovated kitchen with its unique oval window.

And couldn’t the bed have been made better before shooting the photo?  It looks like at the last minute the comforter and toss pillow were just thrown on the bed.

2.  Upper East Side Co-op – home staging is all about making the house or apartment appealing to the broad range of buyers.  While the homeowner might love the orange walls in the living room, MOST buyers won’t.  It’s okay to keep the orange toss pillows as an accent color, but it’s time to break out the paint and change the color of the walls to something more neutral (not white, but a soft beige).

3.  Clinton Hill Co-op – OMG!!! Is that a dog and a kitty litter box in the photo??  Again, when your home is for sale, it must appeal to the broad range of buyers.  You might love your dog and your cat, but not everyone is an animal lover.  And worse, some potential buyers may be allergic to animals, so they wouldn’t even consider looking at this apartment for their new home.

This apartment could also benefit by removing the highly taste-specific wallpaper and thinning out the book collection in its wall-sized bookshelves.