Since the living room is often the first room a buyer sees, it makes sense to put time, money and effort into staging the living room.

Although, in actuality, if a home has a family room, most people never use the living room. I don't use mine. But it looks great. That's because nobody ever messes it up.

First impressions count because when a buyer walks into a home, most know within the first three seconds whether that home "feels" right to them. If they aren't wowed within those crucial few seconds of entering, it doesn't matter too much what the rest of the home looks like. Buyers carry that first impression with them. If the living room creates a favorable impression, the buyer will most likely feel good about the other rooms. If it creates no impression -- or, worse, a bad impression -- that feeling is also carried from room to room.

The living room pictured here was recently staged. You can see what the room looked like before it was staged in the link below. This home sat on the market for two years with no suitable offers. After it was staged, it sold within 21 days . . . read more about Staging the Living Room.

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub, click below:

• Home Staging: Dressing the House for Success
  
• Prepare for an Open House
  
• Top 10 Home Showing Tips

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