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The Boston Globe

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Boston.com

The Makeover Issue: Home

Staging your house to stay

Who says it’s only for selling?

  August 19, 2012

The most dramatic changes to this South Boston room were new paint and carpet. “Neutral colors give you a lot of flexibility, then you have freedom with what you do in the rest of the room.” “This family didn’t move furniture or art and the room still has a totally new feel.”

Julie Chrissis

The most dramatic changes to this South Boston room were new paint and carpet. “Neutral colors give you a lot of flexibility, then you have freedom with what you do in the rest of the room.”

Rather than just housekeeping, the idea behind reducing clutter is to highlight what’s important. “When you have more than you need, nothing is special.”

Julie Chrissis

Rather than just housekeeping, the idea behind reducing clutter is to highlight what’s important. “When you have more than you need, nothing is special.”

By following the same principles stagers use to prepare a house for market, you can make your home more comfortable all the time, says Julie Chrissis, owner of the New Hampshire-based design firm Chrissis & Company Interiors (chrissisandco.com, 603-557-8399).

ONE ROOMAT A TIME

“The biggest source of frustration homeowners have is not seeing progress. If you tackle one room at a time, you cannot help but see the space as it is transformed.”

EDIT FURNITURE

“People often buy a lot of furniture for the two times each year they entertain large groups. We really need to decorate to meet our everyday needs and have a Plan B for special occasions.”

TRY AND TRY AGAIN

“Keep experimenting. People get this idea that if it’s not right the first time, then that’s as good as it’s going to get. But we might stage a room six different ways before we say it’s all set.”