LEAVE ENOUGH WALKING SPACE

By
Home Stager

Is there 3 ft of walking space along the natural pathways of the room

 

Walk through your house with another person who doesn’t live with you.  Talk with them as you walk through.  Notice if you hit any furniture or have to watch where you are going as you move from room to room.

 

Most buyers will be with a real estate agent and possibly another person so this will help you experience your house the way they would. 

 

The general rule is to allow 3 feet of walking space along the

natural pathways of a room.

  

This includes walkways to patios, closets or entrances to other rooms. 

 

The options are to remove extra furniture that blocks the natural pathways of a room or rearrange the existing furniture to allow for more walking space.  Most furniture should be removed from the hallways unless you have a very wide hallway. 

 

Any discomfort felt while trying to move about your home will rub buyers the wrong way and make them feel like your house is smaller than it is. 

 

Potential buyers will be turned off instantly if they literally do not see themselves fitting in a home. 

Comments (4)

Karen Otto
Home Star Staging - Plano, TX
Plano Home Staging, Dallas Home Staging, www.homes

I go by the 30 - 36" rule myself! For a dining room, it's often hard to get the 3 full feet from the chair to the wall so as long as there is 30" of free space between them for showing a home, it feels more spacious.  I was just doing this last night with a new client and my measuring tape too! Thanks for sharing Marybeth!

Jan 25, 2012 04:29 AM
Chris Twing
Twing Staging & Redesign - Cedar Park, TX

This is a great point and explained well. Once you've lived somewhere for awhile you stop noticing the quirky things about your home, like furniture placement.

Jan 26, 2012 12:46 AM
Janet Jones
Just Your Style Interiors, LLC - Kihei, HI
Home Staging, Interior Redesign Kihei, Maui, Hawaii

Hi MaryBeth--I always go to my staging consultations with a yardstick and ask clients to walk around the house to see where it won't fit.  I find they never argue with the yardstick and it is easier to have them understand that the furniture needs to be moved/removed. 

Jan 26, 2012 04:37 PM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

MaryBeth- the numbers don't lie and having your client walk through with you will show them just why the need to allow for the 3 feet. 

Jan 29, 2012 06:03 AM