Decor for selling

[purplepenguin7]

We are getting ready to list our house and have a TV wall unit that looks something like this.

www.potterybarn.com/m/products/aubrey-6-piece-entertainment-center/?cm_cat=Google&sku=1383474®ion_id=669950&catalogId=84&cm_ite=1383474&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwY-LBhD6ARIsACvT72MSmmsirlJvMVCnrbe2KGwfH_ZiF1PSvjqULcTNUYABOFeLYzwyAkYaAhMEEALw_wcB&cm_ven=PLA&cm_pla=Furniture%20%3e%20TV%20Stands%20%26%20Media

It’s mostly filled with book, pictures, some decorative vases and such. I took down all the personal photos but wondering what to do with the rest of the squares. Would you put a few books or things in each one? Leave them mostly empty? I know that we need to declutter and make the space look inviting but at the same time I think empty shelves look silly.

[nicolewi]

I'd leave something in it.

[dr.girlfriend]

I would just spread the items out a little more so there's something in each one, trying to make it look kind of balanced if you can. You can have some books lying flat with an object on top, etc. Is that the kind of thing that would usually go with the house? I would be prepared for the buyer to ask for it if not.

[purplepenguin7]

Oct 11, 2021 8:44:26 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

I would just spread the items out a little more so there's something in each one, trying to make it look kind of balanced if you can. You can have some books lying flat with an object on top, etc. Is that the kind of thing that would usually go with the house? I would be prepared for the buyer to ask for it if not.

it wouldn't typically stay with the house, it's not built-in or anything and is just a piece of furniture.  However, we already have a new house and I don't think this will fit right in it, so if a buyer wanted it we would happily leave it for them. 

[dr.girlfriend]

Oct 11, 2021 9:32:23 GMT -5 purplepenguin7 said:

Oct 11, 2021 8:44:26 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

I would just spread the items out a little more so there's something in each one, trying to make it look kind of balanced if you can. You can have some books lying flat with an object on top, etc. Is that the kind of thing that would usually go with the house? I would be prepared for the buyer to ask for it if not.

it wouldn't typically stay with the house, it's not built-in or anything and is just a piece of furniture.  However, we already have a new house and I don't think this will fit right in it, so if a buyer wanted it we would happily leave it for them. 

I think in my recollection the rationale was if it was attached to the wall it stays?  But, just figured I'd ask, because I would have a price or other concession in mind for what you would want for it if you leave it, even if you *would* give it for free -- it looks like a nice piece of furniture!

[purplepenguin7]

Oct 11, 2021 9:42:36 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

Oct 11, 2021 9:32:23 GMT -5 purplepenguin7 said:

it wouldn't typically stay with the house, it's not built-in or anything and is just a piece of furniture.  However, we already have a new house and I don't think this will fit right in it, so if a buyer wanted it we would happily leave it for them. 

I think in my recollection the rationale was if it was attached to the wall it stays?  But, just figured I'd ask, because I would have a price or other concession in mind for what you would want for it if you leave it, even if you *would* give it for free -- it looks like a nice piece of furniture!

that's a good idea, thanks!  Ours isn't this exact one and was a bit cheaper but that is still a good thing to keep in mind if buyers seem interested in it!

[Susie]

I agree with a few books and minimally personal decor items, and also that completely empty shelves look a little weird.  I feel like empty spaces are hard to envision, but good staging > empty > bad staging so it's all a fine line.

When we sold this spring our agent had us leave notes out where we were/were not taking things that might be considered part of the property.  Like we we wanted to take freestanding but possibly "built-in" looking shelves in the basement, the basement freezer and fridge.  You could leave a note that the media shelving is negotiable.

We had a pair of white bookcases flanking a piano in our last house, and when it was time to list, we cleared about half the stuff out of them, selecting for storage the most personal and least "pretty" of the items.  Framed photos, gone.  Any controversial or provocative title, gone.  Bibles, gone.  Cookbooks, outdoor books, and similarly conventional non-fiction stayed.  We used our plain white dishes (platters/serving pieces) to fill some space.