The Stars Align When You Sprinkle in Some Bling

Aren't these contemporary Mercury glass vessels
from West Elm to die for? Here's my choice of the
best tutorial for hacking the Mercury glass look.

Recently I blogged about decorators' best tips for home staging.

This week I want to focus on just one of those: Using shine to bring a room to life.

Here are my favorite sources for the kind of bling I am taking about.

• Mirrors
• Crystal and clear glass
• Lucite and acrylic
• Glass
• Silver
• Brass
• Nickle
• Chrome
• Sequins, rhinestones, beads and other embellishments
• Mercury glass
• Glossy plastic and vinyl 
• Stainless steel

You probably already own some of the bright objects listed here. Your assignment this week, if you will allow me, is to locate at least one large glistening item in each room.

Bathrooms and kitchens will be an easy place to start your assignment. Stainless appliances and ceramic fixtures quality. Glassware is a natural in these rooms. I'm picturing a large clean glass bowl of lemons in the kitchen, and apothecary jars of spa goodies in the bath.

Bring on the Bevel

My favorite way to make a room glisten is to add mirrors. At least one per room. Large or small, depending.  And my favorite mirrors are bevelled mirrors. Heck, you can pick up a 30 x 30-inch sunburst mirror at Home Depot for about $35, or a 36 x 30-inch wide-framed mirror from Lowe's for $60. That's alot of bling for the buck.

Along the same lines, glass-covered prints in mirrored frames add serious wow to any room. I see these in vintage styles as well as sleek, contemporary styles.

These botanical images take on a modern vibe when they're placed in mirrored frames. 

This contemporary family room was designed by Little Rock interior designer Tobi Fairley.  

The bathroom chandelier, done right! There's lots of hard surfaces in this room -- 

the tub, floor, window, tin backsplash, chrome faucet, and glass vases, 

that the wooden fireplace surround 

and door are a welcome counterpoint. Photo: DigsDigs.com

Stainless appliances are still popular. Whatever your opinion of stainless, 

it does add gleaming surfaces to a kitchen, and in a dark or otherwise 

slightly dated kitchen, that's a plus. Photo: BHG

A glass topped table and some clear seats almost disappear except for the shine 

they bring to the eat-in nook. Chrome legs are sexy. No? Photo: BHG

A chandelier is the ultimate bling thing. Look for a place where a fancy
light fixture might be a surprise, like a closet or bath. Photo: Traditional Home

This bedroom by Sarah Richardson is layered with subtle shine: the glass door knob, 

ceramic lamp base, lacquered nightstand, mirror over the bed, nailhead trim 

on the headboard, a metallic vase, and some pillow textiles with sheen. 

A patent leather headboard like this one is going to make a bed the 

focal point of any room. This House Beautiful bedroom also features 

a mirror over the headboard and some metallic Buddha lamps. 

Do your homework. Hunt your home for sources of shine. Make them part of your staging mix. And don't forget that the existing fixtures you have in your house -- the chrome faucets, the ceramic lamps, the bathroom mirrors, the stainless appliances  -- should sparkle because you've cleaned and polished them. Do these things, and your home on the market will outshine the competition. 

Do you need more advice, inspiration and formulas for beautifully staging your home on the market? You need my eBook, DIY Home Staging Tips to Sell Your Home Fast and For Top Dollar.  It's an instantly downloadable, 150+ page pdf guide to home staging, for only $5! You can't afford to e without it, and I guarantee you'll  be pleased or I will refund your money.