I hope everyone's expectations aren't crazy high since I write a blog devoted to tips for making booths great. If you've read much of my blog, you may remember the post where I pointed out that beauty isn't the most important priority in a successful booth. Don't get me wrong. A beautiful booth is wonderful, but there has to be substance in it - namely things people want to buy at prices that are not over the tipping point. So, even though my booth is not the most memorable and won't likely be an inspiration photo for this blog, I am feeling pretty happy with it.
Here's the booth as you move towards it. You can actually approach from two slightly different paths, so I have two money walls. The hutch is my big statement piece. The oak desk is the piece I hope will sell first. It's big!
Here's the booth straight on. I'd like a trendier rug. The carpet has flaws and the booth really needs a rug. This one is better than none, but I am definitely on the lookout for something better. I need to bring in more smalls. I don't plan on smothering the big furniture, but they do need some staging tweaking. There's a folding bakers rack near the window. I had intended to stuff it behind the hutch to hold smalls should any of the large pieces sell. Since I have the room, I decided to open it up and add smalls. Right now, all that's on it is a silver loving cup urn. More's coming soon.
The window behind the bakers rack was good for light, but not much else. The glass was hopelessly stained and dirty on the outside. The view is a parking lot and gas station. I needed a treatment that was easy and blocked the view but still let in light. I tore a drop cloth into strips and tied it onto the rod. Very casual. Neutral. Creative. Not original. I've seen this treatment used in all sorts of ways on Pinterest and favorite blogs.
I have kept the staging on all the furniture simple. This hutch is my statement piece. I quickly put these plates in place. This was a super fast stage using what I had. It's a little too uncreative. The arrangement is so predictable. If the hutch stays around for a bit, which I suspect it will because hutches are slow sellers, I'll hopefully improve on the staging. it'll still be simple, but a little more creative than this.
One item in my booth is large but NOT neutral This is a retro piece and I felt that painting it neutral was not the right thing to do. There are always exceptions to "the rules". I am very willing to break rules when it feels like the right thing to do. :-D Oh, the suitcase - I wanted it to be open. I'd like it to have some fun display inside, but for now, all I had was this sad little dictionary page pumpkin.
The turquoise tiered shelf is empty for now. I'm not sure what I'll put on it, but it needs something. Of note in this photo is the copper tin. Can you tell what's in there? OLD TABLE LEGS! I had a table that I wanted to get my money out of. It was a definite mistake purchase. My hubby could have spent hours trying to make it over. It wobbled. The top had messed up veneer. Even with lots of work, the table wouldn't sell for enough to be worth the time and effort. Much easier - sell off the good parts. The table had 5 legs. Two of them have already sold! The top will be used to make signs at some point in the future. It has real possibilities for that. And there's a great leaf that for some reason, is not veneer. The legs in the copper bin also serve to hint that the bin would be excellent for holding firewood. At least, that is my hope.
So, that's the booth so far. It has no ground-breaking decor. It's not swoon-worthy. This is a low-pressure, functional booth that will hopefully have decent sales.
I hope this post gives you a little peak into my thought process. I hope it puts you at ease in case you, too, prefer low pressure. I think it's a pretty decent booth. I watched as some customers shopped in the area. They went into my booth and looked around, even though there's still so little in there. That's a good sign! And bonus, a couple of customers looked very seriously at the retro console. One even took a phone photo!
