Sometimes, older buildings that have been converted into condos or apartments can be oddly shaped and sized. That was the case with this particular Madison, Wisconsin, condo located in Capitol Square. The one-bedroom, one-bath residence featured a generous living, dining, and kitchen area — but also featured a tucked-away, highly angular bonus room that offered a unique challenge in regard to furniture configuration. 

“The previous owners had a dining space in there,” explains Chris Bailey, the staging coordinator at The Cozy Home, the company hired to work on this project. “The photos from a previous listing showed a workspace in there, but it wasn’t scaled properly. There was a large desk you had to scooch around.” 

When it comes to staging, the goal is to help people see themselves living in the space, which is especially useful with one that’s oddly shaped. Here’s how the pros made the space more functional, and helped the home sell as a result.

When working with a tight and oddly shaped space such as this office, it’s important to consider scale. The size of the furniture will considerably impact how the space appears as well as how it functions. A too-big desk can be a nuisance to have to navigate every day, and furnishing the space efficiently can allow for maximum usable space. “If you put too much or too-big furniture, it becomes less functional,” the stager says.

The designer and her team went about focusing on anchoring the room. In interior decorating, anchor pieces are typically larger and offer a visual focal point that your eyes are drawn to when first looking at the room. 

Anchoring is particularly important in open-concept spaces where the bounds of the living room, dining room, or, in this case, the office may be fluid or expandable. To achieve this, The Cozy Home put down an appropriately sized rug to ground the workspace. 

But the stagers didn’t just stop at the workspace. They were even able to make this bonus room somewhat multifunctional by adding a chair in the corner to create a reading nook that sort of floats behind the desk. 

“A chair works well in that nook in the corner because it’s an acute angle,” Bailey says. “In this space, you’re using that acute corner for the small nook because it sits there and then you can use the open space for the table. You can fit more than if you were to flip it.”

Those working with a similar space might consider embracing those tight corners or small nooks within their home to create a functional retreat, such as a reading nook, or something visually interesting.

“When you have an oddly shaped room, take those acute angles and look for opportunities or a design moment,” Bailey suggests. “Maybe instead of a reading nook it’s a tall plant or lamp; or use that space because it’s inherently cozy for some smaller niche.”

The condo was on the market for $324,000 and is currently under contract. 

“Stagers have to work with what’s there,” Bailey says. “We create privacy where there is none and anchor spaces. A lot of open floor plan homes are not well-thought-out and it can be very difficult to create a cozy space. We achieve this with rugs, scale, and lighting.”