When it comes to decorating, sometimes less is more. Take, for example, this Jersey City two-bedroom brownstone condo. The owners—a web designer and a professor—had lived there for 30 years and were looking to sell. They contacted Decor Aid, a New York City-based interior design firm with experts paid by the hour, not the project, to help them whip their place into market-ready shape.

“Overall, the space needed to feel more cohesive, light and airy. We needed to de-clutter and add stylish elements that would make potential home-buyers want to move in right away,” said Sean Juneja, co-founder and CEO of Decor Aid.

That they did. Read on to see how Juneja and his team transformed this dim, cluttered apartment into a lofty aerie by swapping out a few key pieces of furniture and rearranging much of what the sellers already owned—all in just two months and on a budget of $13,000:

The overarching theme for this project was “open and airy,” and it carried through to each individual room in different ways, said Juneja. In the main living space, the Decor Aid team pared down the packed shelving, trading various tchotchkes for more elegant sculptural pieces that would add a touch of sparkle while guiding the eye around the space. They swapped out a dark coffee table for a glass one, opening up the room.

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To keep the slice of room dedicated to meals from feeling cramped, designers replaced a large round dining table with a more slender option that was still able to seat the same number of people.

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Juneja and his team made eliminating clutter and lightening up the space the priority. They moved the bed to the windowed wall to balance out the heaviness of the exposed brick. Glass bedside tables and light-colored textiles — crisp white bed linens, a grey coverlet and grey drapes — were brought in to uplift and relax the room's vibe. A light-colored natural fiber rug helped further brighten up the space while echoing the texture of the brick.

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Post-makeover:

Serious de-cluttering, plus a few new furniture pieces, have major impact with minimal effort. Says Juneja, “The space looks great in-person and in photos, something that’s essential to any home that’s on the market.”

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