Stylist's tips for a company-ready kitchen

(MyHomeIdeas) -- Those lucky souls who've had their kitchens professionally photographed know the magic a photo stylist can bring to a space they thought looked pretty good to begin with. But all the stainless appliances and slabs of granite in the world aren't enough to make a kitchen really wow the camera, or your guests. And you know from experience, the kitchen is where they all congregate.

Steal a few of these tricks of the trade to make your guests think they've stepped into the pages of your favorite magazine.

1. Clear the clutter

The first thing a stylist will do is peruse your countertops with a merciless eye, sentencing ugly gadgets, ratty cookbooks and mismatched utensils to confinement in a cabinet. Put away anything that isn't pretty: knife sharpeners, phone chargers, cooking magazines, bread boxes, food processors, even the coffeemaker should all go into hiding. (You can always haul the coffeemaker out the next morning for your caffeine kick start.)

2. Get impersonal

Remove everything attached with magnets to your refrigerator door. I know, you love that picture of everyone at the cookout last summer, but it doesn't move your guest's heart the same way. It just looks messy and it blocks their view of your fabulous fridge! Consider moving all those personal photos and to-do lists to the inside of a convenient cabinet door. Hang a magnetized board in there and let it be your scrap book.

3. Forget the floor

Concentrate your efforts above waist level. Don't waste time scrubbing the baseboards and obsessing over every little bit of dirt that gets tracked in right before your guests arrive. No one looks at the floor when they walk into your kitchen they're looking at the food, at you, for a drink, anywhere but the floor you spent all day cleaning. Sweep and mop it in the morning, and forget about it. Plus, once the room is full of people, no one will be able to see the floor.

4. Be obsessive compulsive....about the countertops

Clean them as if your life depended on it. A stylist will clean a kitchen the homeowner just finished preparing. Remove everything from the counters and scrub them down until not one greasy crumb remains. This includes the backsplash if you have one. Then tackle everything that will go back on those counters, and wash each item with a damp sponge or rag. This includes canisters, knife blocks, baskets, phones, and paper towel holders.

5. Liven it up

Bring in a potted plant, whether that's an herb or a colorful Gerber daisy or a simple pot of ivy. A living thing animates the space and brings an important organic quality to the room. Put it in the center of an island, or near a window. Look in your cabinets for an unexpected container for it: a bread basket, a soup tureen, or even a teapot can be pressed into duty as a container. Place a bowl of fruit somewhere, to add a shot of color. Lemons or limes work well in a modern kitchen; Granny Smith apples are the classic prop for a traditional one.

6. Mix it up

Train a critical eye on the things that remain on your counters and create vignettes. If you have glass canisters, mix in a straw basket for a contrast in textures. A white ceramic utensil holder would look great clustered with other white ceramic pieces -- a pitcher and a vase, for instance. Consider size as well in these compositions; cluster large pieces together for added impact. And remember the cardinal rule of photo styling: things look better in threes. E-mail to a friend

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