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DEAR MI-LING: My husband and I started an independent listening room. Singer/songwriters, comedians and spoken word poets come and perform at our venue. It’s called the “Green Room.” The walls are painted a soft green. We have tables and chairs and a love seat for seating. I would love to get some suggestions on how to make the place more comfortable and homey feeling to get and keep customers.

We are working with an almost nonexistent budget, but want to get the most bang for our buck. Since we have wifi and have a few snacks that we sell I really feel that we need to keep our tables. We have some old album covers and paintings on the walls and hope to get more.

Toni M.

DEAR TONI M.: Sounds like an interesting place to come and relax. Here are a few suggestions to soften things up a bit. Go to a thrift shop or garage sale and buy a few old instruments, guitars, drum sticks, tambourines, and so on and hang them on the wall.

Instead of buying a frame, paint a square on the wall to accent the instrument. You could paint the main wall brown or leave it a soft green and then paint the squares purple, gold, brown or a rose pink color. Use a painter’s tape that won’t bleed to outline the squares.

You could also add a few armchairs and an inexpensive thrift store table and just paint it black. If you’re handy, build a few platforms from wood and paint and place overstuffed cushions on the platforms and place them against the walls.

The key is to create comfort zones by positioning the furniture close together to encourage intimate conversations.

. Warm homemade pies and muffins would work. If you can’t do food, light candles with a coffee or chocolate scent!

If you’re handy, build a few platforms from wood and paint and place overstuffed cushions on the platforms and place them against the walls. Don’t forget to create comfort with scent — bring in comfort food and serve tea or coffee
If you’re handy, build a few platforms from wood and paint and place overstuffed cushions on the platforms and place them against the walls. Don’t forget to create comfort with scent — bring in comfort food and serve tea or coffee