Let's Weigh in on Staging (And Green Apples Too)

The recent piece in the Observer about apartment staging left us dying to create a list of items that prospective buyers can expect to see - without fail - in any staged apartment. Needless to say, we've satisfied that urge. For some added interest, we decided to separate these items into highbrow and lowbrow categories.

See the list, add to the list...

Highbrow.
The orchid. Extra points if it's real.
Designer-label foodstuffs. Extra points if they're fake, because really, where do you even get fake food?
Token piece of exotic furniture. But just one, please.
Folded white towels. For the full effect, one towel should be carelessly hung on the back of the bathroom door. Just sayin'

Lowbrow.
Painfully large flat-screen television. Cop-out!
Five perfectly-placed green apples on a white porcelain dish. O v e r d o n e.
Crest Toothpaste. It has happened. Tom's Natural is up for discussion, though.
Shag carpets. This really depends on the context - and the shag.

Mid-road.
Black and white photography. Can go either way.
Coffee table books. Are we talking the 'Skyscraper Palazzi of Emory Roth,' 'Naturally Thin: Unleash Your SkinnyGirl,' or a few issues of Architectural Digest? Again, a tossup.

Images from the Core Group. What'd we miss?