Furniture rental

cort furniture has a staging service. i've used them before and they're adequate. additionally, you could try rent-a-center. no reason to spend a fortune on furniture for staging - if the unit is as desirable as you make it sound, someone will fall in love with the place regardless.

can we get a sneak peek at the listing?

I'm not marketing it until March- I can send you link privately, thought

Depending on your budget Props for Today or Eclectic Encore might suit your needs. If you go with Props For Today, let me know as I get a sizable discount(I worked there briefly right after college). Of course, this option starts to make less sense over time... you could very easily buy a knockoff Le Corbusier sofa for what they would charge to rent one for a few months.

Housingworks is another compelling option. I've seen some very lovely furniture for sale at the West Village store. Not to mention the fact that your purchase will help others find adequate housing and healthcare.

Unless you expect it to fly off the market, it may actually be cheaper to buy the furniture, then resell on craigslist. Either way, the people at Studio D are super nice, and while their furniture is very "stagey" it isn't immediately identifiable as West Elm or Ikea. Here are some Yelp reviews: http://www.yelp.com/biz/studio-d-stage-style-and-shop-new-york
They have a smart "layering" approach to staging that is more than just furniture placement. We found them on craigslist, and the staging furniture is sturdy. The pieces we bought from them have been loaded in and out of apartments for a year and a half without incident.
A side note: as you are a photographer, a few well-placed photos can really help sell a place. And if you have photographed anyone famous there, mention it in your ad (cheesy as that sounds). Best of luck, and try to have fun with it!
Tina Fallon
Realty Collective, LLC

Thank You Tina, i like their website- I wil definitively consider using them-Agree that there is more to staging a place then buying furniture. And it's funny you mentioned "famous people" photographed being a selling point, because i think that the buyer of my previous unit (btw in the same building, and very similar) was pretty excited to have read that i photographed a famous indian actress and discussed it at closing.

Seven7: I'd be interested to see the unit. My girlfriend is looking for something similar and I'd like to see if it might work. Please e-mail me at e76.streeteasy@gmail.com

I am pretty sure you will have no problem sourcing for the furniture online, and hopefully some name-dropping will also get you far in marketing the apartment.
Richard - http://www.yourfurnitureonline.co.uk

Unless you expect it to fly off the market, it may actually be cheaper to buy the furniture, then resell on craigslist.---I don't believe you should count on reselling your furniture on craigslist. Reselling used furniture sounds a lot easier than it actually is.