Welcome back! #ShelterandStagewithKLH
It’s (still) Day 7 of Shelter and Stage with KLH! (I think? Does it even matter?)
Time to talk bedrooms! (My personal favorite!)
Close your eyes and dream of your perfect bedroom oasis… You’re seeing your favorite wall color, the most plush bedding, a variety of pillows, colorful art, photos of your favorite people or places… Now open your eyes and come to the realization that this is staging – not living! Save your plans for your dream bedroom for your new home!
The goal is to make a buyer feel like this could be their home… their bedroom. While bedrooms are a very personal space, you have to remember that once your home is on the market, it’s really no longer your home! You have to envision the property as a product you are selling.
So, the first step with any bedroom – master or guest – is to remove personal belongings. Typically, bedrooms feature personal photos or mementos – weddings, anniversaries, babies, grandchildren – not surprising! But if there are family photos, trophies or plaques on the walls, potential buyers will have trouble envisioning themselves living (or sleeping) in the space; they’re going to feel like they’re intruding on your space. (And remember, this isn’t your space anymore!) This is when staging can get really emotional for people; it’s hard to pack away memories. But remember, you’re not packing them away forever! This is temporary!
Guest Bedrooms as a “Catch-All” Space? Guilty.
If you’re anything like me, you may be guilty of using your guest bedroom as a “catch-all” space… For all the stuff we want to keep but it doesn’t yet have a “home” or a specific spot in the house… yet! Unfortunately, that’s a big no-no when preparing your home to sell! One of the hardest things to do is sort through our belongings and decide what to keep, donate or trash! (But we both know you have some time to tackle this right now! So, I challenge you!)
For example, in my guest bedroom right now, I have a basket of folded laundry that I could easily put away, but I’ve made the lazy decision to dress right from the basket every morning. (Please don’t judge me; these are challenging times.) I also have a few Christmas decorations that didn’t get packed away in mid or late January. (Whoops! I missed a gnome or two!) I have a pile of random home décor items that I like – but I haven’t decided where or how to use them in my home. And I’ve started a few DIY projects that I’ll get to finishing one day… This is all fine for real life! But if I were to list my home, I’d have to deal with these items – either find them a home or finish them - something!
Don’t put it all in the closet.
When talking about bedrooms, it’s important to quickly discuss the closets. (For more detail on closets, watch Kim Hackett’s YouTube video! Thank you for subscribing, by the way!)
Do not hide everything in your closet! On the contrary, you should be thinning out your closets… Remove articles of clothing you rarely wear and try remove enough items so you can actually see the floors!
Potential buyers will open your closets! They want to see how much storage space you have! Even if you do have large closets, if that closet is packed or overflowing, you are communicating to potential buyers that you do not have enough storage.
Masterly Masters Versus Simple Guest Rooms
So, what do we actually need to have in a staged bedroom? Well, we like to keep it pretty minimal. As we’ve been saying over and over the past few days, less is more! In a staged bedroom, you’ll literally find a bed, neutral bedding, an area rug to anchor the space and make it feel a bit more cozy, one or two pieces of art (remember, abstract, neutral or seascapes are your friend!), matching side tables and side lamps and a minimal amount of accessories… We’re talking maybe a plant, or just a book on the side table. There’s something about a minimalist bedroom that just feels so clean, crisp and inviting. I don’t know about you, but a cluttered bedroom feels chaotic and that’s not how we want any bedroom to feel!
Let in the light!
I can’t stress enough how important lighting is! Even a well-staged bedroom will feel uninviting if the room is too dark. We all want privacy in our bedrooms but consider taking down all your curtains and blinds; use white sheers in the meantime! Let in as much natural light as possible. Make sure you have enough overhead lighting and the matching side lamps are not for show – we want the bedroom to feel light and bright!
But what about the master?
To differentiate this space, we try to elevate the moment. We want this room to stand out a bit more! It’s arguable a more important space to the buyer than the guest room. So, consider a headboard or a few more pillows on the bed. Keep it neutral! An additional throw, a basket or a bench at the end of the bed can make this space feel more mature… A tray with a staged coffee moment and some greenery is a very trendy choice. (Wouldn’t it be so nice if we actually made ourselves coffee in the morning and drank it off a tray in bed? You know, I might just do that tomorrow…)
If you have a larger master, you may want to stage a seating area, or a reading nook. Other accessories that make a bedroom feel more like a master are leaning mirrors, blanket ladders and really anything you can do to layer and add more texture to the bed itself! Here are some great examples:
And now I share with you my absolute most favorite masterly master that I ever did stage… Now, it does involve a pretty bold feature wall, which we typically do not recommend in the world of staging… But this particular master was designed for our HGTV pilot and the theme was POP of color… So, pop, we did. While the blue-green wall color is a bit more masculine, we did bring in the more feminine blush color with the bedding, creating an overall, still gender-neutral master bedroom.
Want one-on-one assistance?
We’re offering $200 Virtual Home Staging Consultations! (A $250 Value!)
Reach out to learn more or book your consultation!
Abigail Halal
Project Manager, Home Stager
KLH Home Staging
617.519.9133