Make Your Primary Bedroom (Master Bedroom) THEIR Primary Bedroom: 5 Tips to Stage a Bedroom
Let’s be honest: Primary Bedrooms (Master Bedrooms) are intimate spaces. When it’s time to put a home on the market, it’s standard protocol to scour the kitchen, clean the carpets, get new pillows to freshen the living room, and even paint the mud room. But what about the primary bedroom? What about the kids rooms? And don’t forget the guest room filled with the left-over furniture from Nana’s house. Bedrooms need to be upgraded and staged just like public-facing rooms. When buyers go into a prospective home, they want to see themselves living their best lives there – they don’t want to see your wedding photo (although you did look fabulous!) or your old wicker laundry basket.
Stop a potential buyer’s bright red “NOPE!” button from blaring with bedrooms that delight and charm. Easy to say, but how—exactly—do you create a bedroom atmosphere that sells your home fast? These tips focus on the master bedroom – but are easily transferable to the other bedrooms in your home:
Make it 100% fresh. Clean every surface. Start at the top: ceiling, walls, windows, blinds, woodwork, baseboards, furniture and carpets. Vacuum the cobwebs and hunt down the dust bunnies. Have a trusted friend, your realtor or another dependable professional (ahem, that would be us at Staged Ryte!) – provide an unbiased opinion. Is there any odor? Do the linens look old or stained? Is a fresh coat of paint necessary? Give your friend or colleague the space and confidence to speak freely. Don’t forget to have the carpets professionally cleaned. There may be stains that you don’t notice anymore, but the people shopping your house will.
Edit the furniture. Your master bedroom is perfect…for you. But your prospective buyer has to envision their dream bedroom. Make is easy for them by creating space. How do you do that? It’s easier than you may think. First, remove as much as possible from the room. Leave the bed and nightstands and remove almost everything else. Defer to less, not more. You want the space to look open and spacious (as much as possible).
Ahhhh. This bedroom is neutral and relaxing - but not bland. It’s crisp and clean. A buyer can look at this and think, “I could sleep here!” Painting by artist Kari Kroll.
3. Make relaxation the theme. Buyers respond positively to a master bedroom where they can see themselves feeling at ease. Review your comforter and curtains. Are they an outdated style, color or print (or all three)? Buy a neutral duvet/bedspread/comforter. Maybe you don’t even need the curtains – let the light shine in. Add color with new pillows and a throw (see this recent blog post on how to use a pop of color when staging your home) and strategically placed fresh or fake flowers. Also consider the shades on the bedside table lamps. If they look dingy, buy new shades in a neutral color.
4. Consider the closet. Everyone wants to think that when THEY live there, the closet will be beautifully organized. Make it easy for them to visualize this by setting an example of closet nirvana. Declutter. Review your wardrobe and decrease it by one third. What remains hanging in the closet should hang neatly and not be jammed in. Invest in shoe, bag and scarf organizers. And if you’re not ready to get rid of that size 2 dress you wore to your brother’s wedding or your husband can’t bear to part with his 5K tee-shirt collection, rent a storage unit or box the memento clothing up and put it in the basement or attic. If you do the declutter now, your move into your new space will be ten times easier!
5. Channel your inner Mari Kondo and keep on top of it. (You know—the famous diminutive author of “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” as well as the star of the Emmy-winning Netflix series of the same name?) Once you’ve done all this cleaning, editing and zhushing, you have to stay on top of it. Every morning, get up and put the room back in order. That way you’re ready for that last minute call from your realtor saying she wants to show your house to a buyer.
We love the simple pop of color above this bed. Paintings by artist Kari Kroll.
And if all of this just seems like too too much, give Staged Ryte a call. We want your house to tell the story that prospective buyers want to hear. Contact us here.