Changes to make to your bedroom when staging your home

The living room and dining room are areas of the home where a lot of activities occur, where we entertain guests and hold dinners or parties, and where the family gathers for meals and entertainment. But the bedroom is our private sanctuary, the place where we can retreat for privacy, and where we spend time resting and rejuvenating our tired bodies at night, making sure we are refreshed and ready to face the next day. This is why in home staging, it is also important to freshen up your bedroom and get it ready for buyers.

When showing your home to potential buyers, they will check out the bedroom in an attempt to imagine themselves spending a lot of personal time in that intimate space. If they have kids, they would also want the bedroom to be easily adaptable to their children’s interests and age-appropriate hobbies or activities.

Your bedroom staging plans would depend a lot on your budget as well as the time that can be allotted for major or minor redesigns of the bedroom spaces. It is important to note as well that any investments or purchases you make towards updating your bedroom can either be factored into the price during negotiations, or taken with you to your new home (window treatments, fixtures, furniture).

If you have limited resources and time, there are simple tips you can try to make your bedroom look newer, more contemporary, and inviting. Some suggestions include:

• Bursts of colour. Paint is relatively inexpensive and easy to finish, whether you do it yourself or have a professional complete the job. This is especially helpful if some parts of the wall are already peeling or damaged. You can opt for more neutral, subdued hues and pastels if you plan to experiment with bright-collared furniture and window treatments. Alternatively, placing a a couple bright pieces of art to a relatively bare wall can make a huge difference!

• Rehash the lighting. Bedroom lighting is ideally not too harsh, but not too dim that people cannot move around comfortably. Affordable light fixtures and dimmers instantly change the ambience and aura of your bedroom; cost-efficiency and environmental sustainability should also be considered. Meanwhile, the right drapes or shades can be installed in the windows to allow the right amount of light and air during the daytime.

• Freshen up the bed. When was the last time you bought new beddings or pillows? New linens that fit the overall theme or décor of your bedroom will leave a very good impression in buyers’ minds. New pillows and decorative throw pillows add character to your bed; also, check if the headboard or bedposts need repairs or repainting.

• Create space. Look around your bedroom and see if there are furniture items that do not need to be there. Should there be two dressers where one is enough? Are there too many lamps that are no longer necessary and just add to the clutter? Keep in mind that when potential buyers look at the bedroom, they are also imagining where their own stuff would go, and they may not be able to see just how much space is in your bedroom if there is too much furniture taking up the space.

• DE-CLUTTER! Decluttering is the process of reclaiming the space in your house from years of collecting and storing. Don't expect the buyers to ignore all this and imagine your house in its clutter-free state. Buyers sometimes see dozens of houses in one day and their brains are overtaxed. Declutter so the buyers can see your house, not your mess. If you do nothing else to improve the value of your house, at least do this. Remarkably, decluttering is free (it just takes time and elbow grease) yet a lot of sellers don't put enough effort into it!

• DE-PERSONALIZE! This is very important. You want your buyers to visualize themselves live in your house, not you living in it. Personal artifacts distract so you have to put them away – photographs, souvenirs, trophies, medals and certificates, posters, religious items, and family heirlooms. If you’re a collector, then pack away your collectibles and valuables. Don’t forget your refrigerator’s door as it is one of the most common place to hang cute magnets, memos, postcards and all sorts of personal stuff.