Tips for Staging the Masterbedroom

Putting your home on the market is a serious deal for many. If you find yourself in a position where you’re trying to sell the home you want to get the most money for it that you can. There are a lot of things that play into this and having the best staged home is key; this is especially true for the master bedroom. The master bedroom of the house has become more important within the last decade and it will continue to do so. Many people look at the master bedroom very closely when they are thinking of purchasing a home. For this reason alone, your master bedroom should be staged in the best way possible.

When you are staging your master bedroom it is firstly important that you remember why you are staging. You want to make sure that you make your master bedroom appealing to potential buyers. Staging your master bedroom is much more than cleaning and decorating. You want to make sure that you create the right mood in the room and you want to do so as perfectly as possible.

There are some things that you want to make sure you see at the end of your staging. When you stage your master bedroom it should look bigger, cleaner, and brighter in the room, warmer and more loving as soon as you walk in the room. Staging is a lot more than the “general” things that most would think of when preparing for a sale… in essence, you want to dress your master bedroom for those that will be seeing it.

Going into staging the master bedroom there are some specific things that you should work on in order to have it properly staged so that you can have a greater chance of not just selling your home, but getting a great price on it. There are some particular things that you will be able to do, and do in a particular way so that you know you have your master bedroom staged just right. There are some key points in which you should know about and that you should know to do in order to get things ready for people to view. You don’t just want potential buyers to come in and like what they see, but you also want them to like what they feel. Here are key things that you should keep in mind when you are staging your master bedroom and that you should apply to your master bedroom to make it the best that it can possibly be.

Cleaning

Your master bedroom is a hot selling point for your home. Of course, when you have people coming in for a viewing you need to make sure that your master bedroom is clean. While there is a general sense of clean when you are keeping things straightened for yourself, cleaning for home selling is a completely different task. There are some crucial things that you want to make sure you do when you are cleaning your master bedroom in the staging process.

• Clean and or check prior to every viewing that you will have: You want to make sure that you do a thorough cleaning before you have a viewing each and every time. You should make sure that you have removed all dust and dirt, that you have spotless windows,  and that you also made the bed up as immaculately as you possibly can. You also want to check all of the light bulbs to ensure they are working.
• Clean up any laundry you may have in your room: Do a detailed check for any laundry that you may have looked over in a hurry. You don’t want there to be anything that could bring a bad look to your master bedroom. You should pick up all laundry as well as remove your laundry hamper from the room if that is where you keep it.
• Get into every nook and cranny: You don’t want to overlook anything, so here’s a small list to make sure you have everything covered. Make sure that you: clean all the light switches; thoroughly get the windows including the window sills as well as the inside and outside screens; if your master bedroom has a ceiling fan make sure to clean the blades very well; dust cobwebs from all of the corners of the ceiling; dust all of the door tops, cabinets and any surface that is horizontal. Clean under every piece of furniture, wash any rugs you may have in the room, spot clean your walls, clean all of the door knobs and switch plate covers.
• Clean the baseboards: You never know where the eyes of the potential buyer will go. Make sure you grab a rag that is really absorbent and dampen it a little with some warm soapy water; wring it out as much as you possibly can. Start at one end of the baseboard and wipe all the way around on the top as well as the sides. Be sure to go all the way around the room.
• Bring in a cleaning crew: It’s good to be able to get things done on your own, but with so much going on it could be easy for you to overlook some things. You can do your cleaning, but before you initially show your home and master bedroom it would be a great idea to have a professional cleaning crew come in. They will be able to give your room a fresh and new look. If there is something you may have inadvertently missed, the cleaning crew will be able to spot and ensure that it is at a high standard of cleanliness and that will go a long way with potential buyers.

Declutter

Decluttering may seem like it is a daunting task for you do at first thought. You are still living at home and there may be some things that you need to use. While this is true, you still need to go through this process. The way of thinking about it is not to see it as getting rid of your things; you need to see it as a trimming process to make sure that you are putting things away that may become a distraction to a potential buyer from really seeing the master bedroom for what it is and what it has to offer.

You want your master bedroom to be decluttered because it shows a direct sign of relaxation. You really want your master bedroom to be restful and have a spa-like quality that brings the thought of tranquility and peace as soon as you step in the door… if there are things that bring clutter along, that feeling won’t come across at all. This process can be seen as the most important step when you are getting your master bedroom ready to be staged. While this may be time-consuming, it is worth it to have your master bedroom staged properly.

Decluttering allows the beauty of the room to sign through. You don’t want potential buyers to walk away because they are overwhelmed by so much stuff that they see within the room. Here are some major tips to think about when you are ready to declutter your master bedroom.

• Keep the floor clean and clear: The only thing that you want to have on your floor is the furniture that you have in the room… nothing else. With that, you don’t want to have anything on top of the surfaces of the furniture that you have set up.
• No personal items should be seen: While you may love having personal items to help make your room comfortable, this isn’t a good idea when you’re staging. Remember, you want the master bedroom peaceful and have a sense of rest. If there is a television in the room take it out; if you have any stuffed animals, family photos or any other personal items that you keep in your room, take them out so the atmosphere of the room is set.
• Exercise equipment and other electronics: Many people keep their exercise equipment in the master bedroom. Some see this as a motivating factor, but when you are staging your master bedroom, to outsiders coming to see this is a good sign of work and interruption… that takes away from the tranquility you are trying to set up. The same goes for computers… those or signs of work being done and that essentially clutter the master bedroom.
• Store clothes that aren’t in season elsewhere: Clutter can come easy when you have a lot of clothes around. You should pack your out-of-season clothes and have them stored somewhere else. This will allow you to get rid of clutter and show more room in closet areas where you keep your clothes.
• Have minimum items on the bed: You don’t want your bed to look cluttered or have too much on it. You should have a light set of linen on the bed, your general pillows and crisp decorative pillows, but not too many. This will show your bed as inviting but at the same time, it won’t be cluttered or too busy.  Read How to make a bed Here!

You want the potential buyers that come into your master bedroom to be able to see it as their own. If you have clutter all around the room this is more or less impossible for them to do. You don’t want the personal items to overtake the master bedroom and blind those that come into it from seeing your style instead of envisioning their own. While you may not see things as being cluttered you have to use an “outside eye” when looking at your master bedroom. What you don’t consider clutter may very well be just that when others walk into the room.

Depersonalizing

While you want to have your master bedroom as homey, warm and inviting as you can, it isn’t a good look for it to be personalized when you are staging it. The lived in look that you are sure to have will not be helpful when you have potential buyers coming in to see things.

When you have prospective buyers that walk into the master bedroom you want them to see the room. You want them to feel as if it is neat, spacious, calm and elegant. You want them to be able to really see the room and see themselves living there.  To do this, you must get rid of all of the personal items that you have within it. It may be difficult for them to visualize their personal items in the master bedroom when all they see are your personal items. It is important to know that the goal isn’t to make your master bedroom seem cold; you don’t want to have an empty room. What you do want is to rid yourself of things that bring in your personal taste.

• Excess furniture: When you have too much furniture in the master bedroom it can make it look a lot smaller than it really is… you don’t want this to be the case at all. You should remove the furniture that isn’t necessary; a good tip is to take everything out of the master bedroom and then put 1/3 to a half of it back in.
• Personal taste: While you like your personal taste and style, it may not be for everyone (hence it being your personal taste). There may be some potential buyers that like and appreciate the things that you have and like, it won’t go over well with everyone. If you have items that are theme based you should remove them from the room. This could be in terms of artwork, furniture or even accessories that you may have.
• Artwork or artful accessories: With artwork, it is generally a piece that you like or that reflect upon your personality. You don’t want your personality to stand out in your master bedroom. It can be offensive to some people or come across in the wrong light. You want the artwork or artful accessories in your master bedroom to enhance the furniture that you have in the room as well as tie the room together. Any religious artwork or statues that you may have you want to put away; any sports memorabilia or logos, politically themed items… things of these nature that bring out your personal side should be removed.
• Photos and more: If you leave photos in the room they will distract those that come in to view it. This goes along with certificates or awards that you may have. If you have photos, diplomas or certificates placed around the room you should remove them. These personal mementos are just that, personal.
• Collections: Collections that you may have will be important to you, but nobody else needs to know what you are interested in collecting. If it is stuffed animals, sports items, prized possessions, etc. Whatever you have that you enjoy collecting needs to be taken out of the room.
• Personal items: Everyone keeps personal items in the bedroom; the truth of the matter is no one needs to see those items. While you need the items to live you don’t want to give off the impression that you actually live there. Take your makeup, toothbrushes, shampoo/conditioner, bathrobes and other necessities out of your master bedroom or masterbath so no one else sees these things.

You may think that it will be difficult to depersonalize your master bedroom. You may not know where to put all of these things, especially if it is something that you will need to use while in between viewings. A good tip for you may be to use storage containers that can be kept under the bed. It is a good way to conceal the personal items you need to have handy and still have your room depersonalized as it should be.

Painting

When you are preparing your master bedroom for staging one of the most important factors is the paint. You always want to make sure you have a fresh coat of paint, but you must also consider the color that is used. One of the first things you will be judged on by prospective buyers is the paint colors that you have chosen. Painting is a great way to make a huge transformation without spending a ton of money.

It is best for you to choose neutral paint colors for the master bedroom… it has been seen that these colors are generally appealing to just about everyone. You must also keep in mind that you want the master bedroom to appeal to men and women alike. You don’t want to have a color that is either too masculine or too feminine. That will eliminate wallpapers and even borders in the master bedroom. Painting is the best way to make sure that everyone is pleased when they walk into the room.

Colors

When you are choosing the paint color for your room, you want to make sure that you have one that will emulate a tranquil and restful retreat. In order to do this, you want to use calming colors that are neutral. It is best to try to keep in mind things of a nice resort like you would find in the Caribbean area. You want your walls to look soft and have an open feel to them.

In order to do this, it’s best to utilize colors like those found in the beige family, soft grays, pale blues and muted greens would be options also if you must have color but soft beige would be the best choices for you… Something light and bright is your best match to have the inviting feel you want to give off. Even eggshell would be a nice option for you. This color is great for picking up natural light; this will also help make the room seem larger.

You don’t want your colors to be gender specific, so neutral is always the best way to go. That way it will appeal to both men and women that come in to see your master bedroom. It is always a lot easier for you to have decorations that will easily pick up the colors and incorporate everything together.

Windows

The windows in your room are a gateway to the natural light but you also want them to be able to diffuse light when you want that done… this will give the room a great sense of privacy that you will enjoy when you are ready to. The way in which you set up your window will also add texture and color to your room; this will help in making your master bedroom inviting and warm as well.

If you have a nice view outside of your window, you can always leave the window bare. Another option would be to add in sheers across the window and have colored drapes hanging on the sides. That way you can show the option of closing for privacy or having the view to be seen.

You want to try to keep your window treatments simple and use a neutral color. It’s a great idea to hang your drapes from just under the ceiling all the way down to the floor. This will make your ceiling seem taller and give the feel of luxuriousness in the room.

If you want to widen a window you have that is narrow you can buy a rod that will extend beyond the frame of the window. More light will come in, but make sure the window frame doesn’t show. It is always best to have the natural light come in when you are staging your master bedroom.

Closets

For your staging, you want to make sure that you glam your closet up as much as possible. If you have a master bedroom that doesn’t have a walk-in closet there are ways you can make it look larger. You want to clean everything out of it that isn’t in season along with items that are outdated.

If you do have a walk-in closet you still want to clear those items out (so it can still look larger). You also want to add in some nice baskets that can be strategically stacked so that you can show how luxurious your closet is. You should also make sure that you don’t have hangers in that don’t look the same. Similiar hangers will bring in a unified look and structure to the closet. Also, if you have white hangers it will make your closet space look bigger as well.

You can coordinate your clothes by color and have shoes either placed in shoe boxes or neatly placed in the closet. This will show organization and it will also allow the closet to be seen a lot better.

Feng Shui

Placement and colors for everything in your master bedroom is extremely important. You don’t want the colors and textures in the room to be the only things that bring on relaxation and harmony. You want everything in the room to come together and create the Feng Shui that everyone wants.

The colors that you want to choose to bring in Feng Shui should be warm earth-toned colors. These should go along with the neutral paint colors you have. So having bedding and drapes that are copper, terra cotta, coral, tan, peach, cream or colors along those lines will bring in a great feel of Feng Shui. Other great options are greens, light blues, and lavenders… that brings along the quiet, tranquil feeling that you want to come in. These colors also invite an energy of healing and relaxation.

You want to make sure you position your bed carefully. You want to have the bed placed far away from the door, but also in a way in which you can see the entrance to the room. When one walks in the bed should be the first thing the eye goes to, but you don’t want it to be in the viewpoint of the doorway. This will make it so that sleep and relaxation are easy to achieve.

If you don’t have bedside tables you should get some that have curves instead of corners. You want to have furniture that has soft lines and forms that are of a curved nature. Fresh flowers and a nice lamp will help create the Zen-like feel that you want to have in your master bedroom.

Staging your master bedroom is essential for you to do when it is time to put your home on the market. It is seen that small changes can make a huge difference in someone immediately falling in love with this room.

To Read more tips and tricks please check our blog post regularly.

1.  Sellers what to expect during a home showing

2.  Sellers what to expect during the home inspection