When it comes to staging a home, there are quite a few layout tips and styling tricks that are often to use to help the home “show” best. Typically, a staged home feels a bit more styled and less lived in than your normal home would look. You’ll notice there usually are not a lot of family photos around or too many personal touches (like jewelry hanging or glasses on the nightstands)- in fact, often times less is more when it comes to styling a home to be staged.
I like to think of styling a bedroom in a similar way that you would see a nice hotel room, for example. When I think of my favorite hotels that I’ve stayed in, the room is beautiful, comfortable and luxurious – I could add some candles, pictures and clothes and move right in! You have your essentials, but it doesn’t feel like someone else lives there. The room has enough to make it feel super comfortable, but not too lived in. You get what I’m saying! Let’s explore a few more ways to help stage a bedroom:
Start with the Essentials
This is key. First, let me start by saying that every adult bedroom must have a bed (with a headboard, at minimum) and two matching nightstands. The bed is typically the focal point of the room so the nightstands are the symmetrical balance that helps anchor the bed. While a dresser isn’t necessary, I think it’s ideal to have a place for someone to store their clothes and a hard surface to display/store personal items. Next, be sure to dress the windows (more on that later) and add some decor – art, pillows, blankets, plants, etc.
Keep Nightstands Clean
As I stated above, the nightstands are sort of the anchors for the bed. I think of the rule of 3 when it comes to decorating these – the goal is to keep the decor minimal, but functional. Too many items on the nightstand the the space can immediately feel crowded. For example, try a lamp, a small clock and a vase with flowers. That is enough to show some personality, but not too much that it feels cluttered. One more tip – if you are short on space or have smaller bedside tables, try installing sconces (love these plug-in ones) to make space!
Have Proper Window Treatments
If there is one area in which people tend to cut corners in decorating a room, it’s the window treatments. Granted, this can be an expensive investment; however, you don’t have to spend a fortune, especially when you are not living in the home. What’s most important here is to make sure that the prospective tenant has enough darkness to sleep and enough privacy to get dressed. You could simply go with blinds or add in some valances or panel drapes to better frame the window. Whichever option you choose to do, make sure that they’re a neutral color/pattern and are hung properly.
Stay Neutral
It goes without saying that I am the queen of neutral in home decor. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it (a thousand times) again – neutral does not have to equal boring. When it comes to staging a bedroom, neutral means a lot of things. For starters, I like to keep all bedrooms gender neutral and shy away from anything that is too masculine or too feminine. Additionally, it’s best to avoid any crazy patterns or wild themes. Decorating a neutral bedroom can be beautiful with whites, grays, blues, greens and other colors – when tastefully done, these reflect a mature, classy space.
Make the Bed
This should go without saying, but it is absolutely critical to make the bed to show off the room! Take the time to neatly (and properly) make the bed, tuck in the sheets, layer in some textures and fluff in the pillows. The goal should be for a potential buyer or renter to walk in and want to dive head first into the bed! Comfort and beauty is what we’re going for here! If you want some tips on how to properly make a bed, try reading this article on making a bed or these tips from a housekeeper.
All of these key elements are an easy, foolproof way to make your bedroom look as great as it can. I hope these five tips help you when you are staging a bedroom, or even creating a guest bedroom in your home. If you have any other questions or need help creating your perfect bedroom, feel free to reach out – I’m happy to help!
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