When you are about the business of staging your home to sell, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the task of dressing each room in a way that woos prospective buyers. Thinking of the project as a whole can be just too daunting. Unless you’re planning to hire a home design team, one good way to approach the seemingly endless project is to think about just one room at a time.
Bedrooms are a good place to begin since there is no doubt about the main purpose of the space. A bedroom should provide tranquillity, comfort, as much luxury as possible, a sense of privacy, and as much space as can be had. (Even if the room is very small, this goal remains the same. If it can’t be physically spacious, make it appear to be.)
Of course, you must begin with the bed. It’s the focal point of the room and will dictate the other elements you add. Make sure the scale of the bed fits the size of the room, and understand that a bedhead is practically essential. (If no bedhead is available, think of creative ways to give the suggestion of one. Hang a large piece of art or an ornate mirror above the bed, for example.) A king size bed with two bedside tables with lamps may be perfect in a large room, but in a small space a beautifully-dressed single bed with a single table is more appropriate.
Before you select bedding, consider the size of the room.
If the room is tiny, stay away from large, bold prints. Instead, go with lighter, airier colours. If you keep the larger elements in the room, like the window coverings, the doona, and the rug in colours that match the walls, the room automatically becomes bigger in the eyes of the prospective buyer.
As you select the bedding, remember that the smaller the room, the more subdued the prints and colours should be. When staging your home to sell, try to give your beds a layered look that creates a sense of softness and luxury. With bedding manufacturers now producing matching pillow shams, bolsters, and accent cushions to go with every possible sheet choice, it’s easy to get carried away. Please place no more than seven pillows and cushions on any given bed – in this case, more is not always better.
If you’re putting your bed together a la carte, a bed skirt and pillow shams are great places to add colour and pattern. (The skirt will also call the buyer’s attention to possible under-bed storage.) Of course, if you’ve opted to buy one of those ‘bed in a bag’ deals, shams and the bed-skirt are probably already included. Just be sure to steam or press any fabric that is visible so the bed looks pristine and alluring.
All other furniture and accessories you add to the bedroom should take the size of the room into account. A small room may benefit from having a taller chest of drawers rather than a wide, mirrored dresser. Tiny places beg you to use the vertical space available, so use furniture with legs that raise the piece off the floor.
As with all other small spaces, there are many tricks that can make a small bedroom feel larger. Strategically placed mirrors, sconces instead of lamps above bedside tables, and window coverings that match the wall colour can help fool the eye.
When homeowners choose to style their homes without the help of professionals, one of the biggest problems they encounter is the lack of appropriate furnishings. Most of us simply don’t own two entire households of furniture and, if we did, those pieces would probably have been purchased with something other than house styling for sale in mind. If you run into these problems, contact a reputable home stylist for a bit of help. Not only can a stylist help you select furniture of the correct size and scale, they can advise you in other matters for a small consultation fee. The end result will be a more beautiful home and a faster, more lucrative sale.