One of the biggest challenges for home-sellers can be in deciding how to stage small, awkward rooms for sale. If your home is a 3-bedroom, but one of the bedrooms is painfully small, you risk disappointing potential buyers.
That’s where perfect staging can come in. Don’t let a potential buyer cross your home off the list because of that awkward bedroom. I’ve rounded up some tips from home staging experts across the web to provide some inspiration and ideas for your awkward space.
MHM Professional Staging suggests there’s value in staging a room as a home office, especially today when working from home is becoming increasingly popular:
“Today, lots of people are working from home or at least want a dedicated space in which to manage household tasks like bills and homework. A home office is a big asset to a home on the market. ... If you don't have a home office, it could be the perfect solution for an extra or awkward space in your home such as a loft or a room without a closet.”
If you decide to stage your small bedroom as a home office, you can give the illusion of more space by removing the bed and placing a small desk and other furniture. Buyers will know that the room is a bedroom because of the closet, but you can make the room appear larger than it is by choosing the right furniture when staging it as a home office.
Gail Dunnett, owner of the home-staging company Studio D told the New York Times that “she recommended choosing a small desk that provides enough room to work on a laptop without taking up too much floor space. She often pairs it with a clear acrylic chair which almost seems to disappear."
An inexpensive writing desk or a small corner desk can be ideal for this, as it will tuck neatly into a corner of the room while leaving most of the square footage open for potential buyers to walk through as they tour your home. Carefully consider what you put on the desk, and coordinate the accessories to make it a clean, organized, and inviting space. This will make potential buyers forget about the room's size and focus on how inviting and well-appointed it is.
The home experts over at The Spruce agree about using furniture with a small footprint to stage rooms, stressing that less is more, especially in small spaces. They recommend taking as much furniture as you can out of a small bedroom, leaving only what you need to define the space for potential buyers:
"Keep in mind that the purpose of staging the room is to define its purpose and not to show buyers how many furniture pieces it can accommodate. Ensure there is enough space for people to walk around and don't block the flow of traffic with furniture."
But real estate Agent Jackie Patrick from Cincinnati, Ohio cautioned Owners.com not to rush into the decision to stage a bedroom as a home office, saying that in her experience "Offices don't sell homes. Bedrooms Sell Homes." She encourages staging any room that can be called a bedroom as a bedroom, and allowing buyers to decide for themselves how to use it. It's generally easier for a buyer to walk into a small bedroom and say, "Well, this could be used as an office" than the other way around.
One trick most experts agree on is that if you’re staging a bedroom as an office or a bedroom, less is more, and opt for bright colors in your decor.
Strip out personalized items like family photos, toys, and mementos and worn-in bedding and replace them with bright, light art pieces, new bedding, and hang a mirror or a gallery wall of mirrors to help the space feel larger and brighter. Also consider updating the lighting and light bulbs, and offering the room a fresh coat of paint in a lighter color.
These small, inexpensive fixes can make a big impact and transform your awkward bedroom from a liability into a home-selling asset.
I'd love to hear from you about some of the tips and tricks you've used to stage small awkward spaces when selling a home. Please share your knowledge by leaving a comment below!
