When you decide to sell your home, one of the most important tasks is staging your house for prospective buyers. The first impression of a house is often the main driver behind someone putting an offer in or not. It can also be the difference between someone offering you above or below list price.

Some of the most important rooms in the house you’ll need to stage are your bedrooms. These are the rooms that feel the most personal to you, but they need to be staged well in order to be inviting for prospective buyers. Here are some helpful tips we have for you focused on how to stage your bedroom:

1. Reduce the amount of furniture in your room

There are many opinions on what furniture you should have in a staged bedroom. Some believe you should remove everything but the bed, while others think a simple bed with nightstands is the better alternative. The real message is that the room should feel as open as possible, and the removal of extra furniture is the best way to do that. Also, make sure you have a nice soft mattress on the bed in case any of those potential buyers decide to sit down to take it all in!

2. Dress and tidy your bed

You’ve now removed extra furniture to make your bed the focal point, but you still need to make sure it’s a good focal point. Chris Brantner, the Sleep Science Coach behind SleepZoo.com, suggests that instead of going out and buying a fancier bed, “one way to improve the look is to add a nice, stylish set of bed sheets and comforters.”

He goes on to say that you shouldn’t stop there. “Feel free to go out and get some new pillows to really dress it up. You want buyers to envision themselves comfortably sleeping in their new bedroom.”

3. Paint the room a neutral color

A garish or “loud” paint color is a surefire way to make your room unattractive to prospective buyers. You may have a personal attachment to the color, but a neutral tone is much more likely to be appreciated by a buyer. This lets the potential buyer envision the room in their own way, with their own preferences, instead of forcing them to adjust to a color they dislike.

4. Pay attention to your windows

In some bedrooms, big windows letting in tons of light are the stars of the show. In others, they’re simply another feature of the room. Regardless of what type of bedroom you have, you need to make your windows another selling point. Windows are one of the simple ways to add value to your home, so you should ensure they’re displayed properly.

First of all, you should make sure they’re not blocked by any furniture or closed curtains. Second, you need to match window dressings to the other colors and themes of the room. Nothing stands out more than window dressings that don’t match the room’s paint color or bed sheets.

5. Clean the room after every buyer visit

This might sound like overkill, to clean after every visit, but you can never be too safe. You never know if the previous buyers tracked in a little dirt or ruffled the bed sheets. You should make it a point to clean in between each visit. If you can’t make it, you should relay the message to the realtor to give the bedrooms a quick tidying up before the next buyer arrives. Houses are selling incredibly fast right now in certain markets, so even the smallest details are important.

Hopefully, these simple tips will be of help to you as you look to benefit from the great investment that is home buying. If you follow these tips, you can take some of the stress out of selling your house!