7 DIY Bedroom Staging Tips for When You Need to Show Your House in a Hurry

The master bedroom is critical to home staging success because it’s the oasis of the home. Every potential buyer wants to walk into the master and see a retreat where they can relax and rejuvenate every single day.

Goodbye heels and coffee, hello slippers and a glass of wine.

According to the National Association of Realtors’ Home Staging Report, 51% of real estate agents believe staging master bedroom is “very important” and second only to the living room on the staging priority list.

Yet perfect images and walkthroughs of master suites from places like HGTV may have warped your thoughts on what staging entails. These stunning designs feature clawfoot tubs, walk-in closets and showers, floor-to-ceiling windows, and more. It’s easy to feel like staging your master bedroom, even if it has all or some of these features, is daunting, unattainable and expensive.

That’s why we’ve created this guide to bedroom staging, chockfull of tips and tricks that anyone (including you!) can start implementing the second you finish reading.

Now, let’s get to turning your master into the kind of space every buyer dreams about.

Easy breezy bedroom vibes 🌵 . . . . #mypotterybarn #potterybarn #interiordesign #homedecor #bedroom #boho

A post shared by Pottery Barn (@potterybarn) on Apr 30, 2018 at 4:56pm PDT

From Total Chaos to Calm Retreat: How to Declutter a Bedroom

The number 3 real estate agent in Denton, TX, Cami Hobbs, shared that the most challenging part of home staging is tackling clutter. Although decluttering tops the charts in terms of difficulty, it is the most important step in staging the master bedroom.

Why?

Imagine walking into your bedroom when it’s got laundry everywhere, cups of old tea on the nightstand and whatever else you’ve tossed on the ground in the day-to-day hustle and bustle of your life.

Now picture how the master feels when you’ve freshly cleaned and vacuumed the space, dusted, and taken all displaced items and put them back in their proper spot in your home. Decluttering, though it requires more legwork, will feel about 10 times better than that, which is an experience you want to create for any prospective buyer who walks into your space.

We’ve put together three ways you can tackle the most difficult part of bedroom staging right away.

1. Use the KonMari Method of Decluttering

Marie Kondo, creator of the KonMari Method, believes in using gut reactions to items to get rid of clutter that does not “spark joy.” This method is extremely effective because it works with your first reaction to an item, and doesn’t leave any time for, “but what if I need this someday?”

This process will take a few days, but it will help you in the long run, especially when you need to move. By decluttering now, you don’t need to put everything you own into an expensive storage unit for showings. Instead, you’ll have eliminated all of the items that you no longer need and enjoy and will only be left with your essentials.

To summarize the process, which you can read more about in our blog post on getting a home ready to sell, you’ll take out and hold every single item in your bedroom. You’ll notice which items give you a positive feeling, and which items you feel negative or neutral about. You’ll donate or sell these items, and keep only the items you have a positive reaction to.

Though it may seem like a big task, this method is the easiest way to declutter, because you won’t be able to belabor over keeping things you don’t need. An item will either make you happy or unhappy. Keep the ones that make you smile, and part with the rest!

2. Follow These Rules to Get Serious About Storage

Hobbs recommends putting any excess items you don’t need for showings in storage. An easy rule is to store two-thirds of your belongings and only leave one-third in the house. Some examples of things you may want to store:

• Out-of-season clothes and shoes
• Extraneous knick-knacks or decor
• Most of your personal photos (Hobbs recommends leaving a few to suggest the hominess of your space)
• Large items you don’t currently need (for example: air mattresses, extra sets of sheets, air drying racks for clothes, etc.)

Use your best judgment here! The more you can pare down and store, the better your space will look. And don’t forget–closets count, too. Prospective buyers will look in all of your closets and expect them to be just as organized and clean as the bedroom. Don’t shove anything in your closet. When in doubt, store it.

3. Give the Space a Thorough Cleaning

Your master bedroom needs to be spotless. Think about it this way: the bedroom should be as clean as a freshly cleaned hotel room the day you check in. You can read all about cleaning in our cleaning guide, but here’s a brief overview.

• Dust everything with a Swiffer duster (these dusters cling to dust, and you can throw them out when you’re done
• Wipe everything down with an all purpose cleaner like Mrs. Meyers (they are aromatherapeutic and will give the space a great scent as well!)
• Vacuum carpets/hardwood/tile floor
• Mop tile/hardwood floor
• Put clean bedding on the bed
• Throw out any and all dead flowers and plants

Spotted: our Paidge Sofa and Linen Bedding living their best lives in this gorgeous Upper East Side studio, seen on @dominomag! 👀 See the full space with link in bio. Design by @meagancampinteriors + 📸: @rikkisnyder

A post shared by west elm (@westelm) on Apr 8, 2018 at 6:00pm PDT

Bedroom Staging Details You Can’t Miss

1. Put Buyers at Ease with Soft Music

Putting music on for showings is a great way to give the entire house a positive vibe. Hobbs advises: “I have (clients) turn on the TV music and put it pretty low, to where it’s jazz or classical or just low underlying music…just something soft, where it’s easy listening…where it gives that upbeat energy when they walk through.”

Don’t have a TV in your bedroom? Use any portable speakers you have, and put on a Spotify or Pandora classic Jazz playlist.

2. Let There Be Light

Great lighting is also essential to make the bedroom shine. Who wants to live in a dark, drab space? Hobbs says: “I like natural light. I never tell anyone to do fluorescent light. I think fluorescent lights make the home not feel homey. I like lamp light and low light and natural light. The most important thing is the natural light coming through the windows.”

When choosing light bulbs, make sure to go with bulbs that have a warmer tone.

Hobbs suggests having all windows cleaned by a professional window cleaning company. That way you’ll ensure that your home gets the most amount of natural light possible. Check with your real estate agent or browse Yelp to find a reputable service.

3. Secrets to Staging a Nightstand

You’ll even need to stage—believe it or not—your nightstands! Simplicity and elegance are key here. You’ll see above, in the nightstand we staged, we chose simple and modern pieces that pop.

We used 3 black and white accents of varying patterns and styles to create texture, one of which is a candle for a subtle but nice scent. The tile from Mexico adds a pop of color, while the Magnolia Homes wall art adds a chic piece of positive inspiration.

4. Masterfully Make the Bed with Crisp Linens

Your bed is the focal point of the master bedroom, so you’ll need to make it look amazing. Take a look at your current bedding. How do you think a prospective buyer would react to it? Is it worn, or like new?

Hobbs points out: “If the same bedding works, do it. But if it’s old and it doesn’t look good then I will (recommend clients buy fresh bedding). I always have them do pillow shams and throw pillows that look good. I try to modernize it.”

Stumped on how to make your bed shine? Go with all white bedding, white pillow shams, and throw in some cute pillows for a pop of color.

✨✨ // 📷: @reserve_home

A post shared by Brooklinen (@brooklinen) on Feb 18, 2018 at 2:18pm PST

Bedroom Staging Before and After:

Bedroom staging can be hard to visualize, so we went ahead and staged a bedroom for you. We’ll look at before and analyze what went wrong, and then point out everything we did to create the after shot.

Whew. What’s wrong with this picture?

• Unmade, unruly bed
• Visible wires
• Clutter: reusable water bottles, books, toiletries
• Bad lighting
• Messy
• Not clean or vacuumed

What did we change?

• Cleaned and vacuumed the floor
• Masterfully made the bed and added a Mexican blanket for a pop of color
• Used neutral bedding that lets the other colors in the room shine
• Eliminated clutter
• Put away all visible wires
• Opened blinds to bring in natural light

Now you have the tools you need to start staging your master bedroom right now. So, get to it! Still need advice? Talk to a real estate agent for a list of staging tips that will make your space show ready.

Now get staging!

Article Image Source: (Mary Whitney/ Pexels)