How to Stage a Child’s Room – When staging your home, especially when you are still living in it, it can be tempting to allow the children’s rooms to be staged to their personal preferences and habits but potential home buyers may not be looking for a child’s room. They need to be able to see the potential of the room. Here are a few things to avoid when staging your child’s room.
BEFORE: Nursery decals and too much furniture makes this space seem small and childish.
1. Colorful Wallpaper or Murals
Ditch the pink and purple stripes, remove all decals and don’t hire your best friend’s neighbor to paint a forest mural. While these things may be very popular decor trends for children’s rooms, they are very personal and will limit the potential buyers’ view of the space. Choosing a neutral paint color will help potential buyers envision the room as a guest room, office, etc. Potential buyers are looking for move-in ready and to them, a mural is equal to a paint job unless they just happen to have the exact child who wants that exact detail.
AFTER: Removing decals and some of the furniture creates a space that feels much bigger. While it still looks like a nursery, it is easy to imagine other uses for the space.
2. Themed Rooms
Similar to wallpaper and murals, themed rooms can alienate potential buyers. Avoid things like sports teams, Frozen, Dora, pirates, rainbows, etc. This whimsical approach may seem fun but when staging, this is your opportunity to make more money and that takes priority.
3. Bunk Beds
While your first thought might be to use bunk beds to show that more can fit in the room, it actually has the opposite effect. A bunk bed takes up more vertical square footage and makes a room feel cramped. It also indicates to the buyers that the home does not have enough space.
4. Gender-Specific Decor
You may have a little princess but your home buyer may be looking for a home for their son, or a home with room for an office or guest room. Choosing a neutral color scheme will help the potential buyer envision the room with alternative functions. Small doses of pink or blue accents are okay if done right but you should enlist the advice of a professional home stager for this.
5. Too Many Toys
BEFORE: Too many toys and an oversized bed create a cramped and messy space.
How to Stage a Child’s Room – While your home is listed, pack away the majority of the toys as they make any room feel cluttered and messy. Purchase a plastic storage bin and allow your child to select their favorite toys to fill the bin. This way, when you have a last-minute viewing, you can easily pack away the remaining toys and store them out of sight. If you’re keeping 1 or 2 toys to use as decorative accents, make sure they work with the style and color scheme of the room and keep to a bare minimum.
AFTER: Removing toys and adding more sophisticated furnishings and decor along with a bed that fits this space gives this room an open, airy feel. Touches of pink are still included but they are minimal and tasteful.
It is always best to hire the expertise of a professionally trained home stager to help you determine the best choices in order to achieve the greatest ROI.
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