The Two-Step Process to Staging a Bathroom
yellow cleaning gloves
towels
When seeing a house for the first time, most buyers spend a lot of time in the kitchen. They also poke around the living room and the bedrooms, trying to imagine if they could see themselves in a house.The bathroom? It’s definitely high on their priority list, but you don’t always know it from their behavior: Many buyers tend to give a glance to the bathroom. They know what they’re looking for – clean, cute, updated – and they won’t spent much time.So what does that mean for a home owner? You’ve got three seconds to convince a buyer.
First Step: Clean to a Sparkling Sheen Clean your bathroom from tip to toe. Not just a swish in the toilet bowl, but inside the medicine chest, under the sink, on and behind the radiator cover. Speaking of covers: Remove the cover from the exhaust and light fixtures and get into the crevices with a good cleaner. The cleanliness of your bathroom will be the main character in your show.Fix anything that’s broken or ripped, including faucets and wallpaper. Are the towel racks wooden and dated? Get thee to Home Depot and replace. Remove medicines and any personal items and replace the bulbs to the highest watt possible; for example, if your light fixtures are rated for 100-watt, go for those. If anything else is weathered or worn, buy new and replace.
Second Step: Roll ‘em Up! The towels, that is. It’s an effective and easy staging method: Buy a pretty, thick-weave basket at Target and fill it with new, rolled-up white towels. Place it in a corner or by the tub. This is the fun part! Aim to make your bathroom spa-like and refreshing. A green plant, soft colors, new towels on the new towel rack. You won’t have to break the bank, but aim to please with a new bathmat, a simple wooden tray for the top of the toilet (on which you can place a small vase of fresh flowers for the showings). Candles along the tub are lovely, so are scented soaps and an antique glass container filled with cotton balls. Have any leftover beach shells? Sand? Fill a Mason jar and place that next to the candle display. New lotion and hand wash will complete the look.
You’re ready!