Help me stage my house!!!!

I need to know how to set up my 4 bedrooms to appeal to MOST buyers.

2 downstairs
2 upstairs

Downstairs:
- 1 bedroom 13x14 (our master bedroom now)
- 1 bedroom 10x12 (DS' room). Very small. We originally used it as his nursery.

Upstairs (vaulted/slopped ceilings):

- 1 bedroom 12x16 (outdated!!!! with paneling and crazy shiny wallpaper). Used as computer room for DH/junk room/storage
- 1 bedroom 12x13 (with fireplace coming through bedroom... it's a Levitt house). With jungle murals (in my album). Currently used as DS' playroom.


I need the 4 bedrooms to be:
1 Master bedroom
1 room for DS
1 room for "nursery" set up
1 office/playroom

Or could be combination bedroom/playroom.

We have a full bath downstairs next to the 2 bedrooms
We have a bath with shower upstairs between both bedrooms.

Message edited 7/13/2011 12:17:20 PM.

Re: Help me stage my house!!!!

I would take down the crazy wall paper and maybe pain the panelling. Make it look a little updated.

Thinking you make the small room downstairs into the office. Can it even fit a single bed if used as a bedroom?

Re: Help me stage my house!!!!

The small bedroom down stairs if my son's bedroom with a twin bed. It was his nursery before. So I can make it the office, child bedroom or baby room.

Re: Help me stage my house!!!!

how cramped is it with the twin bed. My big pet peeve when i look at houses is when they say it is a 4 bedroom and 1 room is impossibly small to be a functional bedroom. Same with when they say there is an office and they have a desk wedged under the stairs in the basement

So maybe make it the office and move your son upstairs (if you are comfortable with having him upstairs.

When we bought this house I said no capes because I didn't want my kids up when we slept down. Do I think seeing people have it set up that way "showing" that it works may mentally make me feel better about it. Does that make sense?

Regardless get rid of any and all junk and clutter. When we put our house on the market I used it as a good excuse to throw away alot of stuff. Quite liberating!

Re: Help me stage my house!!!!

I was going to stage it as an office.

And put the 2 bedroom upstairs as the kids' bedrooms.

But where would I put the playroom?

Re: Help me stage my house!!!!

Does your house have a den? If not maybe skip the office and make the playroom downstairs in the small room. Not many people use a home office. If I didn't have a den I would like the idea that I could use the room on the 1st floor for the kids toys.

Re: Help me stage my house!!!!

No den. Just a small LR.

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Re: Help me stage my house!!!!

I would stage as 3 bedrooms, since most people want that. And I agree with the posters that most buyers don't have the "vision" to see what a room could be (e.g., they don't see a room as a true bedroom if it's been repurposed for something else). I think the 10 by 12 room is definitely large enough to be a true bedroom. I just would try to keep the furnishings minimal and don't overstuff it with toys and extras.

The 4th bedroom could be an office or even a den/office. Since you have a living room, but no familiy room, it might be nice to show an extra area for tv watching/relaxing. Also, a playroom may only appeal to a narrow segment of buyers -- not just those who have young kids, but those who want a dedicated playroom. Given that the goal of staging your house is to make it appeal to the widest array of buyers, you may not want to have a play room. Also, it is harder to keep a playroom neat and decluttered (a den or office may make the room appear larger).

I agree with the previous suggestions of taking down the dated wallpaper and maybe painting the paneling, if it's feasible. If you are going to undertake any painting, I would also recommend painting over the jungle mural. I am sure it's beautiful and your son loved it, but again -- some buyers may not have children or liked child-centric decor. More people would probably prefer a nice, neutral wall-color. Also, you want people to take in your house and its features and benefits, so you don't want them to be distracted by murals or other interesting artwork, family photos, or anything else. That's another reason why I recommend that sellers rid their homes (or really pare down) on photos and art. It may turn buyers off, make them feel like a guest in your home (rather than envision themselves living there), or it may just be too distracting. They will admire the cute baby or fantastic mural, and not focus on whether the home itself works for them!

I posted a blog on this site awhile ago about very basic staging tips, so you may want to check it out, but it basically comes down to cleaning, decluttering, depersonalizing/neutralizing, and repairing.

Good luck!

Re: Help me stage my house!!!!

Personally, I would:

First floor - master and office
Second - two children's bedrooms but setting up one with the majority of the toys and throw a bed in there so it looks like a bedroom but DS can still have a play space

Re: Help me stage my house!!!!

I dunno what it is but I like bedrooms to be on upper floors. Plus those are your bigger rooms. I'd then do the downstairs as a den/playroom and an office