You want to sell your home, but you have a small living room, bathrooms, or kitchen. What do you do?
You can easily make any room look larger or more attractive. The key is to get rid of clutter, clean everything down to the switch plates, and create a neutral space that buyers can picture themselves living in.
Buyers usually know what they see, not what could be. Put things away, bring the outside in like touches of greenery and nature and your rooms will look bigger.
The Living Room
Sometimes a lamp or piece of art is what you want people to see first, so that you’re immediately taking in the size of the room. If you have a fireplace or a view, direct the buyer’s eye to that as the focal point of the room. Make sure window coverings are sheer, or are pulled back, to bring more light in. Brighter rooms look bigger and more inviting. Scale the furniture to fit the size of the room and don’t block walking pathways. Having oversized sofas or too much furniture will make the living room look smaller. Having no more than three items on a coffee table and remove personal photos from the area. This will not only de-personalize it, but also help to clear up the clutter, which overwhelms a small room.
The Dining Room
Tables should be positioned for maximum effect in the dining room. You don’t need to have a lot of leaves in them with six or eight chairs. In fact, taking all the leaves out and making the dining table as small as possible will make the room look bigger. If there’s a heavy rug on the floor, take it out to create the illusion of more floor space. If there’s a China cabinet, keep a few pieces in it, but don’t fill it up with items. Overcrowding with too many items will overpower the room. Don’t bother setting the table, it just draws attention to the table, and not to the room. Over-accessorizing things makes it feel like a plastic model home. You want to simplify.
The Kitchen
The kitchen is the heart of the home, so make the investment to update an old kitchen. If the kitchen is dated, update it with new cabinet hardware or paint it. This will give it a more open, clean look. Clear off the counter as much as possible. Try not to have the coffee maker, mixer, and toaster all out at the same time or people will think there’s not enough room for everything. Decorate simply, using just a couple of cookbooks. Fill a pretty bowl with lemons or green apples and put it on the counter or a sideboard.
Clean wood cabinets with degreasers and then apply orange oil. Let the oil soak in a couple of hours, then wipe it off. It makes the cabinets look brand new. Clean the inside of the stove and refrigerator, and shine the counter tops, sinks, and faucets. When a kitchen is spic-and-span, buyers will focus on how great it looks rather than how small it is.
The Bedroom
The biggest no-no in the master bedroom is having a television set in the room. It’s not as important in the guest room or kids’ rooms, but you want to create a soft, romantic, relaxing space in the master bedroom. A television also adds more clutter to the bedroom and can potentially make a small room look more crowded. Use neutral colors on the wall and on the bed open up the room. Do not have busy wallpaper, which makes the room smaller. Get new bedding in light colors, and use throw pillows on the bed. Make sure all signs of daily life like ironing boards, laundry baskets, and clothes thrown on chairs are put away. Seeing things like that says to a buyer that you don’t have enough space in the closets.
The Bathroom
Bathroom shower curtains aren’t always to everyone’s taste, so pull the curtains back to maximize the view of the tub, which is what people want to see anyway. If your eyes can see all the way to the back of the tub instead of stopping at the shower curtains, the bathroom will appear bigger to buyers. If you don’t have glass shower doors, choose a light-colored or transparent shower curtain to make the room brighter and seem larger.
Clear off all the counters and for ambiance put out some fragrant candles, but don’t light them, unless it’s for an open house. Have some nice, colored soap in the dish, and use fresh flowers or live plants.
If the bathroom is in an upscale property, put a champagne bucket with glasses, or silver-backed mirrors and brushes on the counter to create a feeling of luxury. It’s not something you’d do in a $300,000 condo, but it’d be appropriate for a $3 million house.
Be sure to remove all area rugs to create the illusion of greater space and no covers on the toilet seat or rugs around the toilet. Make sure all the light bulbs are working, and are the same wattage.
Putting the Best Face Forward
It’s understandable for some sellers to be resistant to removing sentimental family photos or changing their favorite decorations before putting their homes on the market. However, if the items in question contribute to the rooms looking smaller and more cluttered and ultimately distracting potential buyers from seeing themselves living there, then removing or changing the décor is the best bet to a quick sell.
Your home is a product you’re marketing, so you need to make sure yours stands out.