When selling your home, how you present it for sale is essential if you want to achieve the best price possible. Home staging, as this is known, turns a property into one that attracts buyers and allows them to start imagining themselves living there. You may have decluttered and cleaned your house to within an inch of its life, but home staging is about more than cleaning and tidying. One of the most important rooms in any house is the bathroom. So how can your bathroom dazzle and sparkle to win over buyers?
A bathroom is a sanctuary. It’s the place people go to relax in a long bath or indulge in a power shower. It’s often said that stylish kitchens and bathrooms sell houses, due to the cost of installing a new one. Often an upgrade isn’t actually needed, and some spa-like additions can turn a bathroom from hell into a haven.
Grout delight
Over time, grout can start to wear away and sometimes become mouldy. Such an unsightly image can give the wrong impression of your bathroom – and also of your home. The last thing you want is buyers wondering whether there are other issues lurking, simply due to a little wear and tear. Give your grout a spruce up so it gleams as you enter. If your DIY skills aren’t the best, leave it to a professional, it shouldn’t be a huge expense.
Taps and Tiles
Sometimes changing the taps can transform the look of a bathroom suite and can be a low-cost option to changing the whole bathroom. Also, a nice, neutral colour scheme can be enhanced by either similar or contrasting luxury tiles.
Storage pleasures
Bathrooms can easily look cluttered, especially when you don’t have any storage to hide away all your lotions and potions. It doesn’t matter how big or small your bathroom is, you can find a storage solution to suit your needs. Remove all of your clutter from surfaces for a viewing, as a small bathroom can feel even smaller if overloaded with items.
Spa-like scene
When you visit a spa you will notice they use neutral shades, giving the space a luxurious and elegant feel. You can do exactly the same by changing the colours you’ve used in your bathroom; try and keep the shades as neutral as possible. Also, think about the lighting in your bathroom; a small chandelier or statement light can completely change the look and feel of the room.
Spotless serenity
Don’t start your deep clean until you’ve finished all your maintenance work, then blitz your bathroom like you have never cleaned it before. Once finished, find a home for all your products; your buyers may want the serenity of a spotless bathroom, but they don’t need to see what you’ve used to achieve it.
Soft touch
Nothing gives a bathroom a luxurious feel like fluffy neutral towels. It’s natural that, over time, your towels will lose their fluffiness, so buy a small selection of new towels that are used for display purposes only. White towels are classically elegant and give the illusion that your bathroom is your sanctuary.
More than a feeling
It’s not just the look and feel of the towels that’s important but also how they’re presented. If you have a towel rail, fold a bath towel lengthways and then into thirds, as this will stop the edges from showing. Fold a hand towel in the same way and place next to it. Should you have room for a basket, roll up small towels inside, or stack them beautifully. It’s the attention to these small details that really can make the difference.
Elegant touches
We’ve suggested that you hide all your lotions and potions but there are some items that you need to leave on display. Select a few well-chosen accessories, such as candles, perfume, and luxurious looking bottles and place them in key locations. Depending on the size of your bathroom, you could also add three beautiful jars filled with cotton wool, bath salts, and tiny soaps, or something similar. A plant or flowers will also help create a spa-like experience that potential buyers will find hard to resist.
Decoration
You may wish to keep your walls bare; only you will know what will work best for your bathroom. But if you think it needs a little something extra, enhance your design with a mirror or a piece of art. Refrain from using personal photos and keep your artwork simple so as not to distract your buyer. If you decide on a mirror, place it somewhere where the light will find it, as this will help create the illusion of more space.
Imagine walking into a bathroom that looks and feels like a relaxing haven, somewhere you can indulge yourself after a busy day. It would be hard to leave, and that’s what you want your buyers to feel. If they want to move into your bathroom, your house is already pulling them to make it their home.
Whether you are selling, buying, letting or renting, we’re here to help. Call Patrick, Joe or myself on 0161 428 3663 or email: sales@mkiea.co.uk for expert advice which is honest, accurate and informative. Better still, why not pop into our High Street office for an informal chat, you never know, we might even stretch to one of our famous brews!
Until next time.
Maurice
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