Staging a Bathroom

You might think it’s weird that anyone wants to talk about staging a bathroom (trust us, it’s not our favorite room either), but our experience is that great bathrooms make a huge difference.  A client recently flipped a house where a large chunk of the budget was spent on renovating the bathrooms.  Potential buyers loved them, and we were under contract in less than two weeks…YES!  If you can’t remodel your bathroom, you really need to stage it!

Buyers seem to hesitate or even refuse to enter the bathroom.  We won’t dare to speculate on the reasons why.  The best we can hope for is a quick poking of the head in the door and looking around for about 2 or 3 seconds.  This means that you have about that long to impress potential buyers, so let’s make those seconds count!

Your bathroom needs to sparkle, shine and scream clean! You need to transform it into a spa type setting and before you gasp, relax, we can give you the information you need to do that, here is your “Bathroom to Do” list:

1. Clean, clean, clean: Every surface, horizontal and vertical large, small, edges, ledges, soap indents, light fixtures, exhaust fans, curtain rods, glass, chrome, soap residue, calcium and lime build up, mold…all of it!  We mean EVERYTHING! Make it sparkle and shine.
2. Light bulbs: Your bathroom needs to be bright, make sure that your light fixtures have the brightest bulbs allowable, as many as your fixtures can handle, no empty sockets, burned out bulbs or different colored light bulbs.
3. Repairs: Ensure that all faucets are working properly, no leaks, no cracks, and no mineral build-up.  Cabinets that look old and tired need to be spruced-up. You can give cabinets a face lift by oiling, staining, painting and/or adding or replacing hardware (knobs and pulls).
4. Declutter: Get rid of or hide area rugs, toilet lid covers, old towels, shampoo bottles, soap, soap dishes, and toothbrushes (anything that looks like you use the bathroom to do the things you do in that room).  What we recommend is that the things you use every day such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, lotions…you get the picture, be stored in a basket that can be quickly and neatly hidden under the sink or inside a closet.  That way you can access them quickly and hide them just as quickly.
5. At this point you should be looking into a bathroom that has absolutely nothing in it.  Your walls, floor, tiles, shower surround, toilet, counter tops, all sparkle and shine.  The last thing that should come to anyone’s mind when they look at your bathrooms is germs.
6. Now you need to work on that “Spa Sensation” and here is what you will need, all of which you should be able to buy at any discount store for less than $100:
   • two new bath towels probably white but any color that coordinates or is trendy will work;
   • two face cloths that match or coordinate with the bath towels;
   • two hand towels also coordinating with the bath towels;
   • one medium size tray, wood or bamboo works well, but anything that looks new can be made to work;
   • three coordinating candles;
   • three small plants, succulents are easy to care for and work especially will in Arizona;
   • coordinating body lotion, hand soap, bath salts in bottles or containers that look good together and have interesting or unique characteristics;
   • coordinating rope or ribbon.
7. Here is what we want you to do with all that stuff:
   • Layer the hand towels in a decorative manner over the bath towels and hang them on the towel rack, use the ribbon or rope to tie a bow around the towels about 3 or 4 inches above the bottom of the hand towel.
   • Place the tray on the countertop, roll up the face cloths and place them on the tray together with three candles or three decorative bottles (lotion, hand soap, bath salts or whatever you chose when you were shopping).
   • Place the three plants, alone or all together in a spot or spots (if you used the plants in the tray, then place the candles in a group of three elsewhere on the countertop.

There you have it!  Look around to see if you think anything else is needed.  Remember, there should be NOTHING in the shower or tub area, keep it neat, clean, free of stuff.  Remember to place decorative items in groups of 1, 3 or 5.  Odd numbers are more pleasing to the eye.

Put these tips to the test and send us a picture!  We’d love to see your staging!

That’s it for today’s post, if you want more information on staging a bathroom or to stay up to date on all things Anthem, make sure you like our Facebook Page at ‘Wise Move AZ’ or subscribe to our Wise Move AZ channel on YouTube.

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Remember, if you or anyone you know is looking to buy or sell their home, please give us a call!  It’s always the right time to make a wise move with the Wise Move AZ Team.