So after 3 months of sitting on the market and $100,000 in price reductions, the seller finally agreed to stage it.

One of the issues with showing this home empty was that the second bedroom was directly across from the dining room and had no door.

Downstairs Bedroom Before Staging (open to dining room)

According to the agent, most buyers of this floorplan had sliding doors installed to wall off the room and create privacy, but this one had not been upgraded in that way. So as potential buyers finished their tour, they inevitably asked “Where’s the 2nd bedroom?” When the agent pointed out the open space across from the dining room, which was visible from most of the downstairs, buyers balked.

The space also felt a bit cold, as modern spaces can tend to when they are not furnished.

Our first task was to create a division so that the second bedroom actually felt like a bedroom. We accomplished this with a simple room divider to create privacy. Adding bedroom furniture, as well as a desk, also helped buyers envision how they could use the space.

Downstairs Bedroom After Staging

Next we added warmth with furniture, art and accessories.

Did it work? Well, after 3 months on the market, this place is now in escrow! I call that success.

The townhome had been painted and remodeled, so we had a great canvas to work with! Unfortunately the awkward layout of the living room, a not-so-neutral paint color, and a seemingly unusable loft space above the second bedroom were making it difficult for buyers to fall in love with the home.

Living Room Before

Without furniture, the living room felt tiny. The awkwardly placed fireplace didn’t help. Our first order of business was to make this space feel large enough for a regular living room set so buyers could see themselves entertaining in the space.

Living Room After

Properly scaled furniture made the space feel open and inviting and didn’t shut off views to the dining room. Relocating some installed surround sound speakers in the niche above the fireplace allowed us to put in a 46″ faux plasma TV so buyers could imagine themselves snuggling up in front of the TV for a relaxing evening at home. And with furniture in the space, the built-in wine cabinet didn’t feel like an afterthought.

Master Bedroom Before

This bedroom was fairly large and had beautiful built-in cabinets (not shown), but the purple color on the walls felt a bit too taste-specific for most buyers.

Master Bedroom After

Since there was no budget to paint, we brought in a black, white and silver color scheme to neutralize the space.

Guest Room Before

The guest room was small, mainly because of the spiral staircase that took up a good chunk of the usable space.

Guest Room After

By using a daybed with a smaller footprint, this guest room now feels spacious and functional.

Loft Before

What buyer wouldn’t love to have a bonus room in a 2-bedroom townhome? Unfortunately the sloping ceiling made this room feel like its only possible function could be storage.

Loft After

Luckily Stage to Sell came to the rescue with some properly scaled office furniture that gave this space a whole new lease on life!

Well our hard work has paid off. This townhome is now in escrow with a backup offer!

Congratulations to the owner and Realtors on a quick sale.

The first thing I noticed when I walked into the unit was that I didn’t see a desk anywhere in the space.

In tiny loft-style units, a buyer has to be able to see 4 important things:

1) Where they will sleep

2) Where they will eat

3) Where they will watch TV

and

4) Where they will work

If any one of these factors is missing or confusing to a buyer, you have just lost the sale. It’s hard enough for most buyers to feel like they can comfortably live in such a small space, but if you don’t solve these 4 basic questions for them they are never going to buy.

So the first thing we did was to create a small home office vignette using furniture the owner already had. Then we added that feminine touch – throw pillows on the sofa, art on the walls and decorative accessories on the surfaces. Now this former bachelor pad is Staged to Sell!

Click here for more information on this property.

We moved the bench from the foot of the bed into the entry and added art and a floor vase to warm up this space and invite buyers in.

We opened up this convertible sofa table/desk the owner already had in the entryway, moved it into the main living area, and added one of his dining chairs, some art, a laptop and accessories. Voila! Now we have a home office.

A few colorful throw pillows, some art and accessories livened up the living/dining room and the kitchen.You can see the new home office area from this view.

You can see the new home office area from this view.

All this space needed was some art. We also removed the bench that used to be at the foot of the bed and placed it in the entryway.

This is a beautiful bathroom that just needed some accessorizing and art.

We drew attention to the beautiful tilework in the bathroom with this small vignette.