Should You Change the Purpose of a Room When Selling?
As a home stager in Atlanta, this happens to be one of the most frequently asked questions I'm asked. So... here's my advice.
The short answer - yes.
The long answer is that there are variables that play into that decision. Here are a few:
- Understand the demographics of the buyer. Young, old, with kids or without kids helps guide you.
- Does the function of the room today fit across a broad base of prospective buyers?
What always makes sense is to ensure the room is displayed properly. In other words, if you have a bedroom that you're using for a storage room, now is the time to take and purge, redistribute and/or donate.
Here's an example of a room that definitely served it's purpose for the homeowner when they were living in the home. Given that they had moved out, we were able to convert the room to a bedroom from a nursery.
Here's the before picture:
Here's the after picture:
Home was on the market for almost 2 years without an offer. Converting this room and all the others in this home and the owner had a binding contract in 2 weeks.
Home Staging Atlanta - Kathy Nielsen - 678 522 8392
RESA Professional Stager of the Year - Southern Region 2011
Whether your home is vacant or occupied, this Atlanta Georgia Home Stager, Kathy Nielsen, understands what it takes to sell a home quickly. Her homes have graced the pages of several publications, appeared in TV commercials as well as on HGTV's hit program Sleep On it.
With years of experience and a massive inventory - Kathy makes the perfect choice.
Home Staging Website: Home Staging Atlanta
Before and After Pictures: Atlanta Home Staging Portfolio:
Email: Kathy@HomeStagingAtlanta.com
Blog: Atlanta Home Staging
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- Quick tips for table settings
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- Atlanta Home Staging Consultations - Check out what the homeowner did
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- How to ensure your home appeals to a broad base of prospective buyers
Re-purposing a room is a great idea and i have done it many times.
Gary De Pury, SFR
Very good points and a very nice difference it makes. Good job
Wonderful! Don't you just love the people who have turned their dining or living rooms into toy rooms? Jeez.
Yes, generally showing a full size bed gives potential buyers more perspective on the size of the room. Cribs and twins often mislead you as to room size.
Kathy-We always talk about turning the dining room back into dining room but we often forget about the secondary bedrooms. And, knowing the demographics of the neighborhood and potential buyers will help determine if a nursery or adult's bedroom would be more appropriate.
Kathy: Excellent point. If you are in an older neighbourhood with no kids, then having baby rooms is just not going to make sense to Buyers. Love your transformation. My own bedroom is blue and brown and I thought it was time to change. Maybe not after seeing the photo.
Baby rooms are always difficult. Without the perspective of an adult bed in the room it's hard for Buyers to imagine how their furniture will fit and how the room will work for them if they don't have children. Great point Kathy!
Yes, yes, yes! Show the room as buyers need to see it. Know your buyer and cater to their needs. Your example is a perfect one!
What a great success story! I so agree. Putting the appropriate furniture into a room gives the buyer the frame of reference they need.
Yes Yes Yes. I had a client who used a second bedroom as a messy messy office with papers everywhere. AND there was small room off the kitchen that had his bikes stored in there. So I re-purpose his "office" for a second bedroom and the small room off the kitchen as the office and not the bike storage unit. :)
The "new" master bedroom looks stunning, Kathy! I have seen dining rooms used as playrooms and offices. When a home is for sale, those dining rooms need to show as dining rooms!
Kathy - awesome job! No question that changing the function of a room can really help increase a home's overall value. We recently did this with a home which had a home office in the formal dining room .. along with dead stuffed animal heads and framed pictures of vampired ... back into a lovely dining room. Added $7,000 to the list price too after the realtor saw the transformation!
Great transformation. I think it is easier for buyers to figure out how to make a room into a nursery than to change a nursery into a bedroom. That's what it's all about and your post is spot on. Nice work.
Kathy,
Excellent post, tips and examples of a bedroom transformation... that helps the potential buyers form a good idea of how to use the space. As always Kathy your staging is stunning!
Kathy, I agree with you 100%. Each room needs a clear purpose. By not showing a room's purpose you are losing a feature of the home. Great example Kathy!
Kathy, great transformation! I frequently change the purpose of a room when decorating a home to sell. Often I invent kids for 3 or 4 bedroom homes. But the craziest situation I had was a dining room that had been decorated as a master bedroom. Even worse, it adjoined the living room and you could see it from the minute you walked into the house. Needless to say I turned the master bedroom back into the master and created a proper dining room for them.
Kathy~that's bring some serious value to the table, nice before and afters, have a great year.
Kathy, great point! Even if the clients haven't yet met with their stager, they can get a headstart by changing back the room to its intended use. Thank you, Linda
Thanks everyone for your comments.
When we finished staging this room, we all just stepped back and were in awe. The brown/blue bedding worked perfectly.
Kathy
A beautiful transformation Kathy. Certainly your staged version of the house is much more appealing.
I loved how this room turned out. I really like how the smaller pictures over the nightstands help take away the pressure of what to put over the bed. It helps to spread out the layout anyway, and not compete with the headboard. Great pictures! Congratulations on the quick sale!
Julie
Kathy - It looks like a completely different room - love the bedding and accessories. And thanks for always giving us nuggets of wisdom - I'm always learning from you. Hope you're enjoying Vegas!
yes Kathy, sometimess if definately needed.
I love that Bedding! awesome colors. Great job, my friend!
Kathy, Great transformation of expanding buyer appeal, converting the child's nursery to an adult bedroom. I am going to reblog as an example of repurposing a room.
Great transformation, I really like your bedding. The color is great!