Furniture & Bedding
Positioning the furniture
When setting up any bedroom, the bed is the first piece of furniture you place, but it’s not necessarily the focal point of the room — it only becomes a focal point when the room offers nothing else to showcase.
Before you position the bed, look at what you’re selling in the room: Is there a view, a bay window, an adjoining porch or deck? If so, you may want to angle the bed to direct the buyers’ eyes to those desirable features of the room.
Many people consider the bed to be the focal point in a bedroom. Way too often people discount the true focal point, or bedroom dimensions make it difficult to showcase any item but the bed. If you do have space, ensure that the buyer’s eye is drawn to the room’s true focal point.
In a rectangular room, try positioning the bed on a long wall. In a square room, consider placing the bed on an angle. If the room has a bay window, consider placing the bed in the bay — the room looks bigger, and you show off the windows.
Position the chest of drawers or dresser on the same wall as the door so that buyers don’t see hard surfaces when they look into the bedroom. Dressers and nightstands should be clutter-free. (Be especially careful to remove medications and valuables.) You want soft lighting in the room, so add a lamp or two or three to the room. Strive for triangular placement of lighting (meaning a lamp is placed at each point of an imaginary triangle in the room), which gives the best overall diffusion of light.
Addressing bedding
Launder or dry clean the bedding to freshen it up or buy new bedding that you can take to your new home. Largescale patterns may distract buyers, so if your bedding has a big, bold print, flip over the bedspread; usually the other side is more neutral and makes the room feel more tranquil (read: saleable). If the bedding is too busy, buyers have a tendency to stop looking at the room and start looking at the bedding. In that case, they have mentally stopped buying the house.
Decorative pillows make a bed look sumptuous. When your sale preparation a bedroom, put beautifully pressed pillowcases on a pair of pillows, and rest them against the headboard. Add at least a pair of pillows covered in matching shams (decorative pillow covers that match or coordinate with the bedspread or comforter). Finally, place throw pillows in front of the shammed pillows.
Avoid strong floral patterns or country quilts. This particular style doesn’t appeal to all buyers and looks dated.
