It’s Not A Bathroom, It’s a Spa Retreat
Remember – people buy the dream, not the house. You want them to walk into the bathroom and the sites, the smells and the sounds have to all be about a place to relax.
Not a place to come to, to wash all the nooks & crannys. Create your ideal spa setting with these ideas.
Showcasing with towels and shower curtains
Plenty of great towels create big impact for little money. Make sure your family knows that these towels are for show only. The good news is that towels are an investment you can take with you to your new home. Big and fluffy towels say luxury. Use white or cream and one accent colour.
Consider folding or rolling towels to decorate the counter or side of a tub. Upscale resorts do so, and if you do too, you’re selling the space as a restful place to unwind and rejuvenate.
After you do the work of updating fixtures and making sure the bathroom is spick-and-span, add a new shower curtain, liner, coordinating towels, and spa basket to bring a brand-new bathroom feeling to the space.
Replace your shower curtains if they’re damaged, dull, well worn, a bright colour, or outdated. We recommend white or cream fabric curtains rather than plastic because fabric adds extra warmth to the room. Always replace the shower liner.
Keep your shower curtain two thirds drawn so buyers can look at the tub or shower without feeling like they’re invading your privacy.
Adding artwork and accessories
When sale preparation the kitchen we don’t want the artwork or the accessories (including flower arrangements) to draw buyers’ eyes away from the structure of the room. In the bathroom, you want artwork and accessories to soothe, calm, and rejuvenate, so don’t use bold colours; select colours for your artwork and accessories that are already in the room.
Handling mirrors and medicine cabinets
Think of glamorous bathrooms you’ve seen on TV or have personally experienced at a great hotel or resort. What do they have in common? Mirrors. If yours are small and outdated, expect buyers to notice them, get dollar signs in their eyes, and start angling for a markdown. If your mirrors are clean, bright, and on trend, expect buyers to remember the good feeling they had walking into the bathrooms.
The following tips help you create the spa experience buyers look for:
- Really clean your mirrors and make them shine.
- Old medicine cabinets make a bathroom feel dated. We suggest you replace them with drywall (if the medicine cabinet is on a side wall) or a framed mirror if the cabinet is over the sink.
- Make a small bathroom look bigger by hanging a large, framed mirror from counter to ceiling.
- If you have a dated wall hung mirror that attaches with clips to the wall, check into a great product called Mirror Mate. The Mirror Mate frames attach to the surface of your existing mirror and are custom cut to cover clips and hide the edge of the mirror, so it looks like a framed picture — very cool. Find out more by visiting www.mirrormate.com.
Spotlighting your lighting
Lighting plays a big role in creating the spa feeling popular in today’s bathrooms. Buyers are attracted to luxury or contemporary styling. Luxury looks include a chandelier with glass or crystal pendants or one that emulates wax candles and is controlled by a dimmer switch.
Contemporary style is more streamlined and not ornate.
You usually see light fixtures hung over the bathroom mirror and shining light down or up. Actually, the best placement for light in the bathroom is at both sides of the mirror; this placement gives the best light diffusion.
The size and scale of light fixtures depends on the overall size of the room and the targeted buyer you’re aiming for. Whatever lights you choose, make sure that all of the bulbs are the same wattage, and that none are missing.
Flameless candles create ambiance in a bathroom. They come in various sizes and shapes and don’t break the bank.
Ensuring tiptop toilets
Your mantra when you think about the bathroom is “Make it look like it’s never been used,” and that, of course, applies to toilets as much as to tubs. If your toilet seats are damaged, worn, or stained, replace them with new ones. For the small price of a new seat and a good toilet cleaning, your bathroom looks pristine again.
Consider replacing a toilet if it’s coloured, chipped, stained, grungy, or broken in any way. The preferred replacement colour is white. The newer models of low mount toilets use less water to flush and therefore give you a marketing edge.
