Bedroom staged...well, almost.

My intentions were good.  After a quick post work workout, I headed straight home to get started decluttering and revamping our bedroom for its "after" photo shoot.  Luckily our little dude was in a good mood and quite happy to play by himself (in his Joovy) as long as I checked in with him every few minutes.  So I got to work.  First I started by removing Kieran's bagged off season clothing, 2 fabric storage boxes (which I think are quite nice), and the original dining room light fixture from the top of the mirrored wardrobes.  Kieran's clothing went into his closet (look for a future post on that).  The storage boxes went into the other room just for the photo shoot and the light fixture finally made its way into the storage closet in the common hallway.  It is important to have clear horizontal spaces when trying to make your home appear large, airy and move-in ready. 


Next, I removed the practical things that everyone has but no one wants to see, the fan and the laundry basket.  They will both return to the room.  


Both of our bedside tables needed a little sprucing up so I started by adding a white candle and one of my father's paintings to my hubbies side of the bed.  Also, I used a basket that fit perfectly beneath his bottom shelf to contain my purses (I had a full bin on the open shelving but had to choose between purses and craft supplies...craft supplies won and most of my purses went to storage.)  On to my side.  I removed the lotions and Tylenol bottle which were just clutter.  The Tylenol went into the medicine cabinet and the lotions for a new home hidden in the boat bag that is now under the table neatly holding magazines.  I switched which side the lamp was on because it seemed to look nicer in the photo.  


We love our West Elm bed.  It has wonderful and much needed storage below and is dressed with a duvet and euro shams that I made when we first moved in.  Since the room in very neutral (mostly cream and white), the pewter duvet needed to have more of a presence and break up the white.  After neatly tucking in all three sides of the sheet and blanket, making "hospital corners", I pulled the duvet up to cover the bottom 1/3 of the bed and tucked tightly.  Much better!  Our loft is on the contemporary side, so crisp lines help tie it all together.  

I tidied up the open shelving unit a bit but this will mostly be covered (umm, and completed) in a future "office redo" post.  The key is the situation of open shelving sharing  bedroom and office space is to have art work, photos, boxes and pretty things hiding the necessary office stuff that you need but don't want seen. 


Take the time to vacuum, dust, wash windows and touchup any paint.  Potential buyers will notice and assume that you have not maintained the major systems of the home if there is visible lack luster right out in the open. 


Open all of your shades/window treatments and turn on all of the lights.  


So what was the problem you ask?  Well, it is teaming down rain and there is no light in our west facing, so much light getting loft!  After taking some photos, it was clear, this is not the day to take "after" pictures.  Thursday should be nice so I will try again then.  In the mean time here is an "after" photo of my bedside table:

Before

After

Oh, and that brown thing you see next to my hubby's side of the bed (first photo) is a bench seat that I upholstered for a friend who just bought a new home.  She is settled in now and I have reminded her that it is waiting to be picked up.  Maybe I will post a how-to on that one day...

Do you have any other tips on how to get a home ready to sell?  Do you know anyone looking for a hip downtown loft in Boston? : )