In last month’s newsletter I shared a weekend project that would help you test your staging savvy. It got a lot of new and aspiring stagers out into their neighborhoods to find out just how many natural design instincts they have.

Here’s the “assignment” in case you missed it!

I took it a step further by sharing photos from 4 of my own home staging clients’ homes and asked you to spot the problems. If you missed these photos and you’re ready to test your powers of observation and share your advice, check out this article: Home Stagers What Would You Do in These 4 Rooms?

We always hear that kitchens and bathrooms are key to selling a home. But in my opinion, the master bedroom can also sway a buyer one way or the other. After all, it’s going to be the one room that “belongs” to the buyer. It’s their refuge from the rest of the family, and maybe the one place they’ll have a bit of privacy.

If you’ve ever watched HGTV’s Property Virgins, where we follow different couples through a variety of listings as they look for their first dream home, you’ll realize that master bedrooms are indeed important to buyers.

The first problem I often encounter when I’m doing a home staging consultation is that the owners have switched the rooms from their intended purposes. Often the master bedroom is serving as a home office or it’s been taken over by a couple of their kids.

When you’re decorating a home to sell, make sure it’s obvious which room is the master bedroom and ensure that the largest bedroom is serving that function. If this isn’t the case, rearrange the bedrooms accordingly.

Place a night table on each side of the bed, each with its own reading light. The tables don’t have to be identical, but they should be the same height and have complementary styles. The lamps should match. Be sure to remove all personal photos and replace with art.

The bed is the focal point, so dress it up with an attractive duvet, shams and decorative pillows. There should be a dresser with a mirror and/or a highboy chest (depending on the room’s size), but be sure not to block traffic flow near the door.

There should be lots of space as the buyer enters the room. If you have enough space, put a chair in the corner. If it’s a larger space, you might create a separate seating area near a window or fireplace. Add two armchairs or chaises with a table between them, topped with a vase of flowers. There’s nothing like a plant or floral arrangement to bring life to any room!

If you’d like to deepen your knowledge about designing to sell and conducting home staging consultations, check out the Staging Diva Ultimate Design Guide: Home Staging Tips, Tricks and Floor Plans.