Sometimes, heavy wood furniture looks stately. Other times, it weighs down an otherwise bright room. The latter was one of the major problems Elena Gouchtchina, creative director at The Staging Expert in Toronto, encountered when staging a five-bedroom, four-bath home in Mississauga, Canada. On top of that, every room was painted a different color, including different shades of brown, beige, red, green, blue, and even pink.
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“It was very distracting and made even spacious rooms look smaller,” she says. “There was no feel of cohesiveness when we entered this property for the first time. Each room looked like its own separate space.”
She knew these would be factors in selling the 2,500-square-foot home. Luckily, the homeowners — who had lived there 20 years — were on board with her suggestions. “My major goal was to transform this property into a comfortable, stylish, and modern home that is attractive to a potential buyer in this family-oriented neighborhood,” she says.
All of the furniture, which was oversized in addition to being dark and dated, was removed from the home, with only 10 percent of the original pieces used in Gouchtchina’s staging. The walls received a fresh coat of her favorite white paint, Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace, and all dated light fixtures were replaced with modern new ones. “These cost-efficient but powerful updates completely transformed this property,” she says.
When it came to the primary bedroom, she really wanted to make the space shine, explaining that it had a lot of potential but was cluttered with large pieces of furniture that really didn’t belong. “The primary bedroom is a sanctuary where we get to unwind from the hustle and bustle of the outside world,” she says. “I wanted to create the feel of comfort and relaxation in this room to ‘wow’ potential buyers and help them to imagine themselves living in this space and emotionally connect with it.”
She removed the matching queen-size bed, dresser, mirror, and wardrobe, as well as mismatched curtains and some other clutter. With the same new paint and light fixtures as the rest of the home, Gouchtchina had a blank slate to work with. “This already spacious room suddenly looked huge,” she says, noting that she decided to keep the windows bare to let in more natural light. “The homeowners couldn’t believe how big and bright their bedroom was.”
In order to maintain that spacious feel, she took a less-is-more approach to the furnishings, creating different zones within the bedroom: the sleeping area, the getting-ready area, and the cozy area. Gouchtchina decided on a neutral color scheme with a touch of color to appeal to the most buyers.
In the same spot as the old bed, she placed a queen-size bed with a gray channeled headboard and pale throw pillows, flanked by modern wood night tables that match the flooring. On top of each sits a spherical lamp. Above the bed, a black-and-white landscape sets a serene tone, while a large jute area rug grounds the space and adds neutral texture.
The “getting-ready” area is positioned near the walk-in closet, offering a distressed wood dresser with a black table lamp and accessories on top and a large oval mirror.
The “cozy” area, comprising two sapphire accent chairs, a window seat, and log-like cocktail tables, is a multifunctional spot where one can read, chat, relax, she says. “The textured area rug and soft throw pillows add softness and a ‘comfy’ feel to this space.”
Gouchtchina says she transformed the bedroom to maximize its appeal, allowing buyers to envision how they, too, can make use of the space and help them to see it as their dream bedroom. Her vision proved to be fruitful, as the home sold above asking after five days on the market.