The primary bedroom is oftentimes one of the most overlooked rooms in the house while you’re living there. We spend a lot of time, energy and money finishing the main living spaces and say to ourselves, it’s just the bedroom, who cares? But when you’re selling your house, you want to show to buyers that the primary bedroom is an oasis and presents a hotel-like atmosphere. Here are our top 6 tips for staging the primary bedroom for sale.

1 – Remove any bulky or extra furniture pieces

A room with too much furniture makes it appear small and crowded. It’s important to remove any extra pieces of furniture from the bedroom so that it appears spacious and the furniture has purpose. As an example, remove any chairs in the bedroom that serve as a dumping ground for laundry or extra dressers or cabinets. Home Sweet Home is a great organization in St. Louis to donate extra furniture or home goods. Make sure to check out their list of acceptable donations!

2 – Make the bed with crisp, white bedding

A fresh set of white bedding makes such a difference in both listing photos and during open houses. We want the buyer to feel like the primary bedroom is a bed is an expensive way to freshen up your room. You can find white bedding sets at most of the local big name stores, like HomeGoods or Target for less than $100. Even if you cannot part with your current bedding or don’t think you can keep it clean, make sure to throw the white bedding on the bed for pictures and showings.

3 – Tidy up closets, removing 1/3 of closet, shoes, accessories

Not all houses have huge closets, but you want to show buyers that your house has plenty of room for their things. A great way to create space in the closet is to get a jump start on packing and remove any out of season clothing and accessories. We recommend that you separate your closet items into keep, donate and throw away piles and use this time to get rid of the items that you don’t want to take to your next destination.

4 – Minimize and declutter personal effects

We believe that a homeowner needs to remove ALL family photos and artifacts when selling; however, the primary bedroom is a location that typically has more sentimental items than others. We suggest that you leave a few, well-framed family photos in the home, but remove most of these personal items, so as not to distract the potential buyer from the home. It’s also important to take down any specific religious artifacts and to hide or pack away any valuable items that you might typically leave on your counters, including jewelry, colognes and trinkets. The best plan of action is to clear off your bedroom counters and to stage with a real or faux plant or flower for a pop of color.

5 – Remove heavy or dark window treatments

In addition to the bedside lamps, make sure that you are letting in as much light as possible through the bedroom windows. In the event that you have heavy window coverings, we recommend that you take down the drapes and either leave the windows open or replace with curtains that are light in color and fabric. Also confirm that all blinds are in good working order and that the blinds and windows themselves are clean and open to allow in the natural light.

6 – Use a pair of modern and matching lamps on your nightstands

It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but a pair of matching lamps next to your bed create a nice symmetry that is visually appealing to buyers. If you already have a pair of lamps, but perhaps they are dated or bulky, we recommend a modern pair of white table lamps – they literally go with every décor style. If you need to replace your current lamps, we have are some great, affordable white lamps that you can shop here. All the lighting in the room should be working and consistent. We recommend that you use warm white bulbs in the primary bedroom, as well as the rest of the home.