Home Staging: Updates for a Bathroom
I promised I would share with you all the details of the home staging I did over the past few months to get my house ready for the real estate market.
Now that our house has been listed, I can get back to what I love the most…writing for my blog and connecting with you.
Over the next few weeks I am going to put together a series (many of you have asked for all the specifics of what we did) and I will share it all in a few posts.
I figure the best place to start is with one of the rooms that is a big selling feature when selling a house… the master bath.
The master bathroom and kitchen are where we spent a majority of our money to be competitive in the market. Like it or not, your house will only shine if it looks better than the competition. Location helps a lot, but the house has to be updated to catch a buyer’s eye as soon as the “For Sale” sign goes up.
When our real estate agent toured the house back in July she said to make the master bath spa-like. This is what I tried to do, as best as I could with our budget.
I posted about how I stripped the wallpaper and painted the room using Antique White paint to match the tiles. We also replaced a fiberglass molded shower surround with stone. I posted about that, here. The bathroom’s tile, tub and sink already being a neutral color ended up working out in our favor.
Using neutral colors is a smart choice when preparing to sell a house since it allows the buyers to move right into the house, no matter the style or color.
Here is one of the original faucets that the builder put into the bathroom 22 years ago. They worked just fine and were in perfect condition, but were lacking the all important “style-factor”.
To add some new sparkle to the mix, I went to my local True Value Hardware, bought two shiny chrome gooseneck swivel faucets, a new towel bar, and a tube of almond caulk to give the sinks a fresh new look. Ed replaced them, while I took care of redoing the caulk and a few other minor updates to the counter that made the room feel a bit more spa-like and serene.
When I bought the faucets I didn’t realize the neck swivels side to side. A pleasant surprise I found out after Ed installed them.
supplies needed:
- Peerless Swivel Faucet in Chrome
Re-caulking:
- Tub and Tile Caulk
- Scissors
- Ice Cubes in a bowl of water or a spray bottle of water
- Damp rag or paper towel
- popsicle stick
The step-by-step illustrated installation directions that come with the faucet is very easy to follow even for a first timer. I couldn’t write a better tutorial.
However, for caulking around sinks, I have a few tips that I have learned over the years.
Sink Caulking Tricks
- The most important step is to cut the tip on the tube of caulk on an angle and the opening no bigger than 1/4″. The angle and size cut make for the perfect bead of caulk to be dispensed as you press the tube and move around the sink.
- Hold the cut angle with the short end of the cut so it is touching the counter and facing the edge of the sink as you move the tube around to apply caulk. The longer end of the cut is away from the counter. As you hold the tube, gently press and move the tube around the sink using the same pressure.
- If you have to stop, it is OK. Stop and then pick up where you left off, but go back over just applied caulk about 1/4″. You can smooth the transition in the next step.
- Once you have a bead of caulk all the way around the sink. Fill the sink with water and dip your index finger in to wet it or dip a popsicle stick into the water. Use your wet finger or popsicle stick and run it on top of the just applied caulk to smooth the caulk. Use the paper towel to wipe the excess caulk that gets on your finger/popsicle stick. Re-wet your finger and wipe excess on paper towel as needed as you work your way all around the sink.
Variations:
- Fill a spray bottle with water. Spray water over the just applied caulk, then use your finger or popsicle stick to smooth.
- For extra smoothness, run a dripping ice cube along the caulk. Wipe away any excess water along caulk with an absorbent paper towel and let dry.
Practice a few times and simply wipe the caulk away until you get the hang of it. As with mastering any skill, the more you do it the better you get.
After the sinks were done, I added two new bath mats in front of each sink. Everything else added to the counter was found throughout my house.
Some fresh flowers, a bar of soap and a candle help make the counter feel more spa-like without making it look cluttered. Fluffy white towels and a white tray are a good option to hold a few bottles of lotions and other products.
Notice that there is nothing personal on the counter. When staging you should always remove any personal items.
Before we left on our trip I put everything personal including toothbrushes, shampoo bottles, toiletries, prescriptions, razors, a scale, and a blow dryer under the bed in our bedroom. That way it’s easy to access when needed, but out of the way for showings so it looks clean.
Have you moved recently or are you in the process? What have you done to get your house ready to sell?
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