In pursuit of a simple, fabulous, imperfect life at home.

{Home Staging 101} Part 1: Laundry Rooms


{This is the first part in a series on staging a home for sale.}

My husband and I are preparing to sell the home we've lived in for most of our married life. And although we feel it is beautiful, we want to put our home's best foot forward by staging it for sale. Like getting your hair done for a big event, staging your home is getting it ready for all the prospective buyers who will be walking through the door.

I've partnered with Kym Tarr from Shoestring Homestaging to bring you tips on maximizing your home's appeal. Kym is a Professional Real Estate Stager, Certified Redesign & Staging Specialist as well as Qualified Colour Consultant & Interior Decorator.  And most importantly, she is a delightful person to work with!

  Not planning to sell soon? Don't worry, I'm also going to include tips along the way of simple improvements I wish I'd done before we decided to sell.  There are many home staging tips that can be applied to your home today to make it feel like a bigger, brighter and happier space.

Today we will focus on the changes we've made in our laundry room,and in the coming weeks there will be information on the transformation in other areas  of our home (as we complete them!)

BEFORE:

Here is what our laundry room looked like before Kym's help.  It was always a bright and beautiful space, but dark accents and too many items on display were making the room look small and busy.







Here are the things Kym suggested for this space:
  • We didn't want to repaint the space (Because it has been painted 5 times in 5 years!  You can read part of that story HERE) so Kym suggested that we at least paint the shelf behind the washer/dryer and the top of the half wall the same white shade as our trim.
  • She instructed me to remove some baskets and other items, to tuck necessities out of sight under the sink.  She also recommended that I remove all items from the sink and counter top.
  • She recommended that I exchange the gallery wall of family photos for one larger piece.  We chose to use a mirror we already had.
AFTER
Our cleaner, fresher, brighter laundry room!







Other things we did:
  • We replaced a damaged and ugly faucet.  Damaged items send the message that your home is a fixer-upper...NOT what we are going for!
  • We touched up the trim and ceiling paint.

I couldn't be happier with the results.   The space looks bigger, brighter and cleaner.

Kym's Take away points for staging YOUR Laundry room!   

***Laundry is a chore we all have to do, but when staging a laundry room we don't want to remind potential buyers of work or lack of storage. So keep this neat and organized for maximum appeal. 

***If the laundry area is in a dark corner of an unfinished basement, we want to discourage that “dark and dingy “ impression.  So brighten it up (simply by adding larger wattage bulbs), keep it clean and perhaps even decorate it slightly, with freshly folded towels placed on the dryer.  The important thing is that the laundry room to be as pleasant a room as possible!

Even if you aren't selling your house....
Here are a couple things I wish I'd done sooner:
  • Touching up trim and ceiling paint can have a huge effect on a rooms appearance. It isn't easy to see in the photographs, but my husband and I were blown away by how much fresher the room looked simply with a new coat of paint on the baseboards and door casings!  
  •  Put product labels out of sight.  There is nothing pretty about a jug of detergent or a bottle of window cleaner.  Keeping these things out of site hasn't really complicated my life at all but goes a long way towards diminishing visual clutter.  And best of all, it's FREE!
If you want to know more about Kym Tarr and her Home staging and interior redesign services, visit her website Shoestring Home Staging.   You can also follow Kym on Twitter and follow her boards on Pinterest.

Oh, and in case you're wondering how I manage to get my laundry room looking so nice and tidy with 5 kids in the house....here's a photo of what my living room looked like while I was decluttering the laundry room....


Yup.   The living room is next in line for staging, so check back soon!

Thank you so much for visiting The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking! Don't want to miss a post?  Sign up for my RSS feed or "like" me on Facebook!

24 comments

  1. Love it! Makes a huge difference! My laundry area is in the kitchen pantry closet (not a walk-in) and not convenient at all, but I could still apply some of these tips to clean it up a bit and make it look nicer. Thanks!

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  2. i love the pretty tray you use. i think i might find something like that and a pretty jar to hold laundry soap! thank you for the wonderful idea! :)

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  3. I am new to your blog but I am LOVING it. I love your honesty - that last picture of your living room MAKES this post in my opinion as it shows that you can't do it all in one day and some things have to be sacrificed in the mean time! Good luck with your house sale, I am super excited for the rest of these posts! P.s. I would LOVE to have a laundry room as cute as yours! :)

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  4. I seriously can't watch you sell your house...i love it too much! You are supposed to wait to sell it until we get back from RVing and are in the market for our open-concept, cute, chickens allowed in the backyard home.
    But...i guess it's not all about me. lol. Anyways, I'm pretty sure staging or no staging, your house will sell in no time...it's gorgeous.

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  5. Love the paint color. What is it?

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  6. It looks great! My laundry room is in an outside shed. You inspired me to try and freshen it up a little! Thanks! :)

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  7. Great post! Can't wait to see the next.

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  8. Loved the post! I have no plans to sell my home (we only moved in a year ago!) but am getting tips for better organization! Where did you find that amazing shelf/drying rack that appears to be on a pulley system above the washer and dryer? I want it!!

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  9. What perfect timing! We are going to be listing our house in about a week!! Any tips on staging when you have lots of kids at home that leave trails of messes wherever they go?

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    1. We just sold our house and I homeschool 4 kids and had a newborn. A couple laundry baskets were my best friends. When I had a showing we just put miscellaneous messes in the laundry baskets and threw them and the 5 kids in the van. Scented candles and oils also are great. I also limited where they were able to play as I prepared for a showing and that was my last area to prep and clean.

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  10. Where did you get that shelf your towels were on!? We just moved into our first real "house" (its a townhouse) and finally have a laundry room. I would love to use that shelving!

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  11. Good to see I'm not the only one who couldn't afford the $2000+ brightly colored washer and dryer set. :)

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  12. Wow that looks great! I LOVE your paint color!

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  13. It's amazing how just a few small changes make a big difference in your Before And Afters.
    ~ Dana
    Cooking at Cafe D

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  14. I am jealous of your laundry space. It is beautiful and large Mine is so small I can't even open the dryer door all the way.

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  15. What is the pulley system above the washer and dryer?

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    1. Hi Deanna! It's the Antonius Height Adjustable clothes Dryer from Ikea. http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/40176078/

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  16. That is one nice laundry room! So many great ideas! THANKS!

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  17. I love the wooden bins with the chalkboard tags. Did you make them yourself or can you buy them? I have cubbies in my laundry area and am having a hard time finding bins to fit the space.

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  18. I love this!!!! Did you make the shelf for behind the washer and dryer?

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  19. I really like the wooden baskets/chalkboards. Where did you get them?
    P.S. I discovered your blog last week and am reading through all of your old posts. I think I've spent about 3 hours reading so far. You have so many fantastic ideas! I also appreciate your honnesty and I really like your style of writing. Thanks for sharing your life with so many!

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  20. did you make the pully-shelf yourself?

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