Stage Your Home by Example. Copy the Luxury Hotels

If you are staging your home, I can give you an excuse to take a little vacation. I am sure you deserve it.

You can convince your significant other that it's time for some R & R, by explaining a vacation is an opportunity to study decor that works for home staging. You're on a research mission. Hotels and resorts have lots to teach.

Bedrooms Matter!
Wouldn't you love one bedroom in your staged home to look something like the one on the right? I know your future buyers would!

Here's what's worth copying from this room at the Das Tyrol Hotel:

• The matched benches at the foot of the bed.
• The layered but simple headboard. 
• The abstract art that's positioned to emphasize the tall ceiling. 
• The harmonious color scheme. 
• The lack of itty-bitty stuff scattered here and there.

Faked Luxury
Take a look at the two photos below. If you guessed that they are a page from the portfolio of a professional home stager, you'd be wrong.

These are two shots of similar rooms in the same hotel, but one was taken by the Las Vegas hotel chain for its advertising material, and the other was taken by the travel site called Oyster.com. Oyster loves to debunk the illusions that resorts thrive on, the picturesque deserted beach, the pool with sexy models, the dream buffet table and cocktail lounge, the luxuriously appointed and spacious room.

Below is another example of over-zealous promotion. What looks like a lovely room to kick back in once you check into the Ritz-Carlton in Coconut Grove, Florida, is actually a typically barren, institutionalized hotel room. We can see the importance of a photographer who knows how to make a room look good when it's time to shoot your home for MLS listings. The major differences between photos one and two are a couple of plants, better lighting, a different angle, and more colorful draperies and bedding. Sound like staging?   

   

But I didn't call you all together here to talk about fake-out photos. I want to point out what's smart to copy from hotel room decor.

All this week I'll be giving pointers on Facebook about staging bedrooms. Join the DIY Home Staging Group to receive the Tip of the Day. Just click on the FB button in the sidebar. 


Some History
Hotels used to be the punching bag of interior decoration. And no wonder.

The color schemes were plucked from the worst Hollywood had to offer, as if to remind you that you were escaping reality by vacationing. The furniture was chosen to withstand abuse but it looked like it was designed for men's dormitories. Tacky reproductions of rainy Paris street scenes and puppies in a field a daisies were screwed to the flocked wallpapered wall through their gilded frames.

Very impressive. If you never left home before.

Then along came boutique hotels, and American hotel chains knew they had to follow suit. Probably the Internet helped to educate people about what hotels could look like if hotels wanted to put forth any effort.

There are still plenty of ugly hotel rooms in America, but if we concentrate on the elegant ones, the expensive ones, the luxury ones, the ones managed by people wise enough to hire a designer, then we can learn something about how to a stage a bedroom for the real estate market.

Some Samples
Here are examples of hotel rooms worth emulating. Who doesn't relish the feeling of waltzing into a big, beautiful, private bedroom, that's been freshly prepared just for your relaxation and enjoyment? That's the feeling you want to convey to people touring your home.    

Of course, the wide angle lens helps glamorize this room at the Rittenhouse Hotel, in Philadelphia. But notice the friendly colors and soft textures. There's plenty of natural and artificial light sources, a mirror adds to the feeling of spaciousness, and the art is large scale.  

At the Kahala Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii, window drapes don't cover up any of the view. In fact, they go wall to wall to suggest that the window is even larger than it is. I like the matching nightstands and lamps, and lots of leggy furniture that shows off more flooring. You can skip the bottle of wine for your open house days! 

Creating the sense of a bedroom suite is always a good idea. Do you have the space for a writing desk, a lounge chair, or love seat? Women especially respond to a bedroom staged as a getaway, a place to unwind and be alone, or else spend private time as a couple. This charming and traditional hotel room is at the Planters Inn, in Charleston, South Carolina. 

If you want more tips on staging bedrooms to sell your home, download my eBook, DIY Home Staging Tips to Sell Your Home Fast and For Top Dollar. You'll easily gain a wealth of information, advice that will let your stage your own home on a dime. And earn money when you sell!