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How to Advertise a Small Room to Reluctant Home Buyers

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How to Advertise a Small Room to Reluctant Home Buyers

How to Advertise a Small Room to Reluctant Home Buyers

 

In a hot housing market, selling homes is easier than ever. Buyers are scrambling to make offers on homes within their budgets, so it's a seller's market.

With that in mind, it's not always a walk in the park to sell homes with unusual or "less than ideal" features. If you're trying to sell a home with a small room, for example, you have to get creative. How can you turn that small room into a selling point?

We're here to help. Read on to learn all about ways to make a room look larger or turn it into a perfect living space.

Make It Look Larger

If you're struggling to come up with ideas for a tiny room, try making it look larger. This will help you come up with new staging ideas (if you choose to stage the room) because you'll have an easier time seeing its potential. If you choose not to rent furniture to stage the room, it will also help your potential buyers see the full potential of the room. 

But how can you make a small room look larger without being deceptive? Here are a few tricks that real estate photographers and room stagers use to make a small room look larger without using any camera tricks. 

Take Advantage of Natural Light

If the room has a window, you're in luck. Natural light isn't just a massive selling point for any potential buyer; it also makes rooms look larger and more functional. 

Light will really open up a space. Resist the urge to put up blinds or block off the light from the room. When you're showing the house, leave the door open so the light from the rest of the home can flood in. 

Use Mirrors

Mirrors are also great for making a space look larger!

This works in several ways. The first has to do with natural light. When you strategically set up mirrors, they'll bounce light around the room and make it look brighter and larger.

Mirrors also add dimension to small rooms. Place a large mirror on the wall or propped up in the corner of the room to give the space more depth. Mirrors trick the eye.

Use Light Colors

There is a way to use dark colors to make a small room look more "cozy," but this isn't a great idea when you're trying to sell the home. While some potential buyers love the look of a tight and cozy room, most want to get as much space as possible. 

Instead, use light and bright colors. If the walls aren't white or off-white, it's a good idea to have someone paint them if it's within your ability to do so. 

If you're staging the home, stick with light-colored furniture. Again, this will help light bounce around the room to make the space look larger and more functional. 

Stage It With Small or Versatile Furniture

Again, if you're staging the room, use versatile and small furniture.

A big cozy couch or king-sized bed might fit into the room, but it will likely take up all of the space available. Opt for furniture that's more minimal in nature. 

L-shaped couches are great for small rooms. They maximize small spaces. The same is true for pull-out couches and futons. 

If you put a table in the room, choose a table that hides ottomans or stools underneath. This will show potential buyers that the room has the potential for entertaining guests. 

Maximize Vertical Space

Vertical space is your friend when you're trying to stage a small home. Use the walls for shelves and consider a few hanging features. Sometimes people have a hard time visualizing how they'd fit their belongings and decorations in a small room, but if you show them how they can take advantage of high ceilings, they'll see the potential. 

Is Staging a Small Room the Right Idea?

Many real estate agents and sellers worry that staging a small room might make it look smaller or less functional. In reality, you can go either way.

Some buyers truly do want to see themselves in spaces and envision what they would do rather than what you can come up with. For those buyers, a blank space might be preferable.

On the other hand, it's difficult to see the potential of a tiny space before you have the time to actually set it up. In this case, staging is often a better idea. Showing the potential buyers all of the ways that they could use a room could inspire them. 

This is going to be a personal decision. You could stage the home or just use visual aids (like a floorplan with drawn-in furniture) to show how buyers could use the room.

Here are a few ways that you can set up a room (either in "real-life" or with artistic representations) to make it more appealing to potential buyers. 

Turn It Into a Walk-In Closet or Dressing Room

If a room is truly tiny, it may be best to avoid using it as a room at all (especially if it doesn't have a closet). Turn very tiny rooms into walk-in closets or dressing rooms to unlock their potential. 

Simple shelves, wardrobes, and bars to hang clothing are more than enough to show potential buyers how they can utilize this space. A small chair and vanity will create a sitting area or makeup area that creates a "luxury" vibe, even in smaller spaces. 

This is a great option if the neighborhood that you're selling in isn't popular amongst families with small children. Singles or couples without children won't mind the lack of an extra bedroom and they'll love the idea of a private dressing area! 

Turn It Into an Office

Home offices are more essential than ever now that more and more workplaces are allowing hybrid or remote work. A small room that isn't suitable for a bedroom can still make a fantastic office.

Set it up with a small desk and computer chair as well as a few shelves. Show your potential buyers how much easier it would be to work in a designated office space than at their kitchen table or in their living room. 

Turn It Into a Nursery or Playroom

If you live in a family-friendly area, a nursery is a fantastic choice. Nurseries, playrooms, and toddler rooms don't have to be large to be functional. You can fit a lot of child-sized furniture in a small space. 

For nurseries, a simple crib and changing table are more than enough to show new or future parents how good that tiny room can be. You can add intentional clutter with shelves and a rocking chair for an even better effect.

For playrooms, shelves and children's toys placed with care are perfect. Parents will be able to envision their little ones playing quietly in their own space.

Toddlers can also fit in small rooms. Add a toddler bed (or even bunk beds. Remember: vertical space!) to the room for a finishing touch. 

Turn It Into a Guest Room

New homebuyers don't all have children, but that doesn't mean that they won't want an extra bedroom. While small rooms aren't always suitable for full-time bedrooms, they can make great guest rooms.

Make sure that you don't refer to the guest room as a bedroom if it's not a proper bedroom. Bedrooms must have windows and in some areas, they need to have built-in closets.

Stage the room with a small bed and bedside table. You can even add a small chair in the corner. Try to think of the guest room as if it was a hotel room. 

Turn It Into a Hobby Studio

Small rooms make fantastic "studios" for various hobbies that your potential buyers might have. Why not stage a small room as a place for leisure? 

If the space has a large window, consider staging it as an art studio. Artists love having a private space to do their work where they don't have to set up and take down their supplies whenever they want to paint. 

Yoga studios and small home gyms can also fit in small rooms. Inspire your buyers by showing them how a small dumbbell set and a yoga mat will fit into the room. Add a mirror on the wall for a finishing touch.

These are only a few ideas for hobby rooms. What do you think your buyer would like? 

A Small Room Can Be a Selling Point

Don't panic when you realize that the home you're selling has a room that's too small to be conventionally functional. There are plenty of things that you can do to make a small room look more appealing. 

How will you set up a small room?

Are you a real estate agent who's looking for new and better resources for selling homes? At Hommati, we have you covered. Check out our visual services for real estate agents that can make selling homes a breeze.