Staging the Perfect Home Office
With about 43 percent of people working from home either part of the time or full-time, more buyers are looking for a perfect home office. When you’re staging your home to sell, if you have a den or a bedroom separate from much of the traffic from a house, this is a great spot to stage an office space. However, if your home offers limited office space options, you may need to get creative.
No matter if you have a home office space ready to go or you want to create an office in an underutilized space, follow these tips to stage your home for your ideal buyer!
Staging Your Current Home Office
If you already have a home office, that’s fantastic! You most likely have all the bones set up – a desk, a chair, task lighting, and appropriate storage. Here’s where you may run into a problem – a functioning actively used office is different than a staged office. A buyer wants to see him or herself working at the desk, not seeing your busy calendar, overflowing inbox, or souvenir mug.
So, to transform your office, you’ll mainly want to declutter and depersonalize the space. Consider getting cube storage with attractive file boxes to keep your paperwork nearby but unseen, hiding your cords, and utilizing simple desk organization. Remove your calendars and personal items from plain sight and replace them with greenery and attractive, neutral artwork. Finally, create a bright, airy space by painting the room a clean, light neutral color and let in natural light.
If your office furnishings are a mismatch of functional but unattractive pieces, invest a bit in updating your desk and chair. A simple, minimal desk and a comfortable and attractive chair can go a long way toward making your office a space perfect for creating, brainstorming, and working. Plus, you can take your new pieces with you when you move to create your own dream office!
Staging A Vacant Room or Repurposing a Bedroom
If you have an extra room or bedroom, not in use, stage it to be a welcoming home office. Use similar steps to how you would update a current office, but instead of depersonalizing, you’re setting a blank canvas. To make the most out of the space, paint it a light, neutral color, set a streamlined, slim desk and chair in front of a window to take advantage of natural light, add bookshelves for storage. If you can play up the view from the window by including attractive flowers outdoors or even installing a flower box on the window, so much the better!
Creating a Small Office Space
If you don’t have an office but you’re hoping to appeal to Millennial buyers, there are spaces throughout the home that can be transformed into an office, especially since most people only need a small surface for a laptop, storage, and lighting. Your staging has to get creative, but you can easily turn a forgotten closet or corner into a cozy office nook. First, consider these spaces:
- Extra closet, such as a linen closet
- Space under the stairs – similar to the closet, this space allows you to get creative with shelving and
- Bedroom sitting area
- Remove a window seat and install a desk
- Landing at the top of the stairs
- Foyer
If you’re repurposing a closet or niche, paint the interior a different color than the hallway or room walls and install a work surface, along with installing shelving above the desk for simple storage. Install a light or include a table lamp, and keep a pretty upholstered stool under the desk.
A bedroom sitting area, a tucked-away corner, or other underutilized space can be transformed with a small desk or even a C-shaped table, an attractive chair, table lamp, and vertical storage above the desk.
