Dressing house to sell

[BDavis]

We live in a 4 bed/2 bath duplex flat. 1 large double, 2 good size doubles and a 4th that could fit a double but I’d probably say it was more of a generous single. We currently have the smallest set up as a bit of a multi purpose room with a treadmill & exercise bike and we dry laundry etc in there. Large room and smallest are downstairs, other 2 rooms are upstairs.

We’re hoping to sell this year. When having photos taken/viewing etc would you have the smallest room dressed as a gym type room or set it up as a bedroom?

Although it’s a flat, it has a balcony and flight of stairs off the back door in the kitchen which goes into a generous private garden so it’s pretty “family friendly”. So would more bedrooms be more appealing? Our upstairs already has an office space which I know appeals to some people that WFH, especially at the moment. There’s also the option of making the downstairs a playroom which would allow us to tidy up the livingroom quite a bit and move lots of our toddlers toys.

Which would you go with?

Look at both places

As you already have an office space I woulld put as many toys in the smaller room as possible and market it as playroom/bedroom 4 and still market the flat as a 4 bed
(no laundry drying on photo day obviously!)

I would always maximise bedrooms

I would set it up as an office for the photos (it will look bigger) but call it a bedroom in the floorplan and particulars. Absolutely clear as much as you can out of the flat, we put literally half of our stuff in storage to sell.

@languagelover96 Not sure what you mean? 🤔

@jackstini @batmanladybird That what I was swaying towards - set up as a single kids room with lots of toy storage etc? Which allows us to clear the toy clutter from the livingroom? Absolutely no laundry will be on show on photo day, don’t worry 🤣

@BigotSpigot we already have an office upstairs? Absolutely will be clearing what we can beforehand 😊 we’re a few months away from getting the ball rolling but just starting to get things in order. Glad to hear you say about a storage unit - I had mentioned it to DH and he thought it was a bit of a waste of money but I think it’s be worth it for sure!

If you set it up as a bedroom... use a toddler bed!

Id also say office. We sold last year and were told offices are a selling point now. What do you mean you’ve already got office space? In a bedroom/landing or an actual separate office?

I'd set it up as a bedroom and use for toy storage. If it's marketed as a bedroom but not set up as one people can find it hard to visualise it.

Set it up as a bedroom with a wardrobe so that viewers can see that it could work as a bedroom size wise. If they then want to use it as a gym or playroom then that’s up to them, but you don’t want people who are looking for a four bedroom house because they need the sleeping space to discount your property because they think it’s really only a three bed.

@BigotSpigot

If you set it up as a bedroom... use a toddler bed!

@BigotSpigot Thats actually a great idea! We have a spare cot bed due to a mix up! Two were sent and the company refused to send a courier to collect one 🤷🏻‍♀️🤣 so I could use the toddler bed part of that 👍🏻 I was planning on buying a cheap single so you’ve saved me some money 🤣

@FelicityBob it’s hard to describe actually - it’s technically open and part of the upstairs landing currently but all it requires is a door on it and it would be a proper room. It’s a bit of an awkward shape due to part of it having a sloped roof but it works well as an office 😊 It was open when we moved in - the previous owners had it as a play area for their children. We don’t use it much so have it set up as an office for when DH needs it but we’ve never put on a door on as it’s rarely used and I like the extra light it brings in from the large velux in there 😊

I wouldn’t use a toddler bed - if I was looking at the photos that would say to me “this room doesn’t comfortably fit a proper bed”, which therefore discounts it as a bedroom for many people.

@rainbowplease @ComtesseDeSpair That was exactly my thinking 😊 with bedroom furniture in you can properly see the bedroom space 👍🏻 Thanks 😊

I would have it either a bedroom or study. A gym would put me off. And certainly not clothes drying.

@ComtesseDeSpair

I wouldn’t use a toddler bed - if I was looking at the photos that would say to me “this room doesn’t comfortably fit a proper bed”, which therefore discounts it as a bedroom for many people.

@ComtesseDeSpair Also a fair point!! When we bought from the previous owners they had bunk beds in it (the kind with the double on bottom and single on top) along with a wardrobe and chest of drawers. I remember thinking it felt very small but as it was just DH and I we weren’t overly concerned about the size of it. I’d like it to feel like a useable space 😊

I’d also do bedroom, folks struggle to visualise spaces as bedrooms when they view if not set up thay way, but seem fully able to visualise a home office.

I’d also not use kids furniture either, no one thinks it’s full size and it just screams doesn’t fit an adult bed.

Dress it as four bedrooms to capture the market for folks looking for four. Don’t dress it as three and a small space.

I would always maximise bedrooms , minimum clutter and furniture, quiet neutral decoration , people can see the space better and can reimagine it into office if desired .

Put all your gym stuff into storage / sell , it takes up lots of room and makes even a large area look cluttered , ditto toys ,books, nicknacks , extra furniture etc

Have everything neutral , light and clutter free , clear surfaces makes for larger space , it also makes it look like you have plenty of storage

The less stuff out the easier to keep on top of cleaning tidying and presenting the property at short notice ( I had one lot view as they were up the road with the agent and could they drop in and see mine ? Like right now ! - yes you can turn them away but if you want to sell ....)

Definitely set it up as a bedroom. You could put a sofa bed in the room and take photos whereby you show that the room can be used as a bedroom or used as office space.

I had a 4 bed detached;
Main lounge, done as a lounge but nobody noticed there was no fireplace
Dining room, never used as a dining room but had a large sofa bed, WFH desk/hobby corner, tv on a small stand with game console and Kallax so came across as a decent den/hangout/place to ditch the teens
Large kitchen diner with dining table
Downstairs loo, under stairs cupboard neatly presented with IKEA wooden crates.
Upstairs airing cupboard was extremely neat so appeared huge even though it wasn't
Bedrooms were just bedrooms and I made a point of showing the loft boarding.
I decided to move during decorating and the decorator said to ditch the colour and go for neutral everything which I resisted on the basis that a show home on a new estate was never bland white/cream/grey
When I went in the market there was another house the same on the same estate, albeit with a slightly smaller garden, though the same price. That was done up like a boutique hotel brochure whereas mine was pristine neat. I don't think people were falling for the overdressed table and towel stacks on all the beds.
I guess what I'm saying is, show off the possibilities, not a fixed idea of what a room 'should' be, since people have a fixed idea of what they need in a home and that may well not include a gym. It's especially important in a flat as there can be more flexibility on a room's purpose if you have several rooms to offer

I would state 3/4 bedroom if you have a office desk etc leave that in the smallest room. Buyers will all have different opinions what is best for them, certainly clear out all your surplus stuff so that it all looks clean and tidy.
The market is strong so will sell quickly.

Always bedroom as that’s what the U.K. market focus’ on. People can always fit a desk where a bed is, but you can’t assume the other way round.

I don't think you necessarily need 4 bedrooms, especially in a flat. Many of my neighbours in my previous 4 bed house got rid of the single bedroom. A lot incorporated it into the bathroom to make a large bathroom and others incorporated into one of the double bedrooms to make a very large bedroom. They still sold easily.
Making a bedroom an office, especially if it is downstairs, could be a good selling point. Alternatively it could be a den/play room for people who don't need an office.

Thanks all! Really appreciate the advice 😊 we’ll be first time sellers so any tips and tricks are great to know 😊

@RebeccaManderley I can see why some would do away with the smallest bedroom 😊 it’s hard without showing pictures but I’d rather not as it’s very outing but I definitely think it’s best marketing as a 4 bed family properly in our area. It’s a very good sized flat. It’s only us and one other in the building so not a block of flats or anything 😊 it’s an old building so we’ll proportioned rooms and high ceilings. Has a family bathroom downstairs with bath and walk in shower and a further bathroom upstairs with a walk in shower.

@ComtesseDeSpair

I wouldn’t use a toddler bed - if I was looking at the photos that would say to me “this room doesn’t comfortably fit a proper bed”, which therefore discounts it as a bedroom for many people.

I agree I would totally see through that personally. I would sell the brand-new toddler bad cotbed that you have and use that money to buy even a secondhand single bed I got an absolutely beautiful aspace one off eBay for 50 quid including mattress.

@Jessie75 I never think of eBay for things like that! I’ll have a look, thanks 😊 definitely don’t want it looking like I’m trying to make it look much bigger with a toddler bed - it definitely fits a double bed but I think dressing as a good size single would make the room look more useable 👍🏻😊

Yes definitely set it up as a bedroom. That way, buyers who need 4 bedrooms will be able to clearly see that beds fit in all the rooms and won’t be ‘ick, its 3 bedrooms and a box room’. Buyers who don’t need 4 bedrooms will be like ‘bonus - there’s an extra bedroom, I can use that as a sewing/dressing/exercise room’ etc