We have spoken about styling most spaces in your home, but it might be surprising to learn that one of the most frequently asked about rooms is the smallest in the home. So, today on the Foxy blog I thought it would be a good idea to tackle this room and dive into all things bathrooms!
Bathrooms are a critical component in helping a buyer decide whether a home is for them. Now, structural and cosmetic renovations can go a long way in helping a buyer weigh the cost benefits of a home that is perfect vs one that “has potential”. For today though, I wanted to steer away from these renovation type changes and concentrate on the benefits and perceived improvements that a little styling can add to a bathroom.
Let’s cover what to do with your toothbrush, how many towels to hang, how to incorporate a little green and most importantly our favourite stores to stock up on all the goodies.
We had a chat with Chief Stylist and Foxy Co-Founder Phoebe Shorter, to give you some inside tips and tricks of the trade!
Remove All Personal Items
Regardless of what room we are talking about, Styling for Sale basics 101 is to remove all personal items. Whether this be family photos in the hallway, grandma’s cross stitch on the bedside or in this case, our toothbrush on the vanity, these items need to be cleared away and given a home that is out of sight. Why do we place so much importance on this? The aim of styling for sale is to attract as many buyers to your property as we can. Once in your property, we need these buyers to imagine themselves living there, to envision their photos on the wall and their Christmases in the family room. Leaving our personal items in these spaces, reminds buyers they are in someone else’s home and limits this imagination and emotional connection.
So, if we concentrate specifically on the bathroom, be sure to remove all personal items from the vanity tops and shower area. Store away that razor and those shampoo bottles in the shower, and pop the toothbrush holder in a drawer. To make these small rooms feel bigger, put away bath and toilet mats, store toilet paper baskets and remove any storage shelves you may have added. These small changes will make all the difference in making your bathroom more appealing.
Styling Those Vanity Tops
Now you’ve cleared off the vanity, there are two options to present the area to buyers – keep it empty or add a little something. Obviously, as a styling company we are going to recommend Option 2, but if you’re on a budget an empty vanity top is the way to go. Remember though, your bathroom will be photographed and included in the online listing, so some additional styling in this space will have a large impact.
The Rule of Three
Let’s quickly recap this – The rule of three in styling creates visual interest. Studies conducted in cognitive science based around how our brains process patterns have found that even numbers create symmetry, whereas odd numbers accentuate features. Noting this study, we use a lot of patterns and groupings of three to make a room visually interesting. Check out this blog post for an in depth look at the rule.
So basically, in the bathroom we’re looking for accessories in threes, using layers to create complementary heights, colours and textures. The three elements we generally use when styling a bathroom are greenery, a soap dispenser or bar, and then some form of utensil, maybe a nail brush, a loofah, or something to add an extra spark to the space.
As Always, Greenery is Critical
Adding some lush greenery to your bathroom during the home staging process can do wonders for the overall vibe of the space! Not only does it bring a pop of nature inside, but it also has the power to boost your mood and increase feelings of relaxation. Let’s take a look at the types of greenery we use and how it transforms a bathroom into a peaceful oasis!
When looking at what greenery to choose, we need to look closer at who our target audience is. So, what type of person is going to buy this property? The house structure and fixtures will point you in the direction of who might be interested in the place.
Know Your Audience
A grand, family style home with traditional fixtures will most likely have a target audience of an older and wealthy demographic. To help the space appeal to this type of buyer, we will pair formal accessories. A large 50cm vase with classic flowers like peonies, or a statement bunch of greenery will appeal to the stately nature of the house, and its potential buyers.
If the home is for a similar demographic, but has a more modern design plan perhaps a more professional buyer will be interested. A beautiful orchid will emphasise the house’s opulence and appeal to the modern, business orientated audience. And for larger vanity areas like a master ensuite, we might put accessories on a tray and add extra pieces like popping extra hand cream or a reed diffuser in to emphasise and make use of the extra space!
For young families or professional couples the bathroom space will differ, often consisting of less bench space. So, by using a smaller vase with a height of 15cm with bushy bunches of greenery, we complement the smaller space. We like to play with textures and heights here by adding a rolled up hand towel with a succulent or utensil resting on top. A simple succulent is a staple plant for the bathroom. And even though we use faux greens here at Foxy, you can see why these little guys are often found in bathrooms. They can survive in low light and with little attention (for legal reasons this is not gardening advice!).
Either way, make sure you assess the space and have fun with colours, textures and shapes!
Let’s Talk Towels!
Towelling is a must and allows you to play with colours and textures even more. We often opt for a plain towel and then a textured or coloured towel to add depth to the overall design. You won’t generally find a matching set of towels in our staged bathrooms, but you will find a common thread (pun intended!) in the themes. And if there’s a hand towel rack don’t let it be ignored (and mistaken for a toilet roll holder).
Our Favourite Spots to Shop Bathroom Accessories
So, now that you know how to style a bathroom like a pro, where do you find these beautiful ornaments? We asked Phoebe for her favourite places to pick up bathroom accessories. For a lush, fluffy towel, Foxy’s go-to shop is Sheridan. Whereas for elegant soap pumps and bars we head straight to PillowTalk or Adairs. Greenery is slightly different because we use a wholesale supplier, IsAlbi, but you will find some of the same plants at Freedom, such as the Rogue branded greens, which we use a lot of too! For fun and quirky accessories TKMaxx has you covered. And for a designer touch on bath accessories we love AliveBody.
If you want to see these tips in action and hear a bit more on how we style a bathroom for sale have a watch of this Foxy TV episode.
Facebook Comments