Should a Spare Room be an Office, Guest Bedroom, or Both?

If you are a homeowner with an office or guest bedroom, you have a bonus for homebuyers in the MoCo market. But how can you stage this room for impact? It’s quite simple. Make your spare room a “Two-in-One” room. Set the stage with multiple purposes in your spare room which can be adjusted to a homebuyer’s needs.

As with all your rooms, the first task is to clean. Whether it is an office, guest room, or perhaps a storage room doesn’t matter.  Whatever the current use, remove all possible paperwork, personal files, stored holiday decorations, and curio collections. Should you have an office space which you use daily, recycle and shred all that you are able to. Keep your desk organized. If your room is set up for guests, be sure to remove any personal photos, clothing or other personal items. Give the room a fresh coat of paint in a neutral color. 

Set up your spare room as an office on one side and a guest bedroom on the other. For the office, keep it simple with a small desk, filing cabinet and bookshelf. Add in some shelves on the wall with the desk to offer more storage, but don’t overload them with binders or books. Opposite the office space, put in a hide-a-bed or futon couch. Both offer guests space and functionality as well as keep the room open. A small dresser and chair add finishing touches to the area. Throw pillows and a couple of framed prints can give the room a splash of color. A third way to increase the purpose of the room is to fit the closet with storage shelves. Keep a few blankets and small storage bins within to show buyers the storage efficiency of your spare room.

Help potential buyers see the possibilities of a spare room by staging it for multiple uses. My website has a ton of information for you as well. You can sign up for a FREE monthly report on the sales trends and statistics for your community, search the entire MLS database, or just click on the area you are interested in: Bethesda, North Potomac, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Boyds, Clarksburg, or Montgomery County. Either way, I am always here to serve!