See How a Stager Transformed a Blank-Slate Bedroom into a Dreamy Blue Oasis

Home staging shows the potential of a home by suggesting how an otherwise empty space might be used. But when it’s a single furnished bedroom for rent, staging does more than just suggesting — it’s offering a turnkey lifestyle.

Ana Cvetkovic, principal of Rowhome Design, a Philadelphia-based home staging and interior design firm, was tasked with staging a bedroom in a home as a monthly rental marketed toward the many healthcare students and professionals completing their placements in the area. Her goal? Set up a comfortable space for a tenant to move in and live comfortably right away. Here’s what she did.

Although Cvetkovic’s staging and designs usually lean more feminine in style and color, she approached this project from a more neutral perspective to attract a wider range of renters. She chose a calming blue-gray (Sherwin-Williams’ Stardew), but went bold by color drenching the bedroom — a design trend where the walls, ceiling, and trim are painted in the same color for a sophisticated, monochromatic look. 

The back wall features wallpaper in a vibrant forest pattern that complements the color drenching. “Both the wallpaper and the wall color are neutral enough to have wide appeal while also being very striking and interesting.” A queen bed and a nightstand went up against that gorgeous backdrop. 

Had she been staging the entire home for sale, she might have chosen a full bed to make the space seem larger. Some stagers might have even ditched the nightstand for the same reason. But again, Cvetkovic was staging for comfort and practicality, not inspiration. “It’s not just staging to sell a house,” she says. “Someone’s going to be using the space, so having a nightstand was important.”

The window treatments were chosen both for their aesthetics and practicality. The sheer curtains permitted natural light while also concealing what Cvetkovic referred to as an “eyesore” of a house across the street.

The blue velvet blackout curtains, which added to the monochrome, color-drenched look, were a must for blocking it all out when it’s time for a hard-working health professional to rest. “They’re waking up at the crack of dawn to go to work or they’re doing night shifts, and they need to sleep during the day,” says Cvetkovic. “It was really important for me to make sure that they could have a nice, dark room at all times of day for sleep.” 

A roomy closet precluded the need for a dresser or bureau, so Cvetkovic opted to put a desk and a chair up against one wall and a comfy red chair with a standing mirror against another. The red chair adds a nice, unexpected pop of red and creates dimension in the space.

The rather unique-looking lamp was a find from Urban Outfitters’ outlet sale, and she bought two bulb shades on Amazon. When combined with the shape of the desk chair, the red chair on the other wall, and the area rugs, she achieved a post-modern feel for the room. A trio of framed pictures on the wall creates a simple-yet-attractive gallery wall.

Even though the room had a neutral wall-to-wall carpet, Cvetkovic added area rugs. “I was really thinking about colors and creating contrast,” she says, noting that rugs are very good for creating zones within a room. By layering two different rugs over the wall-to-wall carpet, she was able to distinguish the sleeping area from the work area and the sitting area.

Cvetkovic’s staging efforts resulted in an elegant, serene space that will require no effort from the tenant but to move in. In short, it’s the perfect sanctuary for a hard-working medical professional to retreat to at the end of a long day. Not surprisingly, the homeowner already had three monthly tenants lined up by the writing of this article.