When searching for a new home, surveys have shown that homebuyers mostly focus on the kitchen and the master suite. Because the master suite is in the spotlight, home sellers tend to upgrade this room while forgetting about the others. However, chances are, if a homebuyer purchases a home with multiple spare bedrooms, it’s because they plan to fill them. Instead of only focusing on the suite, make sure all the bedrooms are staged to sell.

Even if you use a room for storage, clean it up for a sell. The potential buyers need to visualize the positive features of a room in order to imagine living in it. If they view a picture that looks messy and cluttered, that’s what they’ll imagine living in. That’s not a positive view to walk away with.

Advice to keep in mind:

If you’re repainting the master suite, repaint the spare bedrooms. If you update the master suite flooring, update the spare bedroom flooring. If you add a ceiling fan to the master suite, consider adding fans to all of the bedrooms. Try to keep each room as equal as possible.

If a spare room currently contains no furniture, check out local garage sales, flea markets or thrift stores for some affordable items. You don’t have to break the bank to make a room look good. You just need to make it appear livable and cozy.

If the room looks drab, move some furniture from another room into the spare bedroom. Add some brightly colored accessories to make the room look inviting. Don’t cover the windows with unnecessary clutter.

If the room is used as an office, a toy room or anything that indicates possible disorder, tidy the room up before showing the house. If used as a bedroom, keep the bed made and de-clutter the closet. Allow the room to appear as neat as possible.

Spare bedrooms tend to show off custom décor that may not fit every personality type. If one bedroom displays Hello Kitty wallpaper and the other displays a mural of planets and rocket ships, you might find excited kids that love the themes, or teenagers who are less than thrilled. Your best bet is to offer to paint the rooms neutral at the buyer’s request.

If you’re not sure what to do with an empty room, here are a dozen ideas from a past Buy Owner blog.