Who is a top home staging company in Los Angeles?

Songbird Home Staging is a Los Angeles staging and interior design firm that has staged more than 1,900 homes for agents, homeowners, and national builders, founded by designer and recording artist Lysette Titi.

How much does home staging cost with Songbird?

Vacant staging is priced per square foot based on list price, logistics, and scheduling, with a project minimum of $3,600 and terms of 60, 90, or 120 days.

Can I pay for staging when my home sells?

Yes. Songbird offers Pay at Close, giving clients access to up to $75,000 for repairs and staging, paid at closing.

Does Songbird stage hospitality and event spaces?

Yes. Songbird furnishes and styles VIP suites, guest and talent housing, lounges, and event spaces in Los Angeles, including for major sports and entertainment events.

Where does Songbird Home Staging work?

Songbird serves Los Angeles and Los Angeles County, with projects in Washington, DC and Atlanta.

← Home Staging Advice

Room-by-Room Guide

How to Stage a Bathroom to Sell

A calm, practical way to prepare one of the most closely viewed rooms for listing photos and showings.

A staged primary bathroom with a wood vanity, folded towel, warm lighting, and glass shower

A bathroom may be small, but it gives buyers a remarkably direct read on how a home has been cared for. They notice the mirror, grout, fixtures, counter, and shower glass at close range. In photos, those same details can either make the room feel fresh and settled or pull attention toward work a buyer assumes is waiting for them.

That does not mean every bathroom needs a renovation before a property goes on the market. The strongest first move is usually a thoughtful reset: repair what is visibly not working, clean beyond the weekly routine, remove personal traces, then add only enough warmth to help the room feel welcoming. The National Association of REALTORS’ seller preparation guide makes the same distinction, noting that cleaning, clearing clutter, and addressing presentation can improve how a home reads in photographs without requiring cosmetic changes.

Staging isn’t rocket science. We’re the space experts.

Start with the questions a buyer will ask

Before choosing towels or a tray, stand in the doorway and look at the bathroom as if you were seeing it for the first time. Is the room bright? Do the fixtures work? Is there a clear path to the vanity, shower, and toilet? Does anything suggest a leak, a repair, or a lack of care? A bathroom does not need to be new to feel ready, but visible maintenance issues should never be hidden behind decor.

Make a short, practical list. Tighten a loose towel bar. Replace a burned-out bulb. Address a dripping faucet, peeling caulk, a damaged toilet seat, loose hardware, or a door that does not close cleanly. If the issue might involve plumbing, moisture, electrical work, or another substantial repair, get the appropriate professional advice rather than treating staging as a cover-up. The point is to make the room easy to assess, not to disguise a condition that should be addressed honestly.

Then decide what the room needs to prove. A compact guest bath may need to show that it is clean and efficient. A primary bath may need to show a comfortable vanity, useful storage, natural light, or a relaxing shower. That single answer will keep the final styling focused.

Deep clean before you decorate

Staging is the final layer, not the first. In a bathroom, the cleaning pass has to go further than wiping down the counter. Polish the mirror until there are no streaks. Clean the shower glass and tracks, wipe cabinet fronts and handles, scrub grout and the base of the toilet, clear dust from vents and light fixtures, and make sure the drain area looks cared for. Check inside the vanity as well. Buyers may open it, and an orderly cabinet helps the storage feel credible.

Pay attention to the details that show up in listing photography. A water-spotted faucet, a cloudy glass door, a bent blind, or a row of mismatched bulbs can become the visual center of an otherwise well-designed room. The goal is not to make the bathroom look clinical. It is to remove the small signals that compete with the room’s best features.

The broader home staging checklist for listing photos is useful here, especially for the pre-photography reset. In the bathroom, use that same discipline at a smaller scale: clean, repair, simplify, and then recheck every surface from the doorway.

A warm, well-kept bathroom with clean surfaces and considered finishes

Remove the evidence of daily life

Bathrooms collect the objects that make a home feel lived in: toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, prescription bottles, hair tools, makeup, half-used products, laundry, bath toys, scales, and extra rolls of paper. They are ordinary, but they make it harder for a buyer to picture the room as their own. They can also introduce privacy concerns during a showing.

Move daily items into a small, portable bin that can be tucked away before photographs and carried out before each showing. Clear the vanity, shower ledges, tub edge, and the top of the toilet tank. Remove the toilet brush and plunger from view. Keep cabinets useful but orderly. A few sensible essentials can remain where they are needed, but the first impression should be clean surfaces and clear floor, not someone else’s routine.

At the vanity: remove personal care items, charging cords, cosmetics, and medicine.
In the shower: remove used bottles, razors, loofahs, toys, and soap bars.
On the floor: remove laundry, scales, storage baskets, and worn bath mats.
In storage: leave enough order that the room’s capacity is easy to understand.

This is particularly useful for a smaller bathroom. Empty floor and counter space helps a compact room feel more legible than a collection of accessories ever will.

Use light to make the room feel clear and cared for

Good bathroom staging does not rely on a dramatic lighting scheme. It relies on consistency. Turn on every fixture, clean the shades or glass, and replace bulbs that are burned out or visibly different in color. A room with one cool bulb, one warm bulb, and a shadowed vanity often looks unfinished in a photograph even when the rest of the work is sound.

Natural light is valuable when the room has it. Open a window treatment enough to show the window and brighten the space, while preserving privacy. Then look in the mirror for reflections that create clutter or pull the eye toward a toilet, shower corner, or storage area. Small adjustments before the photographer arrives can make a meaningful difference.

For homes with a dark bath, do not try to solve every issue with more objects. A clean mirror, clear counter, light towel, and working fixtures often make a stronger photo than a crowded attempt to make the room feel decorative. The goal is to let buyers understand the room quickly.

A light-filled interior with warm neutral materials and refined details

Add a restrained finishing layer

Once the bathroom is repaired, clean, and cleared, it may need very little. The familiar hotel standard is useful because it is simple: a fresh towel arrangement, one small source of softness or greenery, and a clean surface that still feels usable. You are suggesting comfort, not building a display.

Choose towels that suit the room’s existing finishes. White, cream, or soft neutral towels are usually easy to photograph and do not compete with tile or cabinetry. Fold or hang them neatly, then step back. A bath towel with a hand towel, or a small folded pair on an open shelf, is often enough. Reserve these for listing photos and showings so they stay fresh.

If the vanity needs a finishing touch, use one modest grouping only: a simple soap dispenser on a small tray, a small branch in a bud vase, or a low-maintenance plant where it can genuinely live. Avoid candles with strong scents, novelty art, piles of rolled towels, and multiple containers that shrink the available counter. The room should feel calm because it has breathing room.

Current staging guidance from the National Association of REALTORS consistently returns to the same fundamentals: clean, declutter, repair, depersonalize, and help buyers picture themselves in the home. For a bathroom, restraint is what makes those fundamentals visible.

Stage for the room you actually have

A small powder room and a spacious primary bath should not receive the same treatment. In a small bathroom, prioritize the clear counter, polished mirror, bright light, and open floor. Skip the oversized plant, the tray with several objects, and the bath mat in listing photos if it fragments the room. One intentional towel arrangement is usually plenty.

In a larger primary bathroom, you have more room to show how the space functions. A freestanding tub may benefit from one simple folded towel and a discreet bath tray. An open shelf can hold a coordinated set of towels. A generous vanity can support one modest arrangement at one end, leaving the rest clear. Use the additional space to show scale, not to fill every corner.

Think about the room’s real architecture. If the shower is the best feature, keep the glass clear and its sight line open. If the vanity has strong stone or millwork, let that material be the visual focus. If the room’s strength is its layout, protect the path through it. The styling should support what is already working, not invent a different room.

A polished interior with a calm palette, layered light, and clear visual balance

Prepare for photographs, then keep the reset easy

Photographs are often a buyer’s first experience of the bathroom, but the in-person showing needs to match them. The evening before photography, finish the deep clean and set aside the objects that will be removed. Just before the photographer arrives, make the final pass: close the toilet lid, remove bins and personal products, straighten towels, wipe the mirror, turn on lights, and check the room from the doorway.

Look at the room from the hall. The first view should feel bright, open, and clear.
Check every reflective surface. Mirrors, fixtures, and shower glass should be free of smudges and water spots.
Clear the camera’s path. Remove items that block the vanity, tub, shower, or best source of light.
Keep the styling simple. One towel arrangement and one small detail are enough for most rooms.
Create a showing-day kit. Put personal products and daily towels in one easy-to-store container so the room can be reset in minutes.

The most useful staging plan is one that can be maintained. A beautifully styled bathroom that takes an hour to reconstruct before every showing will make the listing period harder than it needs to be. Choose a simple setup that agents and homeowners can restore without stress.

Know when a complete staging plan is the better answer

Many bathrooms need a focused clean, a repair pass, and a restrained final edit. Others sit inside a vacant property, a high-value listing, or a home where the overall presentation needs to work as one story. In those cases, the bathroom should be considered within the full sequence of rooms rather than treated as an afterthought.

Songbird works with agents, homeowners, and developers on vacant home staging, as well as commercial interior design, furniture procurement, and project management. For a listing, that can mean a complete visual direction across the property, then a precise final edit so the bathrooms feel as cared for as the rooms that carry the first photographs.

For an empty home, it is especially important to show enough scale and comfort without making a bathroom feel staged for the sake of it. Our vacant-house staging guide explains how a full plan gives buyers practical answers throughout the property.

A final bathroom staging check

Visible repairs, loose hardware, worn caulk, and non-working bulbs have been addressed.
Mirrors, glass, grout, fixtures, and cabinet fronts are clean from close range.
Personal products, medications, cords, laundry, and daily-use items are out of sight.
The counter and floor have enough open space to show the room’s scale.
Lighting is consistent and the strongest feature of the room is easy to see.
Towels and any finishing pieces feel clean, coordinated, and restrained.
The room can be reset quickly before the next showing.

A well-staged bathroom does not need a makeover to make a better impression. It needs to feel clean, functional, and calm enough that buyers can focus on the home rather than the work they imagine ahead. Get the preparation right, add only what earns its place, and let the room’s best features come forward.

Frequently asked questions

What should I remove from a bathroom before selling?

Remove toiletries, medications, razors, hair tools, bath toys, scales, trash bins, toilet brushes, and daily-use towels. Clear counters and shower ledges completely, then leave only a small, intentional finishing detail if the room needs one.

Should I use white towels when staging a bathroom?

Fresh white or soft neutral towels are an easy way to make a bathroom feel clean and calm. Use a coordinated set that is reserved for photography and showings, then keep the arrangement simple so it does not make the room feel crowded.

Do I need to update a bathroom before listing?

Not every bathroom needs an update. Start with repairs, deep cleaning, fresh caulk where needed, working hardware, and consistent lighting. If dated finishes or visible wear would distract from the property, talk with your agent about the right level of improvement for the listing.

How do I stage a small bathroom for listing photos?

In a small bathroom, less is almost always stronger. Keep the counter mostly clear, remove the bath mat for photos if it breaks up the floor, use one neat towel arrangement, and make sure the mirror, glass, and fixtures are spotless. Clear sight lines will do more than extra decor.