Before and after: See how Dave Navarro’s house went from rock n’ roll to mainstream

We may think we want to live like rock stars, but Los Angeles real estate agent Skyler Hynes knows better.

When client, alternative rocker and Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro decided to list his Hancock Park bungalow, the home’s celebrity aura would only go so far.

It had to be “de-gothed,” Hynes explained, in order to cast the widest net for buyers. “A lot of people walk into a room and if it’s not a palette they can project their life onto, then it is a real barrier to selling a home.”

Bottom line: Those gargoyles at the front gate? Out.

And light, airy neutrals in.

In fact, even those of us without black-accented bedrooms, a child-sized coffin as decor, blood-red hallways and gold ceilings need to consider how we present our homes for sale.

“People get overwhelmed thinking about how to make the house right for them design wise — how they will pick out paint colors, furniture. They’re already trying to make the house work for them without having to think about undoing what is there,” Hynes said.

The Coldwell Banker real estate agent added: “Imagine the type of person who will be drawn to your house ... and see if there is anything getting in the way for that buyer.”

Navarro was aware his design choices might not appeal to a majority of prospective buyers, but Hynes says that is not always the case.

“There are situations where it’s really difficult to make even the smallest of changes with sellers,” he says. “You have to walk carefully and find ways to help them understand that you’re doing your job. Some people take it really personally and get insulted.”

It took about two weeks and $8,000 to give Navarro’s house a “make under” and stage it. And it all paid off. Hynes sold the property for the $1.695 million asking price to a buyer who showed up at the first open house.