Problems with selling your home? Could it be the décor inside? It is amazing how prospective buyers do not see beyond what is presented to them. They find it very difficult to imagine their own furniture and style in a property that needs revamping.
Below I have listed some very quick and cheep ways to bring that neutral but not blank canvas to your home. These tips can also be done in your new home.
First Impression
Wallpaper is lovely however there are many patterns and colours out there that can put the buyer off. The walls are the first thing that they will see when they walk through the door and studies have shown that a buyer will make a decision on whether to buy or not to buy in less than 10-15 seconds. Having a feature wall is much more the ‘now thing’ and it brings colour and pattern to the room without over powering it. The feature wall is normally the wall with the fireplace on. Also if the buyer doesn’t like the wallpaper it’s only one wall for them to change which means it keeps the re-decorating costs down in their head. Magnolia paint is much understated; it provides a clean and fresh look to your home so I would always advise to use this colour on the other walls.
Take Away Style
If like me you don’t have the time to wallpaper or if you can’t afford it then I have a great way to spruce up your walls without breaking the bank. Again using the feature wall put up canvases that have been covered with material. I recently bought some large canvases of the internet and they were very cheap. I then went to a material shop and bought just enough material to cover them. After stapling the material to the canvases job done. Each finished canvas cost less than £5 each. What’s more when you move home you can take the canvases with you. Another benefit is that when you get bored of the current décor all you need to do is take the material off and change it with another.
Clutter Clean Away
A home is for living in however when you come to sell it, your home is someone else’s possible home and it now becomes a ‘show house’. I have a dog and two children so you can imagine that there is something in every nook and cranny but trust me, hide that clutter. Put it in places that you know wont be looked in such as the wardrobe. If the buyers just see mess they will think that the house is too small for them and that there is no storage. I hired a skip 2 weeks before the house went up for sale and filled it. After all you will want to get rid of stuff before you move so why not do it before the house goes up for sale (it’s also one less thing to do when you do move). If you haven’t used it in over 1 year, bin it!!!
Splash of Colour
As I said earlier, your home doesn’t have to be cream through out. If you decide to bring a bit of colour into your home by wallpapering or using the canvas idea then great but if you don’t want to do this then another way is to pick one colour and accessorise this throughout the room. An example of to pick Green and use it to buy some green bottles and place them on the window sill, have a nice plant (Small) in the room and have some green cushions on the sofa – get the idea!
Make the bedroom into a beautiful boudoir!
Warm it Up
Personally there is nothing nicer than to walk in to a house and it feels warm and cosy. This can be done by simply switching on the lamp. Always have the bedside table lamps switched on and in the lounge no matter what time of day the buyers come. This will add a soft glow to the room which will make it inviting.
What’s that Smell?
Again just as tip number 5, I always have scented candles lit in the down stairs. Don’t buy an over powering smell but a more fresh, clean smell. If the buyers are arriving at night then it looks lovely to have a candle flickering in the kitchen or in the lounge. The buyers will also remember the clean smell and associate it with your home.
A lot of the above is called ‘staging’ you home. It’s the little things that you wouldn’t normally do on a day to day basis like having the lamps on during the day, having a candle lit in the kitchen but it’s those little touches that makes your home into a ‘show house’ and that will get it sold.
Happy revamping.
