What would you think if we said you could attract wealthier buyers, sell your home faster and achieve a higher price without a major investment?
There’s an art to staging rooms professionally but the payoff is huge for getting it right. Your home can rise above the crowd as a standout listing, creating enough excitement for buyers to pay a premium.
So for this week’s blog, we’re sharing our styling techniques along with tips from interior designers and professional photographers to get a picture-perfect look, including expert advice on:
- Welcoming entrance halls
- Luxurious living areas
- Classy kitchens
- Sumptuous bedrooms
- Spa-like bathrooms
The good news is that you can often use items you already own to make every room in your home look more expensive, so let’s explore where to find and add those valuable touches of magic.
MAKE AN ENTRANCE
For most homes, the entrance hall is a buyer’s first taste of the interior, so it makes sense to give them a calm and warm welcome, rather than a chaotic greeting.
- Piles of shoes and coats can really overload a hallway, so thin out your hooks to this season’s items and get footwear onto racks or into crates below a bench.
- Increase natural light wherever you can, glazed panels in the front or interior doors, mirrors to amplify the effect and leave all room doors open to maximise the feeling of flow.
- Revive any original floor tiles and boards, or replace a worn carpet with engineered oak or sisal rug for a natural and sustainable look.
Finally, if your hall still feels a bit bare, hang some photos, pictures or prints to add life, colour and character. As a bonus, they also prevent your walls from getting scuffed by your viewers.
GO LUXE IN LIVING AREAS
Adding tactile cushions and throws to your sofa and armchairs is a surefire way to glam up a living room but it’s not the only trick in the book.
- Add drama and contrast with a statement wall in a rich paint tone or a sumptuous wallpaper, perhaps picking up on one or two accent colours from your existing furnishings.
- Coordinate bookshelves by colour, or turn all your books around to reveal the natural colour of pages for a serene, ordered and neutral collection.
- Invest in a statement light fitting with a light structure and warm glow that grabs the attention without overpowering the room or hanging too low.
- Keep space between the dining table and the wall to avoid it looking cramped and dress it with a centrepiece of glass, ceramic or wood over a stylish runner or cloth.
Sellers sometimes ask us if they should present a fully laid table with cutlery and crockery but it can make your buyers feel like they’re holding up your dining plans, so keep it simple and natural.
SERVE UP STYLE IN THE KITCHEN
Unless you’re a hardcore minimalist, work surfaces look better when they’re styled, rather than completely bare. So here’s what to remove and what to show off.
- Keep out your best gadgets along with a few posh cookbooks, a tray of this season’s veg, or some mason jars filled with pasta, rice or pulses.
- Hide all your cleaning stuff like washing up liquid, hand soap, dishcloths, sponges and dishwasher tabs, or get them into smart caddies and dispensers.
- Stack crockery and cookware neatly on any open shelves and clear them of garish packets, then empty cupboards of out-of-date or unused foods so they’re ready for viewers to peek inside.
Ultimately, your goal is to present a well-ordered, functional and beautiful kitchen that buyers can see is a joy to use and a space they can’t wait to own.
GET CREATIVE IN YOUR BEDROOMS
When it comes to creating bedrooms that sell, no one is more expert than hotels. They know that a sumptuous sanctuary of sleep is what captures clients and cash.
So here are some of their tricks that work in double, single and spare rooms.
- Use two rows of pillows stacked vertically, then smooth out the duvet or cover and fold it over about twelve-to-eighteen inches at the top.
- Layer up with a contrasting bedspread over the bottom half or third of the bed, using patterned fabric over plain, or plain over patterned.
- Add a stylish headboard to a freestanding bed frame and dress any bedside tables with objects like small books, a reading lamp, a single cut stem in a small vase, or a cute alarm clock.
- Leave out only beautiful things on the tops of drawer chests and dressing tables and arrange things purposefully, get everything else into drawers or containers.
Finally, how does it sound when you speak into the air? If there’s any hint of an echo, adding a thick-pile rug will soften the acoustic into a dreamy haven.
GIVE BATHROOMS THE SPA TREATMENT
Full of hard surfaces like tiles, taps and porcelain, even the most expensive bathrooms can feel cold and uninviting but with a few inspired touches, you can swap austere for opulence.
- Invest in a set of new plush towels and matching robes to put on display for viewings and your photoshoot and pair them with upmarket dispensers for soap, shampoo and shower products.
- Add teak accessories like a towel ladder, bath shelf, or duckboard mat, they work with any style and inject the rich warmth of natural timber.
- Clean off any mould, grime and limescale with white vinegar to rejuvenate sealant, grouting and metal fittings.
- Store your potions and lotions inside a smart cabinet on the wall, freestanding, or under the sink and avoid open caddies stuffed with bottles and jars, as they attract piles of dust.
- Swap a thick, plasticky shower curtain for a flowing fabric. They hang much better, feel infinitely more elegant and soften harsh echoes.
Whether it’s for a long and luxurious soak or an invigorating morning shower, accessorising your bathroom to create spa-like surroundings will help you truly clean up when you sell.
What’s your next step?
If you’re thinking of selling your home and want to make every room look more expensive to get the very best price, we’d love to help!
Call us on 01463 250000 or message us at askhamish@hamish-homes.co.uk to set up a visit with one of our team and get your move underway.
