You have probably already combed all the interior magazines and blogs to find out what the latest trends are and how to pick out your accent wall in just the right shade of green (here’s a clue – not avocado), but do you know what not to do? There are ten definite no-nos when it comes to interior design and Bathroom.com’s recent survey has found them and listed them in order of awfulness.
You have been warned – persist with these crimes against style at your peril.
Wood panelling takes the top spot, with 46% of respondents saying they wouldn’t even consider buying a place that still had it.
Then comes the old avocado bathroom suite – this 1970s classic can knock as much as £5,000 of your sale price, but the damage to your reputation far, far exceeds mere money. Disturbingly, it’s feared that as many as 325,000 homes in the UK still harbour one.
The avocado suite isn’t as off-putting as wood-panelling though, as people are far more prepared to rip the green stuff out. Tellingly, it’s the first thing more than 70% of buyers get rid of if they end up with one.
The rest of the list isn’t pretty either, with textured wallpaper, Artex ceilings and built-in wardrobes over beds (the 1980s called…) featuring prominently.
The ditch-list
If you have any of these – ahem – features in your property and you’re thinking of selling, you need to do something about as many of them as you can as soon as you can.
- wooden panelling,
- an avocado bathroom suite,
- a built-in bar, especially if it sports a Spanish or maritime theme,
- woodchip wallpaper,
- an Artex ceiling,
- a nausea-inducing swirly carpet,
- textured wallpaper,
- crazy paving in either garden,
- a brick fireplace, and
- a built-in wardrobe, especially if it arches over the bed.
Modern and minimalist is the safest way to go. You might even like your Jackson Pollock carpet, but you can’t expect anyone else to, so rip it out and reap the cash rewards.
