Ideally, when you go to market, your home is in pristine condition, with all the latest gadgets in situ, flawless walls and a newly-sanded floor that you can see your face in but (miraculously) not slip on…
In reality, however, you’re probably playing catch-up with all the DIY projects that got away from you and so you need some handy, quick and relatively cheap restyling ideas to inject some zing into your interiors.
A lick of paint can transform a space
For the cost of the paint, the brushes and rollers, masking tape and some old sheets, painting your interiors is the cheapest and most effective way to bring a new feel into tired old rooms.
Make sure you stay neutral, though – off-white or cream works best – so buyers can superimpose their own tastes and personalities on your place when they come to view it.
Mirror, mirror…
Another cheap and easy fix that adds interest and makes spaces feel bigger is to hang up a few mirrors. Mirrors work especially well in narrow spaces or near to dark corners, where they “open up” the area and bring extra light in.
Bring in some new soft furnishings
If you’re short on time and low on budget then forget about renovating your kitchen or bathroom and invest in some new rugs and linens instead. They’re relatively cheap, take just moments to throw down and, best of all, you can take them to your new home when you move.
Keep the colour schemes simple and fairly neutral, especially when it comes to bed linens as chintzy or overbearing colours and patterns can make a room feel crowded.
Replace heavy curtains with thinner ones
This works especially well in spring and summer, as bringing in lighter, gauzier curtains lets much more daylight into your rooms, which shows them off to their best advantage. You can revert to heavy drapes in late autumn and winter for a cosy feeling if you want.
Keep smells subtle
Unless they’re bad smells, in which case you should hunt them down and eliminate them! There’s a lot to be said for a gentle, natural scent insinuating itself into the nostrils, but don’t go overboard with plug-ins, fabric freshener sprays, diffusers and incense sticks. Viewers might wonder what you’re trying to cover up or they might have to leave the building because they have allergies and neither scenario will help you to sell.
Deep clean and declutter
You should be decluttering ahead of the move anyway, right? Right? Decluttering doesn’t have to cost a penny and depersonalises your home so that viewers find it easier to imagine themselves living there. In fact, decluttering could raise a bit of cash if you have a yard sale or do some eBaying.
A deep clean should include cleaning your carpets, your bathroom tile grouting, your skirting boards and behind the fridge. It’s easy to overlook the gradual creep of staining and discolouration when you live somewhere, so bringing in a professional cleaner to blitz the place might surprise you!
