Top tips for accessorising your home to sell
Like most things in life, before starting a task, you get a better result if you prepare. A previous boss of mine had a favourite saying, ‘Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance’, and I have to agree with him. Selling a house is no different. The better you prepare, the better chances of a good result – a sale.
If you are planning to sell your home, presentation should always be part of the planning process. In fact, it is key. Taking the time and effort to consider the best way to present your home will put you in the best position when your home goes to market. How you present your home can have a huge impact on your results. In our experience, a well-presented home will sell for a higher price in a shorter time period.
Why? Because paying careful attention to how you present your home and presenting it to the highest standards will make your home more appealing to buyers. Buyers will be attracted to your home. Your home will stand out for all the right reasons and catch a buyer’s eye.
If you flick through any number of home style magazines you will see how a stylist cleverly uses accessories to create interest. Take these accessories out of the images and you would be left with a bland, unappealing photograph. Dressing your home through the use of accessories can add the final wow factor. Accessories improve the look of your home and add polish to your presentation.
Dress each room to impress. Take inspiration from magazines or pop down to your local housing developer’s showroom to see how the professionals style their homes.
Using accessories to style your home needn’t be complicated. To help you on your way, we’ve compiled a room by room list of top accessories to dress your home.
Kitchen
Dress your kitchen with little lifestyle touches:
• Freshly baked artisan bread or croissants on a rustic bread board
• Cafetière with coffee cups
• Flowers on your kitchen table that suit the type of house. For instance a modern style house may have lilies in a vase whereas a cottage would have a bouquet of wild flowers
• An open cookery book on the work top
• A delicious-looking cake on a cake stand
Living room
Who can resist a cosy living room? Adding certain accessories can create a warm and welcoming atmosphere.
• Cushions add texture and warmth
• Throws add a snuggly touch
• Table lamps give off a soft ambiance
• Church candles or tealights on a mantel piece or fire place create a soft glow
• Lifestyle magazines such as Yorkshire Life on a coffee table
• Plain artwork to replace family photos – buyers want to imagine the house as theirs, not yours
• More flowers, in a vase on a side table for colour and scent
• Mirrors to add light and interest
Bedrooms
Think hotel-like style, luxurious and comforting
• Plain bedding
• Carefully placed throw or blanket
• Cushions for colour and texture
• Table lamps on each side table to create a soft glow
• Expensive perfume bottles and luxury toiletries neatly displayed on a dressing table
Bathroom
Again, think luxury hotel standards. Clear any clutter and any mundane toiletries that don’t add appeal to the room
• Indulgent spa-type toiletries on display
• Fluffy towels for warmth and colour
• Candles around the bath
• Fluffy dressing gown on the back of the door
• Small indoor plant for colour and greenery
Outside
Show off your outside space as a place that can be used all year round
• Dress your patio furniture
• Champagne, champagne bucket and flutes
• Flowering plant as a centre piece for your table
• Throws over the back of chairs
• Cushions in the seating area or on chairs
• Fairy lights draped over the seating area
• Planters with colourful plants and flowers
• Tealights and candles dotted about
Keep children’s sticky fingers and pets’ muddy paws away from all your nice, new accessories. Pack them away after each viewing. A little money spent on the right accessories can give your home that wow factor. The great bit about it is that you get to take them to your next home with you!
If you want to know more about how property styling can help sell your home, get in touch with us. Call us on 01423 563077 or email talk@alexandergibson.co.uk
For more on home styling see our blog
Getting ready to sell? Check out our guide here