Simple rules whilst selling at Christmas time!

You can still celebrate Xmas whilst selling your home

Follow these simple rules

• The old paper decorations that the kids made in kindy have got to go. Pack them up just for this year!
• The tinsel strewn across the room... That's a definite NO.
• Replace the half burned out candles with fresh new ones.
• Look at your Christmas tree does it need replacing? What about the decorations?
• Create a unique tree and treat yourself to some new decorations.
• No stencil frosting on the windows.
• Resist the temptation to adorn the whole home with decorations, I suggest that
• you just stick to a beautiful tree, a wreath on the front door and minimal table top decorations.

Love ottoman's

I love these ottomans and floor pillows. They add instant and colour to your home, not to mention additional seating.
Remove the old bean bags and replace them with some stylish ottomans or floor pillows.

                                                         

Feature walls

Feature walls are a great way to inject colour into a room. Select a colour that compliments the surroundings. Feature walls can highlight interesting angles or spaces. Feature walls can transform that dull room into a space that really says wow look at me.

                                                            
                                                   

Personal touch

Give your home the personal touch, remove all the clutter items and introduce items  that are charming/ handcrafted. Home-wares that tell a story or have a particular style.

Look around for items that either have a fond memory for you or a family member.
Group items of similar shape, colour and finish.

                                                   

Kids bedrooms

Kids bedrooms tend to get very messy. To help them stay more organized buy some baskets that slide under the bed. Great for their toys and books. Makes for a quick tidy up before inspections.

                                                               Great ideas

Improving the outdoor area is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to add value to your property.

 Improving the outdoor area is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to add value to your property.
You'll be amazed at how little time it can take to transform your outdoor areas into a space that buyers can imagine entertaining in or watching the kids play outdoors.
 Create a look that is enticing and peaceful.
Potted plants are inexpensive and give you that instant WOW

             

Winter outdoor areas

If you're anything like me the backyard pergola gets neglected in the winter time. Buyers love the outdoor entertaining areas, so its important that they can imagine themselves entertaining under that pergola, cooking the BBQ and having fun with family and friends.

• Generally the pavers get a build up of moss and dirt. Get the hose and scrubbing brush out and give them a good clean with a cleaning solution
• Do the same with the outdoor furniture and the BBQ
• Discard the dead hanging plants and dreary potted ones and replace with some vibrant new colourful plants or flowers.
• For some 'WOW' pot some colourful flowers and put them on the table
•  Add some colourful cushions to the existing seating
• Now you're ready to bring your buyers through  

                                                 Click here for some great ideas

Divine Bedrooms

How Divine are these beds.. Check out my Pinterest board labeled Bedrooms for some more gorgeous ideas!

The WOW factor

Having a Wow factor in your home does not have to cost the earth. Try adding a large mirror or some fabulous lamps or how about some awesome lighting.

                                         

See below some quick tips for the exterior of your property:

See below some quick tips for the exterior of your property:

• Mow the front & rear lawns
• Weed the gardens
• Trim the edges
• Chop and trim any over grown trees and shrubs
• Remove any rubbish that's lying around. Old pot plants, unused toys etc.
• If you have a pool, please make sure it is clean.
•  Remove pool cleaning apparatus out of sight
• Get rid of the cobwebs
• Clean your windows
• Make sure your blinds and curtains are clean and present well from the exterior of the property.
• Do any necessary paint touch ups. How about a bright red front door?
• Clean and freshen up the veranda.
• Make sure all door hardware is in good working order. You don't want your knob to fall off do you!
• If time permits add some colourful flowers, they will instantly brighten up your garden.
• Why not put 2 pots either side of your front door - Instant wow!

                                     

Open house

We all would like open home day to be perfect,with the sun shinning, blue skies and perhaps those whales playing out to sea and of course the birds singing
Unfortunately that's not always possible.If you wake up to a dull overcast day you need to make your home as appealing as possible.

• Turn on all the lights and lamps 
• Open all of the curtains and blinds
• Light some candles and burn some oils
• Warm the house, leave the heating on for open home
• Play some soft music

Cool Lighting

The property needs to be as neutral as possible

The property needs to be as neutral as possible when the potential buyers first see it. Property styling is all about setting up the property for sale so the buyers can visualise themselves in the space and imagine moving into your home. By making your property as neutral as possible they can more easily see themselves in the backyard having a BBQ for their family and friends. And by adding a few nice pillows to your outdoor setting you can create an invitation to let the buyers imaginations run wild.

Get organised to sell

Man up and toss it

We all tend to collect allot of junk. Consider this... If you haven't used it in over a year you probably wont need it, or even fit into it again! Get rid of it.

Become a donating queen (or king) help the local Op shop

Have a separate Section for Charity items to donate. I find that piling charity items at the front door will encourage you to get them in the car ASAP.

Depersonalise

Don't forget to hide the nudie Photo's (don't laugh people actually leave them on their walls) oh yeah and the bottles of massage oils etc...

Pack up your personal photographs and family Heirlooms, sorry ladies the teddies on the bed have got to go!

First open home

The furnishing the accessories and all the little finishing touches really help give your property that wow factor.You want buyers to walk in and feel right at home! Have some scented candles burning, some soft music playing, some of my clients even bake cookies or cakes and have them on the bench for the potential buyers to try! 

Remember first impressions really count.

Ask yourself, who do you want your property to appeal to, what do you need to do to make your property more attractive for sale. Change the ambience of your property to reflect the homes best features and think about the type of buyer you are trying to attract. For instance if you own an inner city apartment, you need to change the ambience of the property to reflect a stylish comfortable inner city apartment, and on the other hand if have a Victorian style home, select furnishings and accessories that compliment the period of the property.

Art creates focal points

Does the perfect home exist? Perhaps, but then it probably wouldn’t be up for sale! “Using art in a home that has a few unexciting elements can help bring out the best in a space, and draw attention away from its grey areas by turning them into vignettes,” Bluethumb’s interior specialist Alex suggests. Using several pieces in a cluster to create a gallery wall is another option bringing the buyer to focus on a particular feature while diverting them away from others. ​Online curations​ centring on themes or styles can boost inspiration when installing art at home in preparation for a sale. Whether one piece is displayed or several, the important thing is that the art selected flatters the room while downplaying the undesirables.


Tropical prints are big this Summer! This piece by Donna Maloney energises a room by mixing bold leafy greens with house plants.

Play with scale

Play with scale
Play with scale in your home by contrasting low-line furniture with tall indoor plants or lamps, as seen in both of these rooms, or using a rug to make a small space feel larger. Really looking at the scale of your furniture (is it all the same height? Are there any standout pieces?) is a great way to add drama or interest to a room. Another way of doing this is using a statement artwork to draw the eye to the centre of a room. Try Artfinder for affordable original artworks that can be shipped direct to your door.

Luxe for less

Lay it out
Feeling a little bored with your current furniture or room layout? Try evaluating what space you have available and rearranging the furniture; consider how different pieces may fit together in different ways, and don’t be restricted by what furniture happens to be in the room. You may find that a cute stool that has been hiding in a bedroom makes a character-filled side table and conversation starter in the living room. Try arranging your furniture around the flow of natural light, or around indoor/outdoor flow, to create a harmonious space. Even better, centre your living room furniture in such a way that encourages conversation.

Surface art
Drinks carts, sideboards, shelving and coffee tables are all wonderful opportunities to make a space feel styled. Arrange your drinks cart with pretty bottles and glassware that are complementary, perhaps with a few fun cocktail accessories thrown in to complete the picture.

De Cluttering Tools

De Cluttering tools

Get yourself some de cluttering tools eg

Stacking shelves

Stackable containers

Baskets

Pretty boxes

Under bed storage baskets

Pins and small fabric bags

Perhaps a trip to IKEA would be well worth your effort.

 

Re arrange or recycle photo frames

Buy a multi photo frame for the wall. You will be amazed at the fresh new un cluttered look it will give to your walls. The walls look much less busy then 6-7 individual photos on the walls.

All images: print screens from the IKEA website

Why use property styling

Property styling is a must when selling your property whether you hire a professional or doing it yourself it is worth spending some money on presenting your house in the best way. Property styling is all about setting your house up for sale so that any potential buyer coming through the house will see the benefits of your house. First impression counts, just think back to your first date did you go with unwashed hair and un-matching shoes? Didn’t think so. So get started. The goal is to get the best possible price and to get the deal settled as quickly as possible.

Why use property styling 

A beautifully styled home can increase the speed of a sales campaign, It certainly will make the property look more desirable. In my experience the better a home is presented for sale the greater the final sales price will be.

Homes that are styled purely for the purpose of selling stand out more, they look far more impressive in comparison to other properties that haven't been styled. Compare the styled and unstyled homes on the websites and in the newspaper's. The styled home without a doubt looks far  more impressive and has a greater WOW factor! Therefore creates greater buyer interest. Its a numbers game! The more the merrier.

A  well styled home will standout much more than an unstyled cluttered home. In this competitive market place we want our homes to appeal to a wide range of buyers. Buyers are searching for a property they can see themselves living in, I want them to walk in and feel right at home. Arh.... a wine sitting by the fire!

We want to create the Wow factor, i want my buyers to be excited the moment they enter your home. Take away the negative factors, you don't want buyers drawn to any defects, instantly thinking "Price reduction".

Organize your space

Seek friends with space to spare
Almost every home shows better with less furniture. If possible rent a storage unit or ask a friend if you can store items in their garage/shed. Remove pieces of furniture that block or clutter walkways and put them in storage. Create open decluttered spaces.

I need a home!

Everything in your home should have it's own home. You may need to find new more appropriate homes for some of the items you keep. So compile designated areas for ‘like objects’. For example a bathroom box for soaps, hair products; makeup etc; a book and magazine box, Jewellery box, miscellaneous box and so on. Under bed storage boxes are great for kids toys and out of season clothes and shoes.

Every girl loves their jewels

I hang my necklaces on pins behind my bedroom door but you could do the same inside your wardrobe door. It's fantastic they are all hanging there neat as pins and so organised I love it. I also have my bangles, earrings etc all in separate labelled boxes. I also have several small fabric bags to put the smaller items in.