homify guide to increasing the value of your home

Adonis Adoni Adonis Adoni
Muswell Hill, MailenDesign MailenDesign Bedroom
Loading admin actions …

In an economy that's still in pieces, selling your house may seem like a daunting task. Perhaps the value of your home has stagnated or even dropped. It's also possible the building itself has seen better days. You can arrest this negative trend, however, by taking a few practical steps to make the property seem more appealing to potential buyers.

As the saying goes, you'll need to speculate to accumulate or, in basic terms, it's likely you'll need to spend some money to make money. For example, most people want to avoid time consuming home improvements so seemingly minor problems, such as holes in the walls or doors hanging from the hinges, could be enough to deter potential purchasers.

Before you embark on any renovations though it’s important to seek professional help from estate agents. They can help you better evaluate your property and maximise its chances of being sold. Given the difficulty of trying to raise the value of your home, we decided to offer a few tips on the topic.

So… grab a pen, take notes and, as always, be inspired!

Paint the façade

First of all you will need to inspect your home, inside and out, with a critical eye. In doing so, you will locate the most pressing issues to attend to. As well as the cosmetic details it's important to pay some attention to the plumbing, heating and electrical wiring.

You should then consider investing some time and money into sprucing up your home's façade as first impressions count, as we all know too well. Start with the basics: mow the lawn, trim the hedge or furnish the front garden with some colourful plants. You may also need to replace missing roof tiles. 

Giving the façade a fresh coat of paint would probably work to your advantage. Avoid anything garish and instead stick to neutral, tones such as fresh white or beige accents.

Make small spaces appear larger

Potential buyers prefer airy and spacious rooms. If you have a big house to sell then there's not too much to worry about but smaller homes can be trickier. Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to alter the visual perception of small spaces and therefore the desirability of your property.

A beautiful, long table in the dining room, for example, adds length to the room. Colours and light are other straightforward ways to manipulate dimensions. White is a very reflective colour that reflects light around a room, making it seem bigger, whereas some well-placed mirrors will have a similar effect..

Functional kitchen

If there’s one room you should invest some money in, it's the kitchen as it’s arguably the most important room of the house. Check the condition of the furniture, cleaning or replacing as necessary, and giving any wooden surfaces some treatment with stain or polish.

Clean the cabinets and thoroughly attend to loose hinges or handles. Appliances must of course be in good working order and if you're really looking to raise the value of your property, you could consider investing in some modern electronics.

The bathroom

The bathroom should be clean and fresh for inspection. Even a well-appointed bathroom can be a serious stumbling block for potential buyers if it's in a less than hygienic state for a viewing.

Beyond basic cleanliness, ensure that broken tiles are replaced, limescale is removed from fittings and minor repairs, such as dripping taps, are attended to. Remember that these small details count.

Spruce up the garden

garden can be a real selling point of a home so if yours has one, make it look as good as possible without spending too much or over personalising it.

Potential buyers are looking for signs that the garden has been looked after but wouldn't require too much work on their behalf to adjust it to their taste. Some basic landscaping and planting should suffice, just so that the space is somewhere the viewers could imagine themselves spending time and making their mark on.

The living room

After carrying out the necessary repairs it's time to focus on giving your home a thorough clean. It's already been said but is worth repeating: focus on the details because people will notice. Make the beds, clean the bathroom, put away the laundry. These are the absolute basics.

Where the living room is concerned, organise you décor and remove personal ornaments, such as family photos, so that potential buyers can imagine the property in their own image. Small touches like fresh flowers are worthwhile and, if you're really eager to sell, it's definitely a good idea to freshen up the paint on the walls, covering up any scuffs or marks that have appeared over time.

The bedroom

Reduce furnishings in the bedroom to the bare essentials and focus on creating a balanced ambience of neutral tones. It may seem boring but you're trying to create the blank canvas effect so that potential buyers can envisage the space as opportunity and not work to be done.

Maximise the room's natural light for daytime viewings by removing heavy curtains or blinds and create a warm environment for evening viewings with lamps rather than showing visitors the room under the more unforgiving flare of an overhead light.

For more inspiration, have a peek at: The Secrets Of Successful Home Staging.

Need help with your home project?
Get in touch!

Highlights from our magazine