How to prepare your Living room when selling your home.

Living room, Sitting room, TV room or Lounge?

Whatever name you give yours, this room is often the first one a buyer sees on entering your home.

Given that potential buyers form an impression, good or bad, within 20 seconds, it’s an important space to focus on.

Your Living room should be bright, light, warm and inviting!

Buyers will expect to find a room they can entertain friends in, read a book or watch TV but above all they’ll want a room they can imagine themselves relaxing in.

Stand at the doorway and take a long, hard, critical look. What jumps out at you? Piles of newspapers, children’s toys or dust and cobwebs?

Size matters

Make it as spacious as possible. Don’t overcrowd with furniture, remove unnecessary items. Consider ‘the flow’; avoid blocking doorways with the back of a sofa and try different furniture layouts to find the best look.

The sniff test

Pets, smoke, food, damp. Unpleasant odours can devalue your home by thousands! Clean and clean again. Open windows an hour before viewings. Use scented candles, pot-pourri, even ‘febreze’ but don’t use plug in air fresheners.

Clutter is a killer

Store toys in (stylish) storage boxes or baskets. Remove trinket collections, magazines and DVD’s. Leave space on bookshelves and mantelpieces for buyers to imagine their own items there.

Dump the ego

Remove oversized family portraits however artfully shot or painted. Replace with simple non-offensive artwork picking up subtle colours from your room scheme.

Update with paint

Bold is fine for living but not for selling. Stick to a neutral paint palette and add accent colours with cushions, vases and flowers.

Beneath your feet

Take a good look at your floors, have them professionally cleaned. If carpets need replacing the general rule is; keep colours light and patterns minimal.