Home Styling Tips for Selling

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Helping other people fall in love with your home isn’t the most romantic concept. Just like the path to hanging a sold sign isn’t quite as straightforward as whitewashing the walls magnolia, stripping every room of personality, and presenting a blank canvas to new families.

This may seem logical, but sterile spaces are really not appealing, and existing in a shell until the house is sold leaves, everyone, a little cold and quite frankly it’s a bit depressing.

There needs to be a balance, so let’s dress your home to catch the eye of a buyer and keep it cosy until you pass over the keys.

We’ve developed a special PMS Lettings & Sales Three D Formula to help.

It’s a simple but very effective formula for when you’re ready to sell, and it means you’ll be playing cupid for your home in no time!

D1: Detach

Viewing someone else’s home can feel quite intrusive, and no matter how creative you are, picturing your partner making a morning coffee is tricky with another person’s personalised mug left on the kitchen counter.

Home styling begins with objective eyes or in other words blurring your memories and emotional ties and viewing each room as a new space.

Now, this sounds easier said than done but think of it like this: The decision to move isn’t taken lightly. You might have outgrown your current home, or perhaps it’s because a change in career has forced a relocation. Whatever the reason, you are ready to move on, and your home must show a sense of detachment too.

Similar in the same way that a wedding ring symbolises ‘off-limits’, a home drenched in the current owners’ memories is a little off-putting too.

So, how do we differentiate between the homely and the off-putting memories?

Quite simply the best way to be truly objective is to be truly objective. That means calling on a few home styling experts; with thoughtful design, they find a balance between liveability, practicality and comfort. They will get out their magic wand to make sure it really stands out.

The best stylists go beyond aesthetics and become psychologists; they know that a home is a sanctuary to enhance your every day, and a place to keep your family memories safe. So, when people start thinking in emotions, houses start selling. The job of the stylist is to help people visualise themselves in a home, and that’s a little tricky with another family living there.

Throughout time, your family will have shaped, adapted and moulded the bricks into the home it is today. And that home worked for your family. Your taste and memories are encased inside, and whilst that’s lovely, it’s necessarily so appealing to a new family.

This is where the home stylist finds a balance; between the home still feeling homely but detached enough from the old family, and open-armed for a new.

D2: Depersonalise

When you viewed your house, you decided to buy bought it, and make it your home. So, what made it the right place for you, and your family? What made the difference to all the other homes you saw?  Was it the big windows allowing the light flood in?  Perhaps it was the gentle crackle of the log burner or the patio garden with the amazing views?

Something made you want to buy your home and make it more than just another pile of bricks.

To sell your home, you need to rediscover the qualities that made it extra special.

Over time, these qualities will more likely become clouded by years of comfortable living. Your home aims to please, and it naturally evolves to accommodate your family; and if it doesn’t, it’ll be modelled, painted, stained and stuffed until it does.  The resulting personal touches often manifest into ‘things’; they might be impressive witty words or phrases spelt out on the fridge, edge-nibbled children’s drawings that have been carefully blue-tacked onto the nursery walls, or the cats climbing frame that was once a stylish choice, but is now fraying at the bottom left corner, and is forcing the kitchen table to squeeze a little too close to the wall too.  Don’t forget the cushions Grandma gifted last Christmas; which don’t match the three-piece suite, but they’re not offensive enough to go and they make her smile every time she visits, so they are definite keepers.

So, when the time comes and people wander around your home, they don’t know the cushions’ backstory, and they have no attachment to the things they see. They just remember the not-quite-matching textiles, cluttered fridge and squashed kitchen table.

All these things are just a little off, but who settles for a home that’s not quite right?

So, what’s the answer?

It is so simple…

Remove the clutter or anything that distracts from the home’s natural beauty. Clean and naturally lit spaces are welcoming and allow people to envisage their belongings inside. No matter how tasteful your treasures are, and no matter how carefully they’ve been arranged, a home that is over-personalised is claustrophobic.

The way we dress our homes is no longer just a question of taste, though; we’ve taken home accessories to the next level and engraving our personality into each room is the norm.

It’s no longer about the framed holiday snaps and personalised calendars.  Every room greets its occupant with a personalised door sign, and every textile gives a comforting nod to its family. Whilst in-jokes and family crest artworks are cute, they can give off an over-bearing mother-in-law vibe when the time comes to sell.

Best solution?

Wrap them up lovingly, keep them safe in storage, and look forward to unwrapping them in your new home.

D3: Design

This one is short and very sweet. Especially if you’ve carried out D1 & D2 (detached and de-personalised), getting the design right, is super easy.

Let’s start by walking into your living room.  Does anything jump out at you?  If it’s the cushions, throws or curtains, they’ll probably need replacing.  Textiles should gently accent the wall colour and not be a point of focus; their main purpose is to compliment the room. They should help to create a calming mood.  The use of subtle neutral tones is a great choice. Fresh, plump accessories can make a room look glossy and cared for; as well as add warmth, and cosiness, but REMEMBER, not a lived-in kind of cosy.

Accessories shouldn’t compete with the room’s main features and they should be dotted around sparingly. The eye should be drawn to original features such as fireplaces, aged beams and bay windows. A nice rule to follow is; anything you can pick up, and that detracts from the home’s natural beauty, should be popped in storage.  Great design is about enhancing, and not covering features.

When we move home, we naturally take the opportunity to clear out any tired homeware, clutter and junk. But we usually put this off until the home is sold, and the times come to start packing.  Are you thinking about a new sofa for your new home? Or maybe a fresh rug?

The Three D Formula

Emotions do sell a house. However, if you’re showing your emotional ties to the house, it will make it difficult to sell. Viewers need to be able to visualise their family living there and they need to make it their home.  To do that, they need a blank-ish canvas to project their imagination. It sounds simple, but it’s not a straightforward task; styling our home to sell is complex.

There are lots to consider and preparing your home for new families to mooch around is emotional. That’s why the Three D’s help us to deconstruct, and break the tasks down into smaller, more manageable pieces.

If you would like a hand detaching or de-personalising, or maybe you just need some objective eyes and thoughtful advice, have a chat with one of our home stylists. They will find the balance between cosiness and design, and they’ll make the journey to your next home faster and easier.

If you’d like to see how we style homes for sale here at PMS Lettings & Sales, just pick up the phone and call us on 01243 788257 or drop us an email.  We would love to hear from you, however, you get in touch.

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