Pippa Jameson Interiors has teamed up with Interiors expert Oliver Heath to provide 5 essential tips on selling a home in a recession.  Over the coming weeks we will advice you on what to do and not to do when preparing your home for sale.  These are tough times that we are facing, especially if you are in the position of trying to sell your home in a market that has collapsed.  That said, there are still buyers out there but just not as many.  For this reason your home has to really hit the mark when it comes to presentation.

“You want to leave potential buyers with a sense that the property has been well maintained and looked after so that that they don’t get the sinking feeling that as soon as they move in there’ll be lots of things that need doing”.

Oliver Heath

PART 1: DECLUTTERING

There is nothing that puts of a buyer more than clutter!  Even though you may adore your little collection of porcelain cats and dogs I can guarantee that your buyer will not.  Things that are personal to you mean nothing at all to a buyer; harsh but true.  So put away all the little nik naks that are lying around and invest in some good storage.  If you have things rammed into overflowing cupboards it is going to look like the house is too small to cater for your belongings and give the impression of being cramped.   If you haven’t used something for the past 6 months then put it in the loft or better still, throw it away.

• Make sure you clear away any weird and quirky ornaments!
• Don’t just shove things in cupboards as buyers may want to look in them
• Make sure your shelves look organised and spacious
• Create as much floor space as possible to make the room feel bigger

“I advise you get rid of 30% of possessions and put them into storage somewhere – could be the attic, garage or paid self-storage. It is nice to get a sense that the house is lived in and loved but seeing other peoples clutter is an invasion of privacy and stops them feeling relaxed in a home you want them to imagine living in.”

Oliver Heath: You can read more about Oliver and his ventures at Oliver Heath.com

BOOKS TO BUY: There are some really good books that can help you on your way to a clutter free home.  The first is called Clean Sweep and the second is appropriately called Too much Stuff! Both are available through Amazon.

NEXT WEEK: part two will be advising on professionaly cleaning the home, the general costs involved and how much this can maximise a homes potential sale price….

Tags: Beat the credit crunch, Chinaware, Design post, Recession, Selling homes // Add Comment »

  Back in January 2009 I posted trend predictions for 2009/2010.  One of the stories I wrote about was ‘Colour blocking’ and how it would start off as a fashion trend and then slowly filter down into the interiors market.  Well, I have just attended  the Exclusively Housewares trade show at The Business Design Centre where there was a huge selection of gorgeous homeware accessories and ‘Colour blocking’  a plenty’!

Joseph Joseph

Read more →

Tags: Accessories, Chinaware, Design post, Trend stories 2009/2010 // Add Comment »

A while ago I posted a feature on where to buy the best flowers and so I thought it would be good to do a follow up on fake flowers.  Although they have come a long way in design and quality in recent years, it can still be hard to find stylish and modern design

Read more →