Interior Decorating to Sell

A lot of lip service is paid to creating curb appeal when selling your home, but once you get those prospective buyers in the door your interior decorating style can seal the deal or send the buyer running.

Making your home more attractive to prospective buyers is more important now than ever. The housing boom officially ended somewhere in 2005 and/or 2006, housing prices are on the decline and the realtor association is predicting that the median home price nationally will be down about 1% this year versus last year. This is the first time the nation as a whole has had a drop in home prices since the great depression. So, if you’re looking to make that sale, you’ve got to give the buyers a little incentive.

Invite a few honest friends over, preferably people that aren’t frequent visitors, and ask them to give you an honest opinion of your home. Are they noticing clutter, odors, mismatched curtains or any other decorating touches that a visitor might take note of?

Then bribe your friends to stay a while and help you pack up all of your knickknacks, books, table clutter and most importantly, half of the stuff in your closets. Closets and storage are essential so make yours look spacious or at least more than adequate by removing a lot of your stuff and storing it off premises.

Move unnecessary furniture into storage and open up as much floor space as you can in every room. Rearrange remaining furniture, if necessary, to increase the flow of the room.

Keep your colors neutral. Even though you love the purple accent wall in the kitchen, it is very doubtful that someone else will. Tired, dirty and (god forbid) smoke stained walls definitely need a fresh coat of paint. You don’t have to paint everything white or cream but use lighter, neutral shades. These paint colors will make your rooms look larger and will help the new buyers imagine their furniture and other belongings inside your home.

Most importantly, stay away from big renovations. A lot of homeowners throw thousands of dollars away renovating their kitchens and bathrooms prior to sale. If there is no maintenance issues in these two rooms and they’re simply ugly or dated, leave them alone. These are expensive re-dos and you likely won’t recoup your investment. Also, you may be decorating it to suit your style rather than the new owner’s. Instead consider giving them a redecorating stipend that is considerably less than you would have spent fixing the room.

Finally, give your home a once over with a decorator’s eye. You don’t want to bring a lot of clutter back into the home but maybe a nice potted plant, or some fresh cut flowers would spruce up the home. Replace heavy drapes with light, gauzy ones to increase the natural light and to emphasize the view. Check the flow of each room to make sure it’s inviting and encourages visitors to wander through. You may even want to bring your friends back to see if they approve.

Decorate to Sell

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