- Date Published:
- 27/05/2008
Are you embarrassed about letting complete strangers into your inner sanctum? Here are some tips for a welcoming boudoir.
By Daphne Leck
4Homes Essentials
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Credit: Debenhams
It goes without saying that bedrooms should be tidy, clean and fresh. Keep surfaces and floors clear of clutter, especially shoes and bags. Give the room a deep clean - including under the bed. A build up of dust (mostly human skin cells) makes a room smell musty. Open the windows before the viewers arrive.
Once your bedroom is clean and clear you must remove all essence of your personality. Think of elegant hotel rooms. Comfortable and stylish, they are impersonal. No one wants to be confronted with someone else's make-up or tubes of haemorrhoid cream. Such distractions will prevent visitors from noticing the positive aspects of the room.
Coloured suites are out of fashion. Look out for offers at the DIY stores or on the Internet and consider replacement with plain, white fittings. Or update your bathroom with new taps and shower head.
Bedspreads make beds look tidier. Add some large scatter cushions in silk or velvet for a feeling of luxury. Make sure everyone in the household is up, and all the beds are made.
Do not be fooled into thinking that your visitors will be too embarrassed to open cupboards; they will want to see how much storage space you have. They will not want to see a jumble of clothes, magazines and the leather bondage outfit you have hurriedly stashed away.
The decor in a bedroom should be neutral. Off-whites, creams and pale yellows have much wider appeal than feminine pinks and lilacs. Do not forget to hang some suitable pictures or mirrors. A room can look cold and lifeless with nothing on the walls.
Change your light fitting for something elegant - a chandelier, perhaps, or an uplighter that hides the ugly light bulb.
Although bedrooms should be as clear of clutter as possible, do not be too harsh on your children. It's their home as well and if their rooms are brutally tidy, they will be miserable. Pack up toys in boxes, storing most away. Alternate the boxes so they play with toys in rotation. Teenagers love posters, but keep them to a minimum and frame them (clip frames are quite inexpensive) for a smarter finish.
Spare bedrooms crammed wall-to-wall with boxes and junk are not attractive. You must show a spare room as a bedroom. It should have a bed, bedside tables, lamps, pictures/mirrors on the walls and if space, a chair. It should look just as attractive as your main bedroom, so if it hasn't been decorated for a while, get painting.
If you use a bedroom as a study/office, it must always be tidy. Boxes of files and personal papers all over the place are not acceptable. The room, usually the smallest bedroom anyway, will look cramped and cluttered. You cannot expect potential purchasers to use their imagination, so pack as much as you can away out of sight.
If showing a property during the winter don't over-heat the bedrooms. The rest of the property should be warm and cosy, but most people prefer a fresher atmosphere in which to sleep. If the room is too hot, it will feel uncomfortable and stuffy and, therefore, less attractive.
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