Five More Decorating Mistakes that Bug Ottawa Buyers

Posted on August 20, 2010 
Filed Under Listing and Selling Your Home, Staging Your Home, Valerie Zinger

There was a television special about the 25 biggest decorating mistakes people make in their homes.  Everyone has made a few of these and learned to live with them over time.  However, there are some more obvious to home Buyers than others.  Of the 25 here are 5 more of my favourites when it comes to selling / show casing your home:

  1. Outdated Accessories – For the Owner – the door handles work and over time they are just there.  For the Buyer, old door handles date the house and make the Buyer think that the whole kitchen / bathroom may have to be updated. 
  2. Furniture that Doesn’t Fit- For the Owner the big puffy couch with matching love seat and armchair are wedged into the room with just enough space to get by and why not?  It works for the Owner.  For the Buyer, a room that is stuffed with furniture looks small and may make the Buyer think that they too cannot get their furniture all in the room.
  3. Fear of Colour – everything is in builder’s white.  For the Owner white goes with everything.  There can be no colour mistakes when there is no colour.  For the Buyer, the house has no spark and not memorable.  White walls can look dirty over time so……
  4. Fake Flowers – For the Owner going fake is the answer to replace expensive and short lived fresh flowers.  For the Buyer fake flowers and plants are dust collectors, soon look dated and seldom fool anyone about their provenance.
  5. Ignoring windows – For the Owner, the tacked on blanket has served its purpose for the last three years and why spend money on window treatments now that you are moving?  For the Buyer, blankets, torn fabric, bent metal blinds, dirty drapes all mean that the Sellers are neglectful and cheap. If this is what is not done for the windows, then what is not done for the rest of the house.

Decorating is important when you are marketing your house.  It is not about how you live but how you want the Buyer to imagine themselves in your house.

Photo credit:  Fake Flowers in the Sun @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/orinrobertjohn/1795685457/

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