You are looking to beautify your home on a very small budget. Your home is going up for sale. Soon, you will find out how your home is perceived by others. You will receive advice from experts, like your real estate agent. Avoid taking this advice personally though. Constructive criticism will prove to help your cause. Selling your home fast, for the best price you can get, is the outcome you are looking for. The last thing you want to do is sink money into improvements, but you need it to show well. Start early, think fresh and get creative! Make your small home improvements large showpieces and impress potential buyers! Here are some tips to do just that…
Get Hooked Up
Nothing says hang your coat and make yourself at home like a hook. Don’t just settle for any hooks though, pick unique hardware. When buyers are walking through, remove personal items to show off your bling!
Closet Creativity
Don’t have an extra room but a closet to spare, consider creating an office within! It gives the effect that you have an extra room! If you cannot find the right dimensions for furniture, custom build a desk and shelves and pull up a chair!
Cabinets to Shelving
Top kitchen cabinets usually remain empty because contents cannot be reached conveniently. Remove the doors, and you have instant shelves. Now you can display dishes and less often needed items that show well.
Instant Cubbies
Your large bookcase may be more functional and fun as cubbies. Simply add vertical shelves! These spaces can house blankets, a stereo, photo albums and so much more. That large bookcase could never hold a candle to this new functional piece, but a cubby could!
Welcome Wagon
A little facelift can welcome buyers from the moment they walk up to your front door. Paint your front door a colour that pops, install a new doorbell, a decorative door knocker, a new mailbox and house numbers. Be sure to lay down a clean, new welcome mat to finish the look!
While you’re at it, take notice of your foyer and continue to wow potential buyers walking in your home. Use a thicker moulding around the first door they see in your entryway. Add a mirror or painting, a table with a plant, for ambiance. Hardware goes a long way here too. Think iron key hooks and mail sorter.
Hardware Revamp
Walk through your home and look at the hardware. Everything from doorknobs and hinges, to towel bars and hooks. Spruce them up with paint, a new finish or a replacement. Add Ceiling fans for style and purpose and replace old, overlooked doorknobs with new pieces that make your room pop! You wouldn’t believe what’s out there until you look!
Hide Wires!
If your home office isn’t wireless yet, then you know all about the pesky wires. They are twisted, tangled and worse, visible! They annoy you and will displease buyers. Staple along baseboards, add a conduit, any way to hide them!
Scratches on Doors
Doors take a real beating. As you walk in and out, you don’t notice the shoe kicks and wall hits. Take notice now and add a coat of paint. Consider also adding kick-plates for a fancier look.
Lighting the Way
Dim lights create that perfect ambiance you are looking for and hide imperfections. On the other hand, use a spotlight in areas you would like to show off like countertops, walls with paintings, etc.
Curio Cabinet Unclutter
Clutter cabinets seem to be home to every collectable garnered in a lifetime. Buyers aren’t sentimental to your collectables so during the time you are showing your home, clear extra pieces out of your curio cabinet and create some ambiance.
Flooring Facts
Floor replacements are a costly renovation for new homeowners. If your carpeting is fairly new, neutral in colour and in good shape, leave it. If not, remove it regardless of what you find underneath. Unfortunately, if it’s plywood, you will need to spring for new flooring.
Create Uniformity
If you have collected several stand-alone furniture pieces over the years, paint these the same colour or sand and stain to create uniformity in your rooms.
A Richer Look
Give your home a richer look by doing a few simple things. Add crown moulding to kitchen cabinets. Create a showpiece by organizing the books in your bookshelf, and add bookends and vases. Hang mirrors for rooms to appear larger.
Depersonalize
When you depersonalize your living space, you are subconsciously handing it off to the buyer. Start by clear your kitchen counters of small appliances, dish drying racks, etc. Move into the bathroom and remove toothbrushes, shampoos, etc. and move on to the foyer and remove shoes.
Beautifying your home CAN be done on a small budget. Call me… my goal is to get you the price you want for your home. I’ll give your home a walk through and pass along some great personal tips that work perfectly for your home. I’ll also include some necessary changes you may need to make. In the meantime, these great tips will give you the leverage you need to show your home well on a very small budget.
