This huge, two-story, four-bedroom Fishers home was on the market for six months (by another real estate company). There were more than a dozen showings, but not a single offer. Instead, people complained about the floor plan. Most people might thing there's not a lot you can do to change the floor plan, but that's not always the case.
Working with an interior design partner, we walked through the house, and saw immediately there were some things we could to make the house more appealling to buyers. Most of the changes took less than 30 minutes, and they didn't cost a dime. Here's what we did:
The two-story front entry opens to a grand staircase. While the foyer is roomy, it wasn't cozy. A metal, candle decor on the wall needed something to ground it. We took a sofa table, put it under the metal decoration, found an extra lamp upstairs, and created a cozy entry.
Buyers had complained the family room was too small. Unless we knocked out a wall, there's nothing we can do about the size of the room, but there was plenty we could do to show how spacious it really is. We reconfigured the furniture, so there was an obvious flow to the room. We also took advantage of the fireplace as a focus point (instead of the big screen TV). By dressing up the fireplace with a mirror, and some candles, it had a whole new lease on life.
The biggest change was in the master bath. The blue walls were painted the same color as the walls in the lower level - a light brown. Since the homeowners had leftover paint, it cost them a weekend to repaint the bath from sky blue to tan.
The result: The house sold within the first three months, for about 98 percent of the list price. What's more, instead of ever lowering the list price (often a first suggestion), we showed off the best features.
By re-arranging the furniture and adding some accessories, we achieved better flow, and it created a larger space, which is flooded with natural light during the day, and feels cozy by the fire at night.
Before, a large sofa blocked the entry entry into the room, and an oversized chair was positioned against a wall, making the room look crowded, and causing people to bump into furniture.
A little paint goes a long way
Faux painting was all the rage several years ago. Like many DYI'ers, I tried the feather duster look, I used seran wrap on my kitchen wall and sponge painting. There are times these faux treatments look like a million bucks. And, if you like it, then have at it (although I don't recommend the seran wrap). But if you're going to sell your house, plain is best. Faux paint is a lot like wallpaper - it doesn't belong in a house that's on the market.
What a difference a can of paint can make. Some clients in Fishers decided it was time to sell their house. They had spent hours decorating their home to match their tasts and their furnishings. The dining room was a seafoam green with beige. The family room, a blood red sponged with gold.
Before the sign went in the yard, I recommended a change of color. They agreed, and went with a neutral color for the walls. Check out the results.
In addition to the paint, we moved some photos, re-arranged the furniture, added some place settings on the table to bring in a shot of color.
The walls were painted a netural tone, and furniture was moved a bit to give the room a cozier feel, and make it look much more open when walking into the room.
