Selling up? Try these 12 styling tips to make your home stand out to buyers

Follow these home staging tricks to give yourself the best chance of achieving your asking price – without spending money on a professional

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Among the many things that Americans find baffling about Brits is the way we sell our homes. We don’t put any effort into it, an American friend tells me. In the States, you transform your house into a show home before you sell as part of a process known as “staging”.
“I guess in Britain it’s seen as naff or phoney but I’m telling you, it’s the only way to achieve top dollar for your home,” my American friend insists.
It’s unsurprising that staging is making its way across the Atlantic. Christian Warman, of Tedworth Property, London, is one of an increasing number of British estate agents embracing it. The simple truth is that potential buyers prefer to walk into a house that is clutter free, fresh smelling and impersonal – all features of a cleverly staged show home, he says. “They like to see how they could live in your home rather than how you do. The more strategic the presentation of your house, the better the chances of achieving your asking price – why not present the best life that can be lived in it?”
In an increasingly competitive property market – thanks to rising living and borrowing costs – a well-dressed home flies, confirms Marc Schneiderman, of Arlington Residential. He recently suggested home staging to the sellers of a property in Belsize Park, North London, which had been on the market for more than a year without attracting interest. After professional styling, it sold within three weeks following offers from two competing buyers.
Similarly, a house in Lymington, Hampshire, that was valued at £1.2 million sold for more than £1.4 million after a three-week facelift by home stager Suzannah Maas. “Its owner was moving into a nursing home and it was dirty, cluttered and unloved,” Maas explains. “The budget was tight at £2,200 [staging can cost between £5,000 and £15,000 on average], so I could only do a facelift rather than a full styling, but after fresh paint, a revamped bathroom, a few trips to the dump and some reorganisation, it looked so much brighter and more desirable.”
There is plenty that sellers can do themselves without rushing to spend big bucks on a professional. Start with the outside, jet washing paths and weeding flowerbeds, and then focus on setting a warm and inviting tone inside with fresh clean colours and scents.
Here’s 12 staging tips to make your home more appealing to buyers.
Do this before the agents arrive to value it and then even again before the shoot, Loweth says. “Good photos on Rightmove and other online property selling portals are the difference between a sale and a damp squib,” he says. “If buyers don’t engage immediately with your home, both online and in situ, you’ve lost them. Then the only way to bring them back will be to drop the price. On the day of the shoot, make sure your lawn is cut into perfect stripes, your windows are clean of grime and dust and you’ve arranged flowers in vases around the houses. The Americans do this naturally but you’d be amazed how many houses we go to where the beds aren’t made and there is dirty underwear around.”
For Alex Willcocks, who co-founded Burbeck Interiors with his brother Jack and prepares more than 150 homes a year for the market, decluttering means removing excess books, furniture, photographs and technology, as well as “Marmite” furnishings, artworks and all surface mess. Potential buyers must be able to see all four corners of the room and the walls. “All too often I see rooms taken up with enormous sofas and massive coffee tables with a rug that is too small – you need to make sure that everything is in proportion,” he says.
Also remove buggies and plastic toys, which immediately make a house look cluttered and unappealing. “There’s nothing more off putting for a childless couple than a house packed to bursting point with kid paraphernalia,” Warman agrees. “They want to see a home they can grow into, not what it might look like when they need to upsize.” Don’t be tempted to hide it all in your bedroom cupboards, he warns, as buyers have a habit of opening wardrobes and like to see a clear loft for their own possessions. If your cupboards are stuffed, rent a storage unit or borrow someone’s garage – otherwise buyers will start thinking the house is too small.
Houses are most attractive when they’re lived in – so fake it if it’s not, says Willcocks. Creating an atmosphere is crucial so you’ll need to hire accessories too, such as pot plants, lamps or soft furnishings to add layers of texture. If the living room still looks cold, choose a warmer paint colour such as Sang de Boeuf by Edward Bulmer. If you must go neutral, there’s Pearl Colour (also by Edward Bulmer).
Willcocks recommends studying the local demographic to work out what kind of person will buy your house and then dress the rooms with targeted artworks, soft furnishings and ornaments. “I don’t dress it for the 70 people who might view it but the one person who will instantly relate to it and pay the money we want, which means making it feel individual rather than generic and in line with the taste of the buyer demographic,” he says.
More often than not, the buyer is a few steps behind you in life, explains Warman, so you need to get into their mindset. He recently staged a home that attracted no bids during six months on the market; after sending the seller’s possessions to storage and dressing it from scratch for a younger demographic, it sold within a week of relaunching.
Buyers make up their minds about a house within 20 to 30 seconds of seeing it, so go hard on kerb appeal, says Willcocks. Clean your windows, jet wash paths and terraces, plant up some pots and ideally give your front door a fresh coat of paint. “It’s a cost effective way to dramatically improve the look of the front of your house,” he explains. “Fresh, clean colours are popular at the moment: Studio Green by Farrow & Ball is a personal favourite along with Dark Wine.”
Inside, make sure that post is picked up from the doormat and the hall is tidy and fresh – invest in a diffuser if it’s not. If you’re planning on repainting just one or two areas, prioritise the hall as buyers see it first and go for a calm, warm shade such as pink or oak apple.
Sort these things out before marketing, says Schneiderman. “You might have lived with it for five years and know it isn’t a big problem but the buyer doesn’t,” he says. “There’s a danger if you repaint one room, you’ll make the rest of the place look tired, but strategic touch-ups can enhance desirability,” he says.Bedroom
That said, any serious remedial work that needs doing can be reflected in the price – you’re just freshening up, Warman continues. He recently sold a maisonette in Belgravia in just two weeks, which had sat on the market with a different agency empty and unfurnished for 18 months. “I advised the owner to repaint her magnolia walls with a warmer colour, replace the threadbare carpets and rent some furniture and buyers stopped thinking, ‘This place is knackered’, and instead saw it as perfectly liveable,” he explains.
The old baking bread trick to entice buyers is not worth the risk, Schneiderman says, and it’s the same for freshly brewed coffee. What if your buyers don’t like the smell? Avoid any cooking before viewings no matter how hungry you are. “I’ve been to viewings at 6pm and the owners are making a curry, which can be a total turn off,” he says.
Amid all your decluttering, don’t make the kitchen look too sparse and clinical, says designer Venetia Rudebeck, who co-founded Studio Vero. She suggests introducing some art and fabrics to make it feel like a colourful living space even if it’s small.
“It gives the room interest beyond the functional,” she says. “You want people to envisage it as an entertaining area where they’ll socialise with family and friends while they’re cooking.”
No one wants to see your toothbrushes, razors, soaps and make-up, says Natalie Fernbach of Cullum Design, a home stylist and interior designer. She suggests displaying a classy hand soap and shampoo, and putting everything else in the cupboard (or bin), immediately making the space feel calmer and larger. Scrub off limescale and mould before viewings, and cover boring plain walls with some pictures. “Calm artworks lift a bathroom but avoid anything garish or niche,” Willcocks says. If the space smells musty or damp, add a diffuser. He recommends Cochine and Sand Lizard, which are long-lasting and effective without being overbearing.
Upgrading your bedding will bring immediate uniformity and luxuriousness to the room, and you can use your new bedding in your next house. “If your linen is a bit grey and old, you don’t have to go and spend thousands on thread counts, but replacing it with crisp, white linen immediately neutralises a room,” he explains.
He suggests adding tonal throws and a couple of cushions for a warm, moody feel. “We always add headboards too – nothing sets off a room like a headboard, and again you can take them with you when you leave. We’re into colour-maxing bedrooms at the moment; dark wine colours on headboards and walls make the room feel cosy yet sophisticated.”
You’re missing a trick if your garden, roof terrace or patio looks like the place you let out your dog, Willcocks says. Since the pandemic, buyers are more obsessed with outside spaces than ever and like to think of the garden as a potential living room. “Replicate the warmth and cosiness of the interior with a seating area with pots and a firepit. Potential buyers will imagine themselves out there with their friends.”
If you have entrance gates, open them when you have a viewing, Schneiderman says. If you have off-street parking, move your car so potential buyers can park their own car. “Buyers don’t want to trawl around looking for somewhere to park; if you’ve got a parking space, sell the fact you’ve got it.” Inside the house, turn on the heating if it’s chilly, open up sliding or bifold doors, switch on lights and extractors in dingy bathrooms, and let some fresh air through your upstairs windows.
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