How to sell your home by giving it a good tidy

Every house has them – those cluttered rooms or examples of bad taste that will cost you dearly when it comes time to sell.

So whether it’s replacing a conservatory or redecorating the space under the stairs, here’s what you can do about it…

The ‘naff’ conservatory

Usually with an abandoned exercise bike, litter boxes and heaps of laundry, nothing scares a viewer like a poorly maintained, cheap conservatory.

In fact, the House Buyer Bureau recently published a study showing that a ‘naff’ conservatory can take £15,000 off your home’s value.

The answer is to replace it, possibly with one of the Victorian style orangeries on the market, remember to install underfloor heating to keep the room warm in winter and put glass with a special low emissivity coating to let the heat in control the summer.

A boring home office

Covid is to blame for this. Since the pandemic made working from home “normal,” our spare rooms have turned into drab, utilitarian outposts of the office.

Don’t be shy: turn that room into a stylish mini library. Shabby chic is the most popular look, according to home improvement specialist Tradebase, so think burgundy walls and heavy rugs.

Place shelves from floor to ceiling, but don’t fill every shelf. Use free space for displaying family snaps and keepsakes – it’s the perfect spot for the old school photo.

Place a table with a laptop in the middle of the room and place your favorite comfy armchair next to a floor lamp in the corner. A library ladder will complete the whole look.

The tip under the stairs

It’s where the kids throw away their school bags, where golf clubs are forgotten or where the battered spare chairs for the dining table end up.

There’s no escaping it, in most homes ‘under the stairs’ is a bit of a tip. Still, the area doesn’t have to be.

Laura Gibson, 42, placed a bookshelf and cushioned chairs in the space under the stairs at her home in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, to create a cozy snug space she shares with her children, Teddy and Effie, and dog Rufus .

She even smashed a window into the wall to make sure there was enough light for reading.

“It’s so nice to sit here quietly with the rest of the family buzzing around me,” she says.

A poor fish pond

Nothing says boring suburbs louder than a goldfish pond.

Besides being boring, it can be dangerous for young children and is a constant source of stress.

Will the fish die if the pond freezes over during an icy period? Will a heron poach one?

Still, water adds sparkle to a garden, so what to do? Self-sufficient water features are the answer.

These take up little space, are easy to install and can be stored during the winter.

They can be solar powered or plugged into the grid, as long as you have an outdoor outlet nearby.

Some are easy to place, plug in and turn on – it’s that simple.

Prices vary, but you can buy a water feature for around £80.

They mask traffic noise, improve air quality and attract wildlife. That sure beats a suburban goldfish pond.

The tiny garage

Was there ever a more pointless addition to the family home than the integral garage?

According to a study by the Door and Hardware Federation, three-quarters of the garages in new homes are simply too small for modern cars.

And it is common knowledge that these structures – garages attached to a house – are used as storage.

So it’s best to turn them into something else: maybe a man cave, a dining room, or a playroom.

Joy Heath, 58, was inspired to convert her two-car garage by her visit to the Housebuilding and Renovation Show.

The result is a perfectly formed mini cinema.

Electricians installed the projector monitor and speakers; a window was blocked; special materials were used to dampen the sound; and platforms were built for the banks of authentic cinema seats.

There’s even a popcorn machine to spice up the silver screen experience. It cost Joy £50,000 but easily added so much to the value of the house.

‘More than that, it was great fun,’ says Joy, who lives in the Cotswolds. ‘Every six weeks my friends come over for a cinema and pizza night. The cinema has given my social life a new twist.’