From the outside it isn't a mess, but it hasn't got much curbside appeal. Can you do anything to make the front of the house more appealing from the road? Take a wander round the neighbourhood and look at similar homes that look wow from the street... you may find that some of the changes you could do aren't terribly expensive, for instance using paving paint to paint your steps, using mulch and a few shrubs to make a less sparse look, tarting up the door hardware or porch light. Find proven ideas, copy them. The angle shown in that photo makes it hard for me to give specific ideas.
The fireplace wall has too many small fripperies happening. The lamp in front of the poster is just wrong for that photo where it is. I'm not sure what that is behind the patterned sofa, but it looks cluttery in the photo. Consider hanging a half curtain over the window air-conditioner to hide it when not in use or during photos.
The kitchen? Paint it a kitcheny colour, make it welcoming as cheaply and easily as possible. Unless the wood is something very special, don't strip it, stripping and refinishing a kitchen takes ages to do right and paint may hide a multitude of old damage that has been filled with wood filler. When taking photos, try turning on the light under the oven hood if you have one, see if that looks cheerier.
What I think is the main bedroom... light please! Is what's outside the windows so dire you must keep the drapes drawn? If so, consider a second rod and sheers.
Borrow a friend's current-technology digital camera and take photo after photo. Study the photos. Make changes, go back take more photos.
The wood is actually a beautiful color, no wood filler and such, just the painting we did. Funny thing about the drapes in the master bedroom, we actually had them open and she closed them when taking pictures. This is what it looks like when opened (pay no mind to the insane way my hubs has the dang curtains or the work table as it is gone now and there is just the chair in that corner).
I appreciate all of the suggestions and I am going to work on most of them.
Ah. She was trying to reduce the sensation of the room being exposed to the road. If that's a three pane window, I'd consider (just for the photo at first, until you've worked out if it is worth adding a second rod or track to do it right) hanging the four curtain panels so they cover the framings at side and the two spots in the middle, then hanging three sets of sheers that let through light but not a lot of view between them... no tying back, just gathering the curtains on the rod so they take up not a lot of space. That way you get the look of a huge window (good) without emphasizing it is almost on the road and a potential entry to the house (bad for a bedroom).
I think that because real estate prices are so reasonable in your area, you aren't going to get a lot of realtor assistance, they rely upon having many small sales rather than a few sales they put a lot of effort into.
The fireplace wall has too many small fripperies happening. The lamp in front of the poster is just wrong for that photo where it is. I'm not sure what that is behind the patterned sofa, but it looks cluttery in the photo. Consider hanging a half curtain over the window air-conditioner to hide it when not in use or during photos.
The kitchen? Paint it a kitcheny colour, make it welcoming as cheaply and easily as possible. Unless the wood is something very special, don't strip it, stripping and refinishing a kitchen takes ages to do right and paint may hide a multitude of old damage that has been filled with wood filler. When taking photos, try turning on the light under the oven hood if you have one, see if that looks cheerier.
What I think is the main bedroom... light please! Is what's outside the windows so dire you must keep the drapes drawn? If so, consider a second rod and sheers.
Borrow a friend's current-technology digital camera and take photo after photo. Study the photos. Make changes, go back take more photos.
Reply
I appreciate all of the suggestions and I am going to work on most of them.
Reply
I think that because real estate prices are so reasonable in your area, you aren't going to get a lot of realtor assistance, they rely upon having many small sales rather than a few sales they put a lot of effort into.
May I suggest having a bit of a read of the forums at Gardenweb... particularly the real estate forum
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/realestate/
And the decorating forum
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/decor/
Both of those forums are good for examples of the sort of thinking you'll need to be doing.
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment