To move or not to move? That is the question!

I have been a little distracted of late. Some while back I had a burning desire to sell up and move house. In fact, I am pretty sure our families are probably fed up by now about hearing of our plans to move and where we would like to move to. I think so far this has included the north, south, east and west of the UK!

The decision to move is not an easy one. If it is thrust upon you, perhaps because of a job relocation or something like that, then the decision is out of your hands to a degree. Our situation is slightly less clear cut. Work plays a big part but on top of that we have to juggle schooling for two young children, for both now and for a couple of years on when one moves up to senior school. There is family to consider. There are friends to consider. There is budget to consider. All of a sudden a house move becomes akin to spinning several plates in the air at the same time!

Oh! the sleepless nights! Do we or don't we?

Well. The house is on the market so hopefully we are a step closer to a decision. As yet, we are undecided on where we will go...still working on balancing all the above factors!

Having made the decision to sell we set about getting the house ready. Below is a checklist of things to consider when getting your home ready to market.

1. Disassociate yourself with your home.

Tell yourself that your house is a product that you want to sell.
Don't look back, try to look forward and remind yourself on a regular basis the reasons you want to move. Whilst it's good to show a buyer how much you have loved living in your house, avoid convincing them not to buy!

2. De-personalise.

Pack up those personal photographs and family heirlooms. It's fine to have one or two photographs around but keep it to a minimum. Buyers find it hard to see past personal artifacts if the house is overloaded with them.

3. De-clutter.

Pack away knickknacks and generally store away 'stuff' that may have collected over time. Buyers need to be able to see the space your house has and this is almost impossible for most if the house is full of belongings on display.
If you are a collector, this is the time to put your collectibles into storage boxes. Again, it is fine to display the odd item....after all...a buyer might be equally put off by a house that doesn't look lived in....but if you are an avid collector of elephants or cats or porcelain dolls then I'm afraid you will need to put your own emotions aside and remove them from display!
The key to making your house attractive to someone else is to make the space as clear as possible so that the buyer is able to picture themselves and their own possessions in the house.

If, like us, you have children, try to tidy (them!) away any toys, books, games etc as much as possible. It's easier for people to imagine putting their children's toys in a room rather than trying to imagine it the other way round, if that makes sense. We have a room which the children play in and there is no mistaking that it is a 'family room' but I have tried to minimise the amount of stuff that we have in there for now. It was originally a dining room so I want to show that it still could be. On the other hand, I haven't got rid of all evidence that the children exist! It is a family home (or it could be) after all.

4. Tidy/re-arrange cupboards.

Buyers love to have a little snoop and therefore it is important that they don't open a cupboard door to check out storage potential only for a pile of clothes (or shoes in my case!) to fall on them! Cupboards crammed full of stuff also gives the impression that you are short on space.

5. Make minor repairs.

Have a look around and fix any little jobs that may need

completing. Tidy up paintwork, patch any holes, replace any worn seals around baths, showers etc. Ideally walls should be painted neutral colours. Again, this goes back to reminding yourself that your house it a product that you want to sell. Look from the buyer point of view rather from your own. You may love bright orange walls, but you can't assume that everyone who views will. Most people will want to make changes when they move into a new home but if they feel that they would need to make immediate changes and many of them, it may put them off. Neutral walls can easily be lived with whilst a buyer considers what jobs are priority. Neutral colours also show off the size and potential of rooms far better.

6. Make the house sparkle.

Wash windows, clean out cobwebs, wash floors, wipe door handles. All fairly obvious jobs really. Can be a bit of a thankless task when you have small children!!

Put fresh towels out in bathrooms, make sure your beds are all perfectly made. I'm always slightly surprised when I see pictures on the internet of houses for sale and the beds look like they haven't been made! Invest in a bottle of room scent. Have a quick spray (Crabtree and Evelyn Nantucket Briar is my fave.) around (on soft furnishings, bedding etc) before viewings. On that note, avoid cooking anything spicy the night before a viewing, or even avoid completely whilst trying to sell. No one wants to be knocked out with curry fumes as they walk through the front door!

7. Check curb appeal

Step outside and take a good look at your house and imagine that you are a viewer pulling up for the first time.

Mow lawned areas. Tidy up the garden. Make sure window frames front door are tidy. Paint if necessary. Plant some tubs to go by the door or along the drive. Apparently yellow evokes a buying emotion so go for yellow!

 

8. Think of questions a buyer may ask prior to viewings.

Have as much information to hand as possible. Think about local schooling if your viewers have a family. Work out your answer to why you are moving. Obviously avoid giving reasons such as needing more space or garden not big enough! Don't alert your viewer to any negatives! If there are any obvious negative factors, try and think of solutions to offer if you are put on the spot....had we been staying we would have.....

If you have had alterations or work done on your house, make sure that you have any relevant paperwork and mention it if alterations are asked about.

If you can do all of these things...none of which require a huge amount of expense, then you will go a long way to giving your house its best chance of selling...obviously providing the price is right!

Anyway. Better go and hoover, dust, flush, tidy, store and spray as we have another viewing in less than an hour!

I do like a nice front door!

This weekend has been all about tidying jobs both in the house and outside.

One job that has been staring me in the face every day for the past few months has been our front door. Now, I like a nice front door! I have yet to scrub my step....but I would imagine that during that era when it seemed the done thing to be on your hands and knees proudly scrubbing your front step, I would have been right in there! I become very agitated when there are leaves etc on the step. Sad, I know...but I can't take it back now. I tend to think that a tidy front door/step probably reflects what's going on behind the front door.....or possibly more the fact that an untidy frontage reflects what is going on behind the front door...

With a possible move in the pipeline we are starting to tick off those jobs that need re-visiting on a regular basis. I considered a complete change of colour for the front door, but on reflection (and on closer inspection) decided that this would involve completely stripping the door back and starting again. Alternatively I (well....my soldier ant husband!) could sand the areas that had cracked, fill and re-paint in the existing colour. (I did the painting!)

If we decide we are not going to move, I will most probably opt for an alternative colour and be forced to strip, if you know what I mean! For those of you with even a remote interest, the current colour is Farrow and Ball's Lichen No.19.(as seen below on my door.) It is slightly stronger in the flesh than shown below and does go well with the black framework and the white render. Perhaps next time I might be a tad braver though.

My friend, Beth, a fashion stylist, has a vibrant pinky front door. (pictured below). Whilst it wouldn't work on my house it is perfect for hers and definitely reflects both her personality and the feel of the house on the inside. I've also shown another of my fashionista friends, Dawn's front door.  Again, a very smart, stylish first impression and absolutely a taster of what you find behind the door. Heck. I sound like the door-reading equivalent of a tea-leaf reader now!

Anyway. I've added some of my favourite door images, including my neighbour's pretty chocolate box thatched cottage and, of course, probably the most famous door of all, to we Brits at least!

My door

Beth's snazzy door

Dawn's chic door

Maria's quintessentially English front door!

My new cleaner and an organised shoe cupboard.

I'm not normally one for posting pictures of my children on my blog but this made me smile so I have gone against my principals on this one occasion!

Meet my new cleaner! Aged 3 1/2. Nothing like a bit of hoovering in your socks and pants! As a reward for his help with the housework I said he could choose a dinner of his choice. I know to many this may not sound like much of a reward for a small child. Chocolate? Chips? Sausages? Oh no. He asked for "smoked salmon and scrambled egg on a lightly toasted bagel"!!

He has acquired a taste for smoked salmon and duck and orange pate of late! I think he will need to hoover more often if he thinks that will be a regular thing!

I finally finished the shoe cupboard I'd posted about. The result, as you can see from before and after, is an altogether more organised affair even though I slightly underestimated how many pairs of shoes and boots I have actually amassed over the years! I may need to extend the shelving upwards! I had intended to undergo a shoe cull when putting the shoes from boxes into new storage...but I only managed to part with one pair! I even convinced myself that my beautiful Dune wedding shoes could easily be professionally dyed and worn! Back in they went. Hopeless!

The Ikea shoe storage boxes are brilliant, for anyone who may want decent shoe storage. They are rigid enough to be stackable and at £9 for 4 boxes, pretty good value.

My next project was going to be ditching curtains for Roman blinds in living rooms and bedrooms, however, rather frustratingly, but unsurprising given our house is so old, no ready made blinds on the market are the right size for our frames and I'm not sure I want to stretch to made to measure! I may have to dust down the sewing machine.......



More wallpaper.....Laura Ashley this time.

Blimey, it's cold! Just when I think it is slightly spring-like and time to bring out a few springy clothes, the snow makes a re-appearance!

I quite like snow...but preferably on a mountain top where I can don skis and show off my complete lack of technical know how. Speed...yes. Daring...yes. Finesse, no! (I'm a pro when it comes to après-ski though.)

That's my kind of snow. Not this wispy, namby pamby stuff that just makes us all cold and miserable.

I had just put away my winter boots and unearthed some more spring-like footwear when back it came!

On the subject of footwear, I set about (with the help of my little wallpapering elf-husband..), sorting out my shoe cupboard. It was in a right old state. Cold, damp and dusty. Hubby fixed up the walls with a little filler and lined the finished walls with an insulating layer of polystyrene veneer paper (one wall is an exterior wall) before papering the walls with the decorative paper below. 

Though it is not finished, I thought I would post a picture of the beginnings of the transformation because I took a little browse around Laura Ashley, who seem to constantly have sales on, and found some pretty wallpaper to line the inside of the cupboard. (As you will be aware...this is my current obsession!) Much of the stock in LA is up to 50% off at the moment. All the wallpapers and decorating stock is 50% off so I paid £18 for a roll of this Summer Palace paper and half price for a tin of egg shell duck egg paint. The intention is to finish this cupboard with shelves and decent shoe storage. At the moment I have to fight my way through loads of boxes in order to find what I want. I spotted these shoe storage boxes (see below) in Ikea which should solve the problem of my early mornings spent rifling!



Worth popping along to Laura Ashley at the moment if you are wanting anything new or any relatively inexpensive paper to play with. Paper of this style would work equally well in a modern or traditional setting and comes in other colours. This particular one is duck egg. I know Laura Ashley is not to everyone's taste....but it is possible to find designs that are quite modern and during their sales it's good for a bargain.

Style from Sainsbury's!

I don't know about anyone else, but in my own home I tend to have various jobs on the go at once. Each one will get finished but it may take a little more time. I have bursts of enthusiasm and unfortunately my favourite tasks are the ones where I can see immediate or quick results!

My daughter's bedroom is a case in point. I blogged a while back about her transition from pink to blue. I still haven't completely nailed this job. For her birthday (9) we treated her to some Cath Kidston bedding, as pictured. It's duck egg, which wasn't the original plan as it is quite a tricky colour to match, but she loves it and I got it in the sale so double bonus! It is 'grown up' whilst still 'girly pretty' and it goes perfectly with her One Direction poster! (her words, not mine...though I can see what she means.)

The pink curtains in the background will go eventually. We then decided that as she reads a lot and, in theory, will be doing increasing amounts of homework (!!) that she needed some task lighting.

We established that she quite liked the whole anglepoise concept (slightly cajoled by myself!). I like the mix of a little bit of a modern edge against the pretty, country style. We very quickly established that, no, she could not have the original Anglepoise!  Design classics, yes....but way off budget! There was a white John Lewis version but it was quite small and a bit 'wimpy' looking! I also liked an in between version in chrome, but it was quite large and at £60, though not horrendously expensive, it was too expensive for our requirments.

Unable to make a decision we decided to search on and think about it for a while.

I popped into Sainsbury's today to buy some beetroot (I can't live without beetroot!) and stumbled upon this little beauty in the home section just as I was leaving with a basket full of stuff I didn't go in for! It is exactly what we were looking for. The right size....not too large but not skimpy looking. It cost £26 which compared very favourably to others I had considered. The wimpy version in JL was £25 and this one is much much nicer.

This purchase softened the blow of not being able to get my hands on a black faux fur gilet from Primark that I saw a stylist friend wearing! When it comes to clothing I always seem to get there too late! Completely sold out!

The finished article and the next project.

Finally finished the wardrobe. It's always the little faffy jobs at the end that take the time! We (the Royal 'we') lost the screws for the door hinges and so I had to raid the toolbox for some alternatives. 'We' sellotaped them together and put them somewhere safe! It's our age, you know. Happens all the time. Not one screw matches but the doors feel fairly secure! Don't think anyone will notice. I suspect they are hidden somewhere as my son is going through that phase of hiding things....money....car keys....wardrobe door keys....screws....

Next on my list of jobs is the shameful excuse for a shoe cupboard below. This is going to get a complete re-vamp. Not hard to see why! I've made a start by removing some of the boxes. They actually all fell on me when I opened the door to take this photo along with a section of the back wall!

Can I make a silk purse out of a sow's ear?

There are one or two (actually, many more!) little jobs that I've been wanting to tackle for ages. More pressing jobs have meant me putting them to one side. This weekend, fate was on my side!

Wardrobe space has become a bit of an issue in our house. I have to confess this is largely down to the fact that having recently taken up a part time job I have had to go out and buy a whole new work wardrobe having been a stay at home Mum with a very flexible work life for quite a while. I dumped most of my working wardrobe a few years back, only keeping the odd bit to drag out when needed. More regular work has meant more clothes. (Yay!) Oh. My husband, who happens to be reading over my shoulder, insists that I should also mention the "unnecessary" (his opinion...certainly not mine!) amount of shoes and boots spilling out of one of the cupboards! 

I set about looking online for a wardrobe which would have to go in one of the children's rooms. No room in ours. Blimey. Aren't wardrobes expensive? I checked out all the usuals...Ikea, Marks, BHS, JL, LA etc. etc. None of them had what I wanted really. Not for what I wanted to spend, at least. I confess I haven't got a clue when it comes to Ebay so that was not an option. Step forward my brother and sister in law.

As you know, they are moving house in the next couple of weeks and had in their current house, a wardrobe made by my Granddad in the 30's. Not what one would describe as a 'looker' but I can see the potential (the wardrobe, not my Granddad. I'm sure he was terribly handsome!), especially as it was free! On the positives, it is made of solid oak and rather more sturdy than the flimsy efforts I had been looking at. It also fits perfectly into the space.

On taking delivery of the wardrobe (pictured below in its raw state.) my husband got all excited and enthused about its potential......as firewood. How opportune, that with that cold snap out of the way and the promise of milder weather on the horizon, that we should start thinking about re-stocking the wood pile!!! 

Oh no no no.  It is so easy to transform an uninspiring piece of furniture into something more pleasing to the eye with little effort or expense. My husband is not convinced. He questioned why I would put time and effort into papering inside something? It was pointless responding, but I said it anyway... because I know it has been done and when I open the wardrobe I get a glimpse, if only a tiny one, of some pretty paper. Fell on deaf ears. This then reminded me of a quote by the designer potter Jonathan Adler in an article last week, when he said when it comes to decorating, 'the wife is always right, unless the husband is gay'!

Inspired by pictures of wardrobes with papered interiors I have set about transforming this ugly duckling into a beautiful swan! I will post the finished article in the next day or so before more wallpaper shopping for my shoe cupboard!

I spent £22 on a roll of John Lewis wallpaper ('Cowslip') and have made a start on papering the inside of the wardrobe. Over the next few days I'm going to give it a lick of white eggshell on the outside and paper the inside of the doors, change the door handles and 'hey presto!' New wardrobe. See below, my start and some lovely images of papered wardrobes to inspire you. You could also paper in a recess or alcove...or a study/work area to differentiate between the rest of the room.

Cowslip paper £22 John Lewis