Please critique my house

[nosupermum]

Our property has been on the market 1 week and we have had 1 viewing. They were people that had just sold with the same agent so were told as soon as we had approved the details. They said they liked it but the garden was a bit too small and they weren't keen on the 3rd bedroom being on a separate storey from the main 2 and the little nursery/study room.

I think it is on for a reasonable price. The market is fairly slow here- smaller houses are moving fairly quickly but all the bigger things that we have been looking at are quite stagnant. I suppose we are a bit in between the 2.

Is there anything drastically obvious you can see? It is going to kill me keeping this place quickly presentable with 3 DC under 6 years old if we need to do this for months

I will chat to the agent at the end of the week for feedback but have just braced myself to post here meantime...

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-28287324.html

[AnythingNotEverything]

I think it's nicely presented and looks spacious.

That's probably not much help!

The only thing that jarred with me was the position of the cream sofa - it looks abut odd tucked in that alcove.

[macskater]

Looking good, excellent first impressions of exterior. Lovely clean and tidy interior.
Only issue I would have is that sitting room furniture is a bit oddly arranged (pictures 3 and 4) and I would want to see if/how that could be improved.
Somebody will be delighted to have the chance to buy this house.

[HormonalHousewife]

looks fine to me.

Is there any parking spaces that could be mentioned ?

Is your hanging basket a particular selling point though ?

[Yama]

Get the agent to come back and take a photo of the garden on the next sunny day. Blue sky will look much better.

Otherwise - all fine. A nice house.

[magimedi]

Looks lovely, but I agree with the sofa looking odd.

Also, the picture 13 - the dining room - it looks almost too empty - could you put a bowl of oranges or some flowers on the table to give a splash of colour.

And I'd dump the hanging basket picture!

[eggyhead]

It's looks like a nice clean blank canvas but a bit soulless and cool (not quite cold!). A few big vases of flowers and some plants dotted around would look nice. I would also invest in a few more plump cushions and throws to cosy it up a bit.

I agree with Anything on the position of the sofa. The blank chimney breast looks a bit odd too.

You say it is reasonably priced but how many estate agents did you get in? I would say four then eliminate the top and bottom estimates and go for an average of the middle two. If you want to sell quickly then you need to be really realistic on price. Better to be realistic and get a few people after it. I think you'd achieve a better sale price this way.

[eggyhead]

Meant to add, it has only been a week so I wouldn't start worrying yet...

[Grotbagstwin]

I agree the position of the sofa looks odd, could you move the chair next to the sofa then move the cream one out a bit?
It looks lovely, I would happily live there, shocked how clear it looks with kids living there!

[CoTananat]

It's a nice house, OP, but I would swap your sitting room and dining room. Your furniture doesn't fit in your sitting room, it's squished behind a wall. It makes the whole house look cramped.

If you put your dining table coming out from that blank chimney breast, with chairs around, and then move your sofas to face each other across from that fireplace, your rooms will look miles bigger.

[KnittingAndCleaning]

It looks lovely.

I imagine you won't want to do this. The problem with the garden is you should have paved the whole place or had it all as lawn, the half/half effect is not helping matters.

[YDdraigGoch]

It's a nice house - but where is all your stuff? It looks as if you've already moved out. Could you make it look as if two adults and 3 children actually live there?

Agree about the sofa, and the way the TV is angled.

[TiddlerTiddler]

My god, you actually live there with 3 kids??? Is all your stuff in a shed hiding out the back??? Am off to tidy up my house now!!!!

[macskater]

...just a quick thought. Would it be possible to swop sitting and dining rooms around? Dining room looks more spacious as it stands, with more scope for arranging sofas cosily and it might be nice to eat by the patio doors.

[MerryMarigold]

Kitchen is lovely and so is bathroom.

Yes, I was going to mention the hanging basket picture - v odd indeed! And the sofa into the alcove just makes it look like there's not enough space for it. Also agree with a few flowers and plants to make it look a bit more characterful and warmer.

It's immaculate and spacious, but yes, perhaps it could look a bit more lived in.

I'm not sure what the little nursery/ study room the people looking round are thinking about. The pink room looks quite big.

Is it possible to make the loft room the master bedroom? Then it makes sense that it's a bit 'away' from the rest?

Personally I would also put the dining area by the patio doors and the sitting room area in the bay window (where you may have more room to accomodate sofa). It feels odd to me to have it the other way around.

[MerryMarigold]

x post macskater!

[treaclesoda]

its lovely, but the only thing I would say is that its so decluttered and depersonalised that it makes me feel that it just doesn't look quite homely enough? I know you need to let the viewer imagine themselves there but maybe a few more pictures or artwork or something? Within reason, of course.

[Owllady]

iot looks lovely
my god I wish my house was that tidy1

I agree though re. sunny day photos of outside, and also with the dining room/living room swap round. You have a fireplace in the back room. It's winter, people want to imagine sitting round a warm fire all cosy

[Norudeshitrequired]

I agree with what others have said about the position of the beige sofa. The whole of the furniture arrangement in that room is a little odd, the tv stand is huge and the single chair is unnecessary. It looks a little soulless, I think it would be better presented and more homely looking if it had a rug or coffee table and just the two sofas.
The whole house is a bit plain and beige; some colourful prints on the walls or patterned curtains might make it look a bit more interesting and homely.
I do like the house though and it's very clean and well presented. I especially like the kitchen.

[macskater]

ahahaha, great minds MerryMarigold!

[FriendlyElephant]

I don't know much about selling houses but I live close to you :)

Agree about the sofa looking odd, maybe just move it out a little so it'a not tucked into the alcove.

[H2OWoe]

FANTASTIC presentation. A really nice house, marred only by the easily-fixed layout of the sofas and chairs. The current layout really doesn't work and looks very awkward. The suggestion to swap sitting room and dining room around will fix this right away. And it's free to do!

The mix of garden lawn & paving is fine too. (Sorry Knitting - but a fully paved garden would look ghastly).

So, so, so well presented, it really is a credit to you, OP.

[MrsCakesPremonition]

It's only been for sale for a short while.
You seem to have a lot of blank walls where I'd expect there to be some sort of feature, a fireplace, mirror or picture. So your sitting room furniture is clustered around a non existent fireplace, but the lovely fireplace in the dining room is cunningly hidden behind the table.

And because it looks quite empty/blank canvas, it makes me wondered where you've stored all your belongings/toys and I'd assume that there isn't anywhere to keep stuff.

I don't think that this is a big problem though, as it is a lovely house and once you get some viewings people will make their own plans on how to use the space.