Here's my house. How can I make it more viewer-friendly!

[HouseyMouse]

Apologies, I'm very new to Mumsnet so I'm not sure if this is the done thing, but here is my house which I've just put on the market.

The kitchen's dated, but we can't afford to update it as we've just replaced the windows (no money left!).

What could we do to make it more viewer-friendly?

Thanks.
P.S. I'm not at all proud of it, so any "Yuck" and "That's awful!" replies are most welcome! :)

[SummerRain]

The only thing that I disliked was the master bedroom as it's too white and washed out for my tastes. A few splashes of colour in there would go a long way. It's a lovely house though and that garden is great.

The front of the house could maybe use some flowers or small trees in pots just to break it up a bit as the garage area is a bit bleak looking and doesn't really warm the heart on first sight.

[LCarbury]

I think it's lovely! Are you struggling to sell or have you just put it on the market? For viewings, you could if you really want to

• put a few more flower pots out the front, I can't see the hanging basket very well in the photo but assume it has got actual flowers in (i.e. not dead plants)
  
• put a bunch of flowers on the coffee table and maybe move the child's table elsewhere to show off floor space better
  
• put a bowl of oranges in the kitchen
  
• bunch of flowers on the dining table
  
• straighten your daughter's covers / put a bedspread over her little bed
  

That's literally all I can think of.

[SouthGoingZax]

Maybe paint or re-stain the fence behind the parking as it looks a bit tatty?

[LCarbury]

You might also want to look at some of that foliage over the front door - is it overhanging as much as it looks in the photo?

[brokenmarrow]

I think the kitchen looks fine apart from the green tiles which wouldn't be enough to put me off buying what looks like a great house.

If you were really worried though you could try b&Q or somesuch diy place i think you can get little stick on tile patterns for v little, might help

[Awomancalledhorse]

I agree with everything said so far!
Could you declutter the shelves in the living room at all? Having everything 'stuffed' behind the sofa makes it look like it's very short on storage (even though it looks like a pretty decent sized house).

Good luck selling it!

[LIZS]

Too much furniture in lounge, perhaps lose kiddy table and coffee tabel and have a colourful rug , picture over fireplace doesn't really accent the room, curtians in dining room could be tied back. Agree master bedroom too bland (and cover looks a bit creased sorry), is the carpet marked in dc room ? Outside it could use some colour and perhaps paint the fence panels facing the road.

[ruddynorah]

Lovely garden! Living room looks like it has an odd shape. Can you push furniture forward rather than it being against the walls? Dining room looks dull. Can the table be centralised, cloth off, bowl of fruit or flowers on it instead? Your bedroom looks fine if a little clinical. Like the wardrobes then bathroom layout, if I'm looking at it right.

[HouseyMouse]

Thanks all, very much!

Yes, the bedroom does look washed out, doesn't it? I'm so annoyed about the duvets being creased! I can't believe I let them look like that!

I've put a couple of pots out at the front with some red flowers in, so I hope that will brighten things up. It does look bland otherwise, doesn't it? There are white flowers in the hanging basket, although they're not visible on the pics. Yes, the fence looks bad. I didn't realise until I saw the pics! There are some red robins growing there, but they're just small at the moment.

Yes, I will move her table out of the living room. It does look cluttered. It's a shame about the shelves too. Crammed, aren't they?!

We have a colourful, stripey rug in the living room, but the estate agent told us to move it, to make the most of the floor space. I think that was a mistake. Yep, the pic above the fire is dull, isn't it?

Will do re. oranges (great idea!) and flowers. I have them on the window sill in the living room and kitchen, but you can't see them in the pics.

There actually isn't anything hanging over the door, but it looks as though there is from the pic. I think all the green stuff could do with taming though!

Thanks again, everyone. Great tips - all taken onboard. :)

[HouseyMouse]

The living room's a rectangle so I think it's taken at an odd angle. I wonder if I should ask for another to be taken.

The dining room is dull! I'll tie back the curtains and buy some flowers for the table. It's a little (not much) larger than it looks in the pic. We have a piano in there too, but I suppose it's just a bad angle.

The floorplan's wrong - it's not flat-fronted and the front rooms are slightly larger than stated. I'm on it with the estate agents!

[HouseyMouse]

Oh, sorry, in reply about the carpet in my daughter's room, no it isn't marked but it certainly looks like it in the pic! I just ran upstairs to check. Weird!

[HouseyMouse]

Sorry, also forgot to say that we've only just put it on the market, so it's early days.

I think the asking price is on the high side, but we'll see.

[Ormirian]

I think it looks lovely but my house was comprehensively trashed by the MN property police so what do I know ?

Where are you moving?

[worldgonecrazy]

I would visit a few show houses, have a look at the tricks they use to make the interior of the house inviting and saleable, and see which you can apply at home. Look at things such as colours, number and type of ornaments, placement of furniture.

[HouseyMouse]

Thanks for the tips. I'll do that!

We're (hoping!) to move to Bristol so I'm going to find the area about schools on Mumsnet and ask questions there too. My daughter's due to start school next year.

Thanks again everyone. I love this site!

[lels99]

I think the house and back garden looks lovely, its just the first picture of the house that looks a bit dull. Definitely think you need a few more pots out front :) Goodluck

[CaptainNancy]

I think it's a great family home- fantastic garden for small children.

Bland is good as it lets people imagine what they do with the place themselves. I do think the photos aren't fantastic as some seem slightly blurry or over-exposed, and they dont show off the space and flow of the house nicely. Is it possible to redo the photos yourselves at all, maybe taking more than 1 shot of the main rooms so people browsing can get a better feel- eg a shot of living room looking out on the garden?

Is all that parking yours? Maybe it would be better to put your (?) car either in the space next to the house (by the lampost) or completely out of the picture... don't know what others think. Usually cars are removed from the drive for photos, but I think it's helpful to purchasers to know you can actually fit a car on there.

Love the miffy pics

[Becaroooo]

Would cost v little and take v little time to re-tile the kitchen with more -ahem - pleasant ones!
Would also not cost much to replace the knobs on the units with more modern chrome/steel look ones? You can also buy paint to paint kitchen units too (my mum did this and it looks great)
Agree bedroom very antiseptic looking...could you just paint/paper one wall? That goes for the dining room and lounge too.
Lovely house and great garden!
Good luck x

[HouseyMouse]

Thanks again everyone. Yes all the parking is ours, so perhaps I should put another car on there.

Yes, I will see how much it will cost to sort out the tiles. They are awful, aren't they? I didn't really realise until I saw the pics!

Here are some revised pics which might be better, although the garden one is no good.

[CaptainNancy]

Ah now- those 2 of the sitting room and the kitchen are a vast improvement! Bedroom too actually...

[LIZS]

those are much better !

[Shitter]

take the table cloth off.

[aftereight]

Love the new kitchen and living room pics!
I think 2 big matching square pictures side by side above your bed, and some contemporary grey & accent colour bedding/cushions/runner on the bed itself? Matching curtains. You can take or eBay when you move.
And a big mirror over fireplace in living room instead of the small picture.
I love your garden!

[Ungratefulchild]

The revised pictures are much better but I think the original were fine. Your garden is lovely.

[ruddynorah]

Much better! Kitchen especially. Think the living room still needs work. Doesn't look cosy with everything against the walls.