Renovating for resale in a few years

[Thegirlisnotright]

Looking at a full renovation project, on a very ugly 70s property. We plan to live there for a few years and then move on. How do you decide what decisions to make to ensure appeal to future buyers? Styles/colours of kitchen, bathroom, type of flooring, light fittings etc?

It is probably worth speaking to an agent to get their thoughts.
They'll have a pretty good idea what buyers find appealing and what they mentally mark down as needing replacement.

We are halfway through a refurb at the moment, and our decisions have largely been based on what more expensive houses than ours have got

The general trend in interiors is always towards a more high end look, so it starts with the very expensive houses and trickles down.

So looking at what high-end developers are doing in your area now should give you an idea of what everyone else will want to copy in a few years time. The key is to keep things at the more neutral end though, so no statement kitchens with bright cupboards, or wacky carpets

Personally I would do

wood floors
Neutral colours in most rooms
Consistent stuff - same classic taps in all bathrooms/kitchen for example
countertops/back splash/tile that aren't "statement" or on trend. For example, I think blue cupboards are in at the moment - would avoid.

What you want is something that when your stuff is taken out looks like a neutral backdrop for the next person.

Also no fashion stupidities - islands in small kitchens, dirt trap bowl sinks, plumbing you can't get at , skylights you can't clean and so on.

So what is neutral these days? Presumably grey is the new beige? Need to get looking at some interiors mags don’t I! And should I be putting down real wood floor, or something else?

Grey or off-white walls
Light oak floors
White metro tiles on a budget or pale travertine if you want to spend more
White gloss kitchen units or Simple shaker depending on the type of property
Berber carpets upstairs

Have a look on Rightmove, at houses that have been renovated for sale by development/building professionals. They almost uniformly have the same look - cream or beige walls and engineered wood floors, a neutral and sleek kitchen over tile, a neutral and sleek bathroom and a godawfully soulless low maintenance garden.

According to Elle Decoration this month, metro tiles are out and a new, longer and sleeker rectangle is in. (News to me).

Grey? How depressing!

White or magnolia. Cheaper too.

Oh yes - no decking, another stupid idea.

Magnolia is the work of the devil and 90% of buyers looking around a house will be making a mental note to immediately redecorate (and potentially lower their offer accordingly)

Grey doesn't mean battleship grey! Warm greys are lovely and light, and flatter lots of furniture schemes
Magnolia is just horribly dated

If you plan to live there a few years, have what YOU like, as you are going to have to live with it. I would think it is more important to make sure that electrics, plumbing, boiler are all up to date, and that everything works as it should. Good insulation too, loft, walls, modern windows. All these things, if not correct and functioning, are off putting if a purchaser feels they have to be fixed or replaced.
Spending money on kitchen and bathroom/s would not be wasted, but everything else is cosmetic.
-Bloody- grey may be out of fashion by the time you come to sell. (Here's hoping).

Just put up cheap neutral paint properly. Everyone wants to redecorate when they buy.

Miserable grey. Yuk.

How long is a few years ? I agree go for neutrals and high end, but depending on how long you will live there it may need redecorating again before you leave.

Have a look on right move recently sold houses on your road or similar to see how they have been renovated...it could give you some ideas!

3 years probably.. it will need everything doing (boiler, windows, doors, roof etc etc) so that’s a given.

Apart from that, choose neutral but not grey or magnolia- got it 😂
I see what you mean about paint though as long a season it’s not too much of a statement it probably doesn’t matter. I’ll make sure the kitchen and bathrooms are reasonably neutral and of good quality.
I favour scandi style so oak floors and white are not a problem.

Flooring, bathrooms and kitchens I would install classic and good quality that will stand the test of time.

No wall paper anywhere.

I would paint bedrooms neutral - but main kitchen, lounge, hall - do what you want and enjoy it interim. My thinking is that a fresh paint job in these main areas when you come to sell will make all the difference and make the place feel great. You can also then go with the "neutral" shade du jour.

Bedrooms would likely not need a repaint. But main areas get scuffed.

I don’t think special likes grey..

As long as bathrooms and kitchens (fixed) are pretty neutral I wouldn’t worry about the decorating, most people would want to change this anyway.

White is cheap.

A success ful and very stylish developer friend advises consistent finish ie tile or oak flooring throughout downstairs.and white walls which are easy to repaint/ spot paint. He uses touches of luxury such as velvet or silk curtains/ blinds which needn’t cost the earth. He also advises driving round the area and if possible visiting local properties to get a feel of what is desirable locally in terms of finish and amenities.
I totally agree with avoiding fashion ; this can be tricky though.... gloss units/ metro tiles/ elephant’s breath.... which will be the new decking?
Ps ! I hate bad taps or sinks so small that they are not fit for purpose.

I think the mistake people make with renovations is to put in something that is quite personal to them. What you want is the opposite - a blank canvas at which prospective tenants/buyers can project their own possessions and aspirations.

I personally like grey but I think it will date very quickly. That's OK on a wall - you can redecorate - but in a kitchen it may be a bit more of a PITA. My parents fitted a matt white and silver handled kitchen something like 30 years ago, and it still looks surprisingly modern considering its very advanced age (they really need to change it for wear now!). If I were doing up a property to sell or rent, it'd be a hard-wearing white every time. (In my own kitchen, I'm going for oak and grey, but with the idea that I may change the doors in 10 years or so).

It matters more that things like flooring and joinery are well fitted and finished than that a place looks 'trendy'.

We've just bought a place - white walls, wood floors, neutral kitchen, neutral bathroom! There were other things that made it stand out from the other places we viewed (namely parking - a rarity where we live, and an actual garden), but the fact that nothing needed ripping out to start again was very appealing.

good advice everyone- thank you.

Addding normal size basins to the list. I hate stupid waterfall or statement taps too- you always hit your head on them when you wash your face 😜
i won’t Wallpaper again after my kids destroyed the one patch of it in our current house by pulling the edges 😬
Where we are there’s lot of competition from new builds so i’ve been looking at them for ideas! Like the idea of a touch of luxury too 👍

If you are going to be living in it for several years, great portions are going to need redoing when you come to resell so I'd choose whatever colours I liked on the walls, for example, and plan to redecorate in whatever colours are fashionable before I went to market. Rather than worry about the kitchen doors, I'd want a great layout -- which might mean extending. A good quality shower would be worth spending money on at this stage.