Please can someone tell me why my flat isn't selling?!

[Puffykins]

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-84873916.html

Price-wise, it's appropriate - even cheap - for the area. I know that it hasn't got it's own garden, but there is a huge communal garden which, in central-ish London, I'd argue is better than a tiny garden.

Admittedly I don't like the estate agents pictures much. It's really light in real life, but they always seem obsessed with turning on all the lights.

Anyway, any tips would be hugely appreciated. Thank you!

Actually “high end” - hate that term - minimalist palaces and those at the other end of the scale have one thing in common: they have not evolved naturally. And it shows.

Als, by being so contemptuous about the tastes of incoming buyers, you’re also illustrating exactly why the OP hasn’t found a buyer.

Those who do not see this beautiful flat for what it truly is, must gravitate naturally to the Next school of interior design: a surfeit of grey, bought-in wooden floors, puffy leather sofas, an absence of books, prints as opposed to art and matchy matchy to the nth degree.

I disagree. You can appreciate the style and presentation of the OPs flat and still think it's too cluttered. Piles of books, unhung wall art and desks / sides cluttered with objects just screams no storage space to potential buyers.

I think the flat is lovely (must make more of an effort to get rid of grey, wooden floors and puffy leather sofas ...)

I haven't read the whole thread - 23 pages! - but I love your home, on the inside. It's the absolute antithesis of operating theatre-style kitchens (body on the marble slab of a kitchen island..) and grey, grey, grey everywhere, as well as all that bland "Live! Laugh!" slogan shit.

It's warm, colourful, homely, individual - I would feel really comfortable there.

I just don't like the outside - sorry. But I hope you manage to sell it soon.

[quote inchyra]@Janegrey333 I know you’re trying to support the OP, but you’re actually being quite reductive in your thinking. Nobody with half a million quid to spend on a 2 bed flat is going to be shopping at Dunelm or painting every surface shiny grey.[/quote]
I’m addressing my concerns to some - even the majority - of posters to this thread. Next seems to b m e to be their obvious port of call.

Next seems to b m e to be

Next seems, to me, to be...

In many parts of London this look is not even quirky, it's aspirational. The are any number of people (with money) who actively want to live somewhere which looks like this.

Just because many styleless modern developments are sold as 'executive' homes it really doesn't mean that people with money actually live like that in real life. The 'executive' homes in your provincial area are being marketed that way to appeal to you, the people who shop in Next but try to create the impression it's high style. Take a look at how people with style do actually live.

I looked at the link to the other flat in your block and it looks tiny and dull. There is the absolute minimum of furniture in it and it looks small.
Yet the OP's flat - full of stylish objects looks much larger. It says "look how many possessions you can have even though you live in a central London flat".

If your husband is the driving force behind trying to sell the flat, he needs to accept putting his excess pictures and animal heads in clean dry storage.

I look at all the books and pictures in your children's bedroom and think "this is a house filled with love "

[quote inchyra]@Janegrey333 I know you’re trying to support the OP, but you’re actually being quite reductive in your thinking. Nobody with half a million quid to spend on a 2 bed flat is going to be shopping at Dunelm or painting every surface shiny grey.[/quote]
Silly comment. Half a million is nothing. All the three bed semis near me cost more than that and they're full of people who shop at dunelm! In fact my house is worth that and its full of homeware stuff from dunelm and b&m.

Nobody with half a million quid to spend on a 2 bed flat is going to be shopping at Dunelm or painting every surface shiny grey.

I actually love the flat although I can understand why it doesn't appeal to everyone.

But this statement strikes me as strange. Having half a million quid to spend on a flat doesn't mean that you are interested in interior design, or have 'good taste' (which is obviously subjective). It just means you have half a million quid at your disposal, nothing more and nothing less.

I'd say it's because the outside is hideous. I love the decor, am a bit obsessed with it tbh, but I wouldn't buy because of the block.

And I live in London so understand pricing and what's usual here. I'd probably choose a more attractive place in south London tbh.

It's the absolute antithesis of operating theatre-style kitchens (body on the marble slab of a kitchen island..) and grey, grey, grey everywhere, as well as all that bland "Live! Laugh!" slogan shit.

Yes.

This rule makes no judgment on the OPs style or decor, it’s not about her or her home, it’s about the general psychology of potential buyers.*

This is so not true. Maybe true of the psychology of a buyer who hasn't seen many interiors before. There is no such thing as 'general psychology' of a buyer.

By the way, I love the flat...it's beautiful. What would really really put me off is having a bedroom which opens out onto the balcony.

I have shedloads of books, original art, antiques and textiles and buy home stuff I like from all sorts of places, auctions, eBay, Etsy, charity shops, car boots, Dunelm, Asda, small independents and things that friends and family are trying to get rid of AKA taking to the tip!

I think you either like styling stuff in your home or see it as clutter, not related to how much you spend on buying your home!

@martysouth

* This rule makes no judgment on the OPs style or decor, it’s not about her or her home, it’s about the general psychology of potential buyers.*

This is so not true. Maybe true of the psychology of a buyer who hasn't seen many interiors before. There is no such thing as 'general psychology' of a buyer.

It’s a general rule. The point of generalisations is they’re not universally true...

If you want to sell quickly you need to appeal to as wide a range of people as possible. That’s just the way it is.

Again, I love the interior and the decor. If I was looking to buy in the area this flat would be right up my street and nothing about it would put me off (except maybe the exterior of the building and possibly the area, but I can’t say for certain because I don’t live in London and I don’t know that area), but I’m not one of the people viewing it and most people wouldn’t see it the way I do. Like I said, if OP isn’t worried about selling quickly she doesn’t need to change anything - at some point someone will come along who loves it, appreciates it and wants to buy it. But selling quickly requires a different approach.

I love your style and it looks like a large flat, but it's very hard to see the bones of it and get a feel of the space and layout. Get rid of the piles of books and stacks of pictures everywhere. Put it in storage. It doesn't have to be completely empty, just pared back a bit.
Definitely finish off the kitchen, maybe get rid of the bookcase in there as well, it will look and feel a lot wider.
I love all the artwork on the walls, but many people struggle to see past the decor. You may have to thin that down as well. Just remember - it's not permanent and you can put it all up in your new home!

[quote inchyra]@Janegrey333 I know you’re trying to support the OP, but you’re actually being quite reductive in your thinking. Nobody with half a million quid to spend on a 2 bed flat is going to be shopping at Dunelm or painting every surface shiny grey.[/quote]
@Janegrey333 you come across as a snob. People who prefer less clutter are cultural philistines and have no imagination in your eyes.

You are missing the point that while the styling of the flat is lovely it is the excess stuff that has no home that screams out lack of storage to potential buyers.

To all those saying "But the flat is lovely! Bland interiors are awful!" - the flat is not selling. Do you see? Not. Selling.

When is the last time you saw a property advert in a glossy magazine, or newspaper supplement, where the property was this cluttered and personal? That's right, never. And there's a reason for that.

I absolutely don’t agree with some pp that you need to make everything minimalist and neutral. The overall style is fab and will appeal to many buyers especially N/W London buyers. In fact for me the style helps soften the brutalist architecture and shows you can have character and features in a modern flat. Keep the style, just needs waaaay less stuff piled up everywhere. You want to be able to see clear surfaces and large floor spaces.

Is there a view from the balcony? If so then the photo should be of that. The current balcony photo seems to be taken from knee height

Finish the kitchen tiling and take the artwork off the walls. As a buyer I'd want to know whether or not I have to factor in plastering and I'd be worried that the pictures were hiding problems with the walls - mould, holes etc

And I think the bathroom will be too polarizing so paint over the mural

Those who do not see this beautiful flat for what it truly is, must gravitate naturally to the Next school of interior design: a surfeit of grey, bought-in wooden floors, puffy leather sofas, an absence of books, prints as opposed to art and matchy matchy to the nth degree

Well no, I live in an old listed building with exposed original oak floor boards, Chesterfield style fabric sofas, lots of original art on the walls, rugs on the floors, some funky wallpaper in keeping with the property, books on several surfaces, no grey anywhere, it’s predominantly muted shades of green, and many antiques dotted around. There is nothing from dunelm or next.

However that doesn’t mean I don’t think the ops is overly cluttered, with books on every surface inc the bed, so much art it’s just sitting on the floor, no kitchen work surface visible, etc.

The op is trying to sell it. The approach of “it’s fabulous and I’ll attack anyone who says otherwise “ isn’t going to help her shift it.