Please advise on styling my flat for sale

[LadyBiscuit]

I have been studying the John Lewis catalogue assiduously and read some online tips. But there are two things I'm not sure about and would like wise MNers to help me with.

The cat: if the weather is fine she spends most of her time outside. But she has a litter tray inside next to the loo. It's covered and it doesn't smell but would that put not cat owners off? She also has a bowl of dry food and water in the bathroom. If she is outside I can put the food out and the litter tray in the shed but is that a step too far?

The second bedroom: It is a double but I have it set up as a single because that's my DS's room. But he sleeps on stacked beds so I could unstack them so that it's obvious it's a double bedroom (the way his bed is arranged at the moment, you couldn't make it a double).

What should I do oh wise property gurus?

I'd hide the cat poo and food for starters.That would put me right off.

Lose cat stuff and yes to double. People have NO imagination.

Will it look a bit odd if a child (it's obviously a child's room - I have left his bookcase in there) has a double bed??

Thanks - I was thinking along the same lines but wanted to sense check that I wasn't being too anal (or making unnecessary effort)

Bump - small child in a double bed. Weird or no?

I would try and make it look as little like a child's bedroom as possible. Hide all toys, take down posters, make walls neutral - it's only until you sell it. I think it's rreally worth making a huge effort pre sale. Make the whole place look as neutral and empty as you can...

I have done the neutralising bit hullygully but he does have a bookshelf with his books on it. I have hidden all his toys (actually I have put all the big ones in storage and he doesn't seem to have noticed they have gone!)

Thanks all. I might get rid of his Ikea play rug too and put something plain down instead

yes, make it look like a double - people with a kid, will think, 'great, there's loads of space, even his/her toys will fit in here).

people without a kid will think it's big enough to rent out/do a flat share/have the in-laws staying in.

don't worry about the books on the shelf though.

thank you all. I shall go and get the other matress out of storage then and hide the cat in the shed

Annoyingly I ironed the nicest single duvet cover

I know a few children who have double beds, so it's not weird at all.

I have cats, and would hide bowls/litter trays for viewings as it does put people off. They need to be able to imagine themselves there, and if they don't have cats it could jar with that

Put another single in then it can be twin or double

I don't think it's big enough for another single - will look v cramped. It's a funny shaped room, really long and thin. But the beds can be pushed together or not so I will jiggle them about and see what they look like

If there's even a hint of cat smell, get it sorted. A cat is one thing and a lingering odour is another one completely.

I think a double bed is fine, but I really wouldnt hide your DS's things/toys, it a family hoem after all...

We hid the cat at sis-in-laws for week we had viewings. And stuck a febreze in a plug socket. If you don't have a cat, you notice the smell, the fur and if you're allergic, which a lot of people are and you start sneezing the minute you come through the door that's the end of your potential buyer.

I don't think it smells of cats - the cat is outside most of the time and I have wood floors throughout which are washed every week. But I shall ask people who don't have cats if it does. Does febreze smell obviously air freshener-y?

I wonder if my mum would look after the cat for a couple of weeks? I was going to put her in a cattery but her shots aren't up to date.

Hmm I may have to have the cat but just hide her stuff in the shed. I could always put her food bowls behind the shed and then no one would notice them

The one I got just smelt of nice fabric conditioner. Liquid plug in. Ludicrously expensive/enviro unfriendly I know...

Also, if your cat is like ours it will have an instinct for people who don't like them or are allergic to them and start rubbing itself against their legs.

in the US people go to great lengths to 'show' their homes, and then leave so that the realtor does the viewing. even so, many homes had a cat or dog in evidence, sometimes in a basket/cage, sometimes the animal wasn't there, but the bowls etc were.

if you think the cat will be out & you hide her litter, it should be fine - but every item that's on the floor does make it look a little more crowded.

THE most important bit of advice: get absolutely everything off the floor that you possibly can. Really. If the eye can see into the corners of a room it seems so much larger. So, basically, anything that isn't a large piece of furniture needs to go (bathroom scales, waste paper baskets, magazine racks, random piles, shoes, laundry baskets). Try it and see.

I have sold two houses very quickly, both times we had cats who were around when we had viewings etc.
I dont think you shoudl de-camp your cat when the house is on the market, what if you dont sell for months?
I also dont think that cats smell, if you have wooden floors which are mopped you should be fine.

I second bibbity, get absolutely everything out that you can. Lose all unnecessary bits and pieces from the floor, also try and get as many surfaces totally clear as possible - hid oil, cereal packets etc in kitchen cupboards, take ALL toiletries off sides of bath/sinks etc, make sure no books etc on windowsills.

Get the windows cleaned.
Don't cook fish, curry etc the day before if you think you have viewings coming in.
Keep a clean set of matching towels, and a tea towel, to put out on morning of viewings (sling used ones in washing basket or similar). A nice blanket/throw can cover up an unironed bed.
Hoovers, kids toys etc can be dumped in the car boot at the last minute!

I have filled a storage space 1/2 the size of a garage with our stuff including our huge sofa and bought a small one. I have packed up all the ornaments, taken all the personal pictures off the walls and put everything away in the kitchen that doesn't need to be on the counter (so microwave and kettle are on there and a glass fruit bowl with 'attractive' fruit

That is a good tip re waste paper baskets bibbity. I have got rid of tons of stuff but waste bins and a laundry basket are still on the floor in my room. I shall put them in the boot of the car! I'm hoping that I can get most viewing over and done with in a one day open house next Saturday which will make the dressing/stopping the DC from scribbling on the walls a bit easier.

Thanks so much for the tips - v useful.

I have a desk in my room with a very small filing cabinet next to it which I need to keep out. Shall I hide the printer and just leave the laptop on the desk? Or get rid of both and leave the surfaces clear?

Also (as I have your attention ) am I better off going with a local agent or a London-wide one? I was very keen on the London one but got a local agent round yesterday and I was very impressed. Go with my gut?