How to Make Your Home Look Like a Showhome

If you have ever viewed a showhome at a new development, chances are you will have been impressed with the space and layout of the property.

Lighting, colour and how the furniture is placed around the home are important, and there are some techniques you can use yourself to make your own home more desirable to potential buyers.

Staging your home means that buyers don’t need to use their own vision to imagine how it could look - you have done if for them to ensure it already looks at its very best. The designers who stage showhomes are experts at doing just that, and Michael Nettleton, sales and marketing director here at Nock Deighton, has some tips everyone can use to give their own property some showhome style to help achieve a sale.

"Make sure each room is defined - your buyers need to immediately see what each room is used for, so a dining room needs a table and spare bedrooms need beds, not boxes which can make them look cluttered.

"Think about lighting, and create different moods throughout the house. Kitchens look good nice and bright, and softer lighting works well in the bedrooms and living room.

"Be careful with your colours - some buyers just can’t get past a bright red living room or shocking pink bedroom, so try to keep colours subtle to appeal to most buyers.

"Make rooms feel as spacious as possible. Mirrors are useful to help make a room feel bigger, and try not to cram too much furniture into a small space.

"Remember that people look at your furniture, even though it won’t be part of the sale, so invest in new bedding if you can and buy new cushions to brighten up your sofa.

"Buyers also look at your decor, so pack your personal ornaments away and replace them with modern accessories which can really make a big difference to the feel of a room.

"Finally, try to remove any items that you wouldn’t see in a showhome. Put the dog bed in the shed when you have a viewing and tidy the children’s toys away - anything that might distract your buyer is a potential black mark against your property when they are comparing it to others they have viewed that day."

So there you have it, some showhome secrets which I hope will help push your property to the top of a buyer’s wish list!