Present2Sell - By The Dart Sep 2009
Beautiful Bedrooms Boost Property Sales
Cure conflicts
Bedrooms are tricky spaces to design well because of their relatively high number of apparently opposing needs. Strong lighting for dressing and reading but also soft lighting for getting ready to sleep; closed storage for a wide variety of differently sized objects from gowns to books; window dressing that's flexible enough to meet our changing requirements throughout the day and night for sunlight and privacy. These are just a few of the areas that all claim equal priority.
We may tolerate less than ideal compromises when living in a place ourselves, but when it comes to selling our property, it's potential buyers who will be judging those compromises and if they're found wanting, you've either wasted the viewing opportunity or you've risked inviting a low offer.
Both of those scenarios can be avoided with an objective project-led approach, however.
Savvy storage
Getting the storage right, throughout the property, is key for two reasons. Firstly clutter is a definite no-no at this time and needs to be stored or removed. Secondly, crammed storage (and people will look!) suggests, not that you've got a lot of delightful belongings, but that you lack good storage space, so how will they get their stuff in? If you have the floorspace to create it, a walk-in wardrobe like this one from minimo.co.uk., is the sort of huge selling point that en-suite bathrooms were last century. If not, see if you can copy some of their solutions in your existing wardrobe space by inserting an extra rail, a small chest of drawers, rail-hung shoe storage etc. If your wardrobes don't reach the ceiling, it's okay to put things on top, but only in boxes that are attractive enough to resemble a display.
Around the headboard can be a useful storage area for smaller items, books, photographs, lighting, jewellery cases etc, as in this arrangement of shelves and cabinets from habitat.co.uk.
Under-bed storage is fine if hidden behind a crisp valance that skims the floor, but keep the surfaces of chests and dressing tables clear except for small accent-colour collections.
Dark Evenings Advantage
The season's darker evenings are a good chance to demonstrate to potential buyers that you've got the lighting problem covered by creating the right ambience with a well-planned lighting scheme. Ideally, ceiling lights should be dimmable, and as well as task lights for reading in bed, seeing inside the wardrobes and checking yourself in the mirror, add a couple of slender lamp-stands with well-matched shades on those clear surfaces.
For daylight viewings, you'll need to show you've struck the right balance between privacy and allowing daylight into the bedroom. The best solutions involve at least two systems. For example, Roman blinds with voiles; Venetian blinds with sliding panels; fabric-covered shutters with curtains, or combinations thereof. My favourite mix for good light with privacy is full height wooden shutters that have the facility to close upper or lower halves, teamed with lined curtains for extra insulation in the winter and to avoid being woken at 4.30 am in the summer. Your choice will be determined by the particular context of each window (what overlooks it, how insulating it is, the direction it faces etc) and of course your aesthetic and functional preferences.
Chances are, if you get these aspects working well and looking great in your bedroom, you may well have second thoughts about moving... you'll definitely know how to get it right in your next house though!
