Present2Sell - Devon Today Dec 2008

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Gifted Space

Dressing a home for Christmas when it's also on the market, can pose a challenge to home-sellers. It's more important than ever to de-clutter if you want to maximise this great opportunity for showing off your home as a place for celebration and festivity.

A couple of tricks to parting with your stuff:

  • box things up that you're undecided about keeping and put them away. Note in your diary to open the box in a couple of months; if you're still attached, enjoy keeping them. Chances are, you'll be ready to let them go.
  • re-frame the idea of loss into one of generous credit crunch chic. Things that feel valuable and are still in good condition can be repackaged into Christmas gifts. There's an enormous range of decorative boxes, baskets, gift bags, tissue papers with which to create a new and inviting context for a familiar ornament or toy or garment.

A woven basket filled with sizzle pack and wrapped in sparkly, decorative cellophane with a dazzling ribbon can give an air of glamour and intrigue to those bathroom goodies, fragrances and jewellery that have been taking up shelf space.

Transparent wrapping works well to show off unexpected combinations of old with new - one of your ceramic pieces with luscious bars of chocolate; a spruced-up photo frame with a caddy of specialist tea.

Do make room to store those less beautifully wrapped gifts out of sight - you want potential buyers to remember your space, not your stuff!