How to make your home universally appealing before you sell it

When you own a home, it's a natural process to add personal touches to the space. It's how you customise your home, and make it feel more welcoming. However, while it may be just perfect for your needs and your design tastes, it's not going to be the case for everyone. If you're getting ready to sell your home, it's important to step into the shoes of potential buyers and view your home the way they would.If you're ready to make your home more universally appealing to buyers before you list it, here are five tips you can use.

1. Tone Down the Colour Palette

A colour palette is a very personal choice in the home. There's no doubt you picked colours that spoke to you, worked with your furniture and created the kind of space that you love. Well, this is also the first instance of needing to step out of your head and see it from the eyes of others. It may be necessary for you to tone down the colour palette and opt for something more neutral, elegant and understated.

If you're prepared to paint every room and want to be sure you choose a universally appealing colour, here are some great options:

Soft grey with touches of bold grey
White
Off-White
Beige
Taupe
Neutral soft green (ideal in kitchens and bedrooms)
Neutral soft blue (this works best for the bathroom and kitchen)

As you can see by this list, you can still choose a colour; you just want to be sure it is neutral and soft so as not to distract from the home itself. This also allows potential buyers to picture their furniture and decor in the space.

2. Hang Artwork that Gives the Space Character

Chances are you don't want to spend a fortune on decor before you list your home, but at the same time, you need to be sure that the items you do have displayed aren't personal and will appeal to the masses. Hanging artwork is a wonderful way to give a home character and help potential homeowners picture themselves in the space.

One budget-friendly option is to print photos that you can frame and hang. When you print photos, you have full control over the images that will be displayed, making sure they work with the overall look and design of the space. Simply snap some photos that you think would work on the wall and then use a service like Photobox for your picture print needs. Printed photos can look very eye-catching in a space, and you can even create a picture wall. With Photobox you can choose from different sizes too, which allow you to customise the results.

When choosing which photos to use as part of the artwork, you want to be sure there are no family photos. The images should have something interesting about them, and they should be of good quality. Also, don't be afraid to use different frames for each.

3. It's Time for a Massive Declutter

Another tip is to do a massive declutter of the entire home. Even if you don't think you've got a lot to get rid of, it's still important to take this step. The less clutter your home has, the larger and more modern it will feel. It may not necessarily be cluttered, but you probably have a few things that need to be thrown out, given away or stored away. In this case, you can look into a temporary storage solution so that you can store those items until you move into your new space.

4. Enhance Natural Lighting throughout the House

Buyers tend to respond well to homes that have plenty of natural light, so this is something you want to be mindful of and look for ways to increase the amount of light in the home. This may require you to move around some pieces of furniture that may be blocking a window, even partially, and remove any heavy and dated window coverings. You can then take it another step further and give all the windows a really good cleaning so that they look fresh and new.

5. Allow the House to "Air Out"

This final tip will appeal to the sense of smell. When potential buyers walk into your home, the space should look, feel, and smell fresh. Giving the home time to air out with the windows open can do wonders.For those with pets or other issues that may cause odour to linger, you may need to take a few extra steps such as:

Steam-cleaning carpets
Using portable air purifiers and fans to help circulate the air
Using a dehumidifier to get rid of the damp smell

As you can see, these simple steps will help to make your home more universally appealing to buyers. Combine these with professional staging, and the house will sell extremely fast.

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