It's all about looks

A decorator's touch can add thousands to the sale price of your home

Words: Steve Dow

It's a buyer's market, so you need the edge to sell your property. What are you going to do? Bake some bread to entice the bidders and put up lots of lovely family photographs to make the place look homely? If so, you may need professional help.

Six years ago, Tegan Grant, who was then a Neutral Bay real estate agent, noticed there were lots of hire companies from which you could choose furniture to temporarily give a house or apartment the designer touch, but a dearth of stylists to help you pick the decor.

So Grant started Furnish & Finish in Warriewood, servicing the northern beaches and central Sydney. From $1500 to $2500 for a one bedroom apartment to $10,000 for a luxury five-bedroom home, she will provide advice on furniture, cushions, tables, paintings, art pieces, bed and bathroom arrangements and outdoor furniture and plants and lend you all the items you need.

These items are moved in about a week before the property goes on the market to allow time for estate agents to photograph the property for marketing.

Grant estimates that styling your home will add 10 per cent on average to the sale price. She can quote examples where homes that had been left unsold for several months were snapped up within a week of adding her touch.

Most people hire contemporary pieces with clean lines, even those selling older properties. Grant favours statement pieces such as rolled towels or a bowl of shells in the bathroom. "One nice piece is best, rather than cluttering an area," she says.

Grant says sellers need to be objective and not be distracted by their emotional attachment to the property. She encourages people to hide personal effects, such as family photographs, out of sight. Stylish art can be garish and overused colours "can turn a buyer off."

Don't choose furniture or accessories that are too trendy or faddish. "You want it to be neutral without being bland, so you want just a hint of colour," she says.

Think about the age range of your target buyer, she says, but don't assume older people are less concerned with taste than younger buyers. Grant speaks to the real estate agent to find out what the target market of buyers might be and dresses the property accordingly.

Mood music - chilled CDs, classical and jazz - helps set an ambience. Once potential buyers are coming to inspect, owners should get well away from the property.

At the very least don't bake bread. Grant says people are wise to that trick. If you must think of aromas, there are delicate perfume sticks that are reasonably subtle.