How to Prepare your Home for Photographs

The time has come, and you’ve made the decision to put your property on the market. We all know that a picture tells a thousand words, and this is never truer than in property photographs. So how can you make sure that all eyes of potential buyers are drawn to your home? Read on…

• De-clutter – when you’re preparing your home for photographs, the first place to start is to have an utterly ruthless de-clutter. Throw away anything that hasn’t been used or worn in a year, and donate your kids’ toys to charity if they’ve just been gathering dust under the bed. Once this is done, you can tidy away the rest of your belongings into wardrobes, chest of drawers and desks.
• Scrub, scrub, and scrub again – there’s nothing more off putting to a potential viewer than seeing dirt or mould in a home photograph. Potential viewers want to imagine themselves in a fresh and clean home, plus seeing mould will make them worry of damp issues in the property. So, it’s time to don the Marigold gloves and scrub every inch of your home! Take special attention on skirting boards, sinks, baths and showers.
• Take the dog for a walk – you love your pets, but potential viewers might not! Whether due to allergies, phobias or just not being an animal-lover, don’t risk putting anyone off by having your animals, or their toys, beds or bowls, in any of the photographs.
• Keep it neutral – you need potential viewers to be able to imagine themselves living in your home, which can be tricky if the pictures are filled with thousands of photo canvasses and posters. Keep a couple of small personal photos out in hallways and living rooms, but clear bedroom walls of posters. This is particularly needed for teenagers’ bedrooms – whole walls dedicated to photos of their friends and favourite bands won’t help viewers imagine the room as their own!
• Use some show home touches – we’ve all seen those show home pictures which are nothing like a home that anyone lives in, but we can’t help but love the aesthetics! Put some baked goods on your kitchen counter, arrange some beautiful blooms in your hallway and even put a bottle of fizz with some Champagne flutes set on your patio – it will all help to sell a desirable lifestyle to your potential buyers.
• It’s what’s outside that counts too – with all the effort put into your home, don’t forget about your outside space. De-weed your driveway, prune your rose bushes, tidy all your equipment and the kids’ toys into the shed and, weather permitting, have the lawn freshly mown. If you need some inspiration on how to transform your outside space into an oasis, check our April blog on bringing gardens to life.

What are you waiting for? Book that photographer, and show off your home to its fullest potential!

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